Apparel/Textile

Danielle Elizabeth Designs tweeted a link to a picture of her tracking/care label.  Apparel is already required under other laws to have labels.  CPSIA tracking information can be added to existing labels; the tracking label does not have to be a separate label.

Barking Dog Designs has a two-label solution; one with the business name, the other with the care instructions and other info.  Pictures here and here.  Remember, the information on tracking labels does not all have to be physically in the same spot.  Barking Dog Designs also uses an RN number, which enables customers to look up the business name and location in the FTC’s database.

Challenge And Fun reports that one of their vendors uses small, ready-made size labels to indicate their batch numbers on fabric dolls.

Sue of Ecoleeko has a unique method.  She uses an inexpensive set of rubber stamps to ink her tracking info onto fabric tape, then heat-sets the ink.  If you’ve been considering hand-writing info on your tags, you should look at her idea; the results are very professional looking.

Yarn crafts (crochet, knit)

Curious Workmanship glues tracking labels printed on a laserjet to her hand-crocheted baby booties.  Description here; picture here.

Hair Bows

InfantBows is not using tracking labels, since small unlabelable items are not required to have labels.

Toys

Greco Woodcrafting has their tracking label info laser-etched onto their wooden toys, and recommends collaborating with local businesses if you can’t do an in-house labeling solution.

A business that wishes to remain anonymous stamps their info onto wooden toys using permanent inks.

Books and paper goods

Lunasea Studios incorporated their tracking info into the copyright page of their Little Vampires books.

Hilary of Blynken and Nod has to hand-write her info onto her scavenger hunt card sets, but makes it look more professional by also signing and numbering each set.

Companies that make labels in small quantity, that have been recommended by small businesses:

Namemaker

Custom Couture Label Company

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Natural or synthetic textiles are now exempt from lead testing, therefore the parts of the diaper that need to be tested for lead fall to the snaps and elastic if it is visible, as long as you are not making diapers using fabrics with a waterproof finish or PUL.

While there is no final rule on the definition of a “child care article” it is smart to proceed as though diapers will fall into this category. Phthalate testing would therefore be required due to certain materials used to construct the diaper.

Here is a chart pulled together by Wacky Hermit that details commonly used diaper making materials, and their exemption status. This chart assumes that a diaper will be defined by the CPSC as a “child care article.”

* If these materials are inaccessible (i.e. hidden inside the diaper where no one can touch them), they do not have to be tested for lead.
** Snaps made of certain plastics (polyethylene or polypropylene) do not need to be tested for phthalates.
*** Paints are held to a smaller lead content standard (90 ppm lead) than the underlying metal.

For additional information on diapers and the CPSIA,  refer to the Real Diaper IndustryAssociation which is helping its members take a proactive response to the CPSIA.

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However, if you add a button, zipper, or any other part not made of yarn, you will have to make sure it is compliant.  If it’s made of an exempt material, such as plain wood, it does not have to be tested.  If it is made of plastic or metal, has a surface coating (paint) or any other feature that makes it non-exempt, you will have to have third party laboratory testing done.

You will also need to comply with the new tracking label requirements.  And if your product includes small parts that can be removed and choked on, you will need to comply with the small parts labeling requirements.  A small parts warning must be both on the packaging and visible at the point of sale.  If you only sell goods at stores or in person, you can label just the packaging.  If you sell through a catalog, brochure, or over the internet, the small parts warning must be on your catalog, brochure, or webpage.

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However, an item that is made out of yarn may need some third party testing.  If the yarn undergoes any kind of process that could introduce lead into it, it will need to be tested after that process.  Also, many yarn-based items such as sweaters contain non-yarn components, such as buttons.  If the buttons are not made of an exempt material such as wood or bone, they will need to be tested.

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• The exemption is voided if the material is processed in a way that introduces lead into the material.
• Materials that have a surface coating such as paint must have the surface coating tested.  For example, wood is exempt from testing, but painted wood must have the paint tested.
• Materials that are adulterated by other substances must be tested.
• If for some reason you use one of the exempt materials and by some freak of nature it happens to have too much lead in it, you’re still liable.
• Some materials that are exempt from lead testing are not exempt from phthalate testing.  Some materials exempt from phthalate testing are not exempt from lead testing.
• While we can reasonably expect that state Attorneys General will abide by the science-based findings of the CPSC in this matter, the possibility remains (however remote) that one might decide to prosecute a manufacturer for not testing one of these materials.

The following materials are considered exempt from third party lead testing by the CPSC:

• Precious metals, including gold, silver, and titanium.
• Precious and semiprecious gemstones that are not associated with lead in nature, e.g. rubies, emeralds, tourmaline, jade, quartz.
• Natural and cultured pearls.
• Wood.
• Amber.
• Minerals and fossils, except for those minerals (like galena) that are associated with lead in nature.
• Plant-based materials such as bark, essential oils, jojoba, and tung oil.
• Animal-based materials such as horn, coral, seashells, bone, shellac, and animal glue.
• Food-grade items such as beeswax, mineral oil, food coloring, herbs, milk, and honey.
• All textiles: dyed and undyed, natural and synthetic.
• Paper, cardboard, and similar wood-pulp products.
• CMYK process printing ink.
• Books, if they are made entirely of exempt materials.  All books printed after 1985 are considered to be made of exempt materials.

The following materials are exempted from third-party testing if they meet certain conditions:

• Adhesives, if they cannot be touched by a child (don’t be sloppy with your glue!).
• Stainless steel, except for 303Pb stainless steel.
• Leather, if it does not have a surface pigment (these pigments are considered in the same category as paints)
• Paper, cardboard, and other paper products, if they do not have a coating on them (such as laminating).
• Any component that is inaccessible, meaning it cannot be touched by a child’s finger.

The following materials are specifically mentioned in the document as not exempted from third-party lead testing:

• Composite wood products, like particle board
• Paints, varnishes, and lacquers
• Ceramic glazes and clay
• Glass, crystals, and rhinestones
• Art supplies
• Inks that do not become part of the paper
• Lamination
• Screen printing inks
• Metal and plastic components, such as nails, screws, zippers, buttons, snaps, hair bands, barrettes, and doll accessories
• Metal or plastic bindings used to hold books together, including staples

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• the name of the manufacturer or private labeler
• the location of production (city, state/province, and country)
• the date of production OR a mark, such as a batch number or cohort number, that you can use to look up the date of production.

CPSC’s tracking label guidance tells us about tracking labels:

• they must be “permanent”
• they must be on the packaging and the product “to the extent practicable”
• they must have “marks” (i.e. letters, numbers, or signs) that allow the manufacturer to discern what batch the item belongs to and look up the origins of the materials
• the manufacturer must maintain a way to look up the origins of the materials based on the mark, e.g. a spreadsheet or database
• the information need not be all in one spot on the product, as long as it’s all on the product somewhere
• if the label on the product can be seen through the packaging, there is no need to also label the packaging
• the requirement is NOT RETROACTIVE, meaning that anything manufactured before August 14 DOES NOT have to be labeled

Certain products are exempt from labeling. If your product has more than one piece, not all pieces must be labeled.

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You do not have to put the date of production on your product if you use a batch number that you can use to look up the date of production in your own spreadsheet or database.  In this case, the batch number functions as a “mark” that makes the date “ascertainable.”

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• Only one piece of a set has to be labeled if the pieces are not sold separately
• The date of assembly of all the pieces together is the date of manufacture
• Don’t forget to also label the packaging of these items if the packaging is meant to be thrown away (if the packaging is not meant to be thrown away, it’s considered part of the item and you can label just the packaging)

Examples:

• A set of blocks that comes in a fabric bag can have the label on the fabric bag only
• Beads that come in a disposable plastic bag can have the label on the plastic bag
• A pair of shoes needs the label on only one of the shoes
• A board game can have the label on the box (outside packaging) and on the board, but does not need to have each piece labeled
• A craft kit needs a label on the outside packaging and a label on one “integral part”

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Just exactly what kind of batch record keeping will be required of small volume crafters is unknown.  The CPSC guidance document just says that your system should be comparable to similar crafters’, but nobody knows what similar crafters are going to find adequate to meet the law’s requirements.

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What products are exempt from labeling on the product (but still must be labeled on the packaging)?

• products too small to label, e.g. earrings
• products that come with packaging that is meant to be used for storage, e.g. blocks that come in a fabric bag; in this case the bag must be labeled but the blocks do not
• multiple tiny items such as bags of beads or marbles
• bulk vending toys
• products where a physical mark would weaken the product or make it useless
• products with surfaces that are impossible to mark permanently, e.g. hair ornaments (these are specifically mentioned in the CPSC document), pipe cleaners, natural rocks
• products whose aesthetics would be ruined by a mark
• products where a mark cannot be placed in an “accessible but inconspicuous location”
• products that are exempt from labeling under other laws because those laws have determined them to be unlabelable, e.g. socks

Unfortunately, as yet we have no guidance as to who will be permitted to decide whether the aesthetics of a product would be ruined by a mark.  There is nothing in the CPSC guidance or in CPSIA to indicate that the artisan/artist/crafter or even the customer would be the judge of the product’s aesthetics, rather than attorneys or CPSC staff.

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