The Handmade Toy Alliance has therefore pulled together the flow chart below in order to provide businesses with straightforward information on what does or does not have to be tested under the law.

CPSIA Testing Requirements Flowchart

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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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In addition to this, in 2006 a child died from swallowing a jewelry charm that was almost pure lead.  This unfortunate incident brought to the public’s attention the lack of standards for lead in jewelry.

CPSC was on the verge of issuing a standard on lead content in jewelry when Congress decided to step in.  Transcripts of the hearings show that lobbying groups such as PIRG, Public Citizen, and Consumers Union led the charge and were responsible for some of the law’s most confusing provisions, such as the application of the law to all products, the extension of the age range to 12 years, and the provision that lead content and not absorbable lead is what matters.  During the hearings, representatives of manufacturers and even the CPSC itself testified that the new law would have all the problems it currently has, but Congress went ahead with it anyway, evidently based on the testimony of these lobbying groups.  When CPSIA was passed, these lobbying groups celebrated and took credit for their influence on the law.

Notable in all these hearings is that large toy manufacturers like Hasbro and Mattel, whose toys were included in the recalls of 2007, did not even testify before Congress until after CPSIA was largely a done deal.

For an excellent summary of CPSIA’s legislative history and the lobbying groups’ contributions to CPSIA, with a library of links to actual testimony, go here.

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First, there are a lot of other important things going on in the world.  The news editors have to choose the highlights, and let’s face it, a highly technical law about product safety can’t compete with wars and such.

Second, CPSIA is hard to understand.  Chances are if you’ve come to this site, you’ve discovered that for yourself.  Well, reporters aren’t some kind of super-humans; they find it confusing too.

Third, when reporters find things confusing, like most people they turn to a trusted source to explain it to them.  In this case, most reporters’ trusted sources are the very same legislators and special interest groups who helped write CPSIA.  These sources assure them that the law is a sound one and the criticisms of it are overblown.  Who would tell a reporter that there’s something wrong with what they themselves wrote?

Finally, few reporters have time to get the complete story.  It takes a lot of work to interview enough people to discover the full impact of CPSIA.  Reporters usually have deadlines they have to meet, and there’s only so many people they can interview in that amount of time.

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The list includes businesses of all sizes from large publicly traded companies to tiny microbusinesses, as well as charitable organizations such as Goodwill.

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You must verify, for example, that you are not selling recalled items at your yard sale.  You must also verify that none of the items at your yard sale have more than the allowed levels of lead.  If you cannot afford testing on your yard sale items, you can follow some guidelines to make sure the items are safe to sell, such as not selling any flexible plastic toys or any clothing with a button or zipper.

You can find the complete guidelines on the CPSC website in this publication (http://cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/thrift/thrguid.pdf).

Cities and localities also have many different laws regarding yard sales.  Please check with your locality to make sure your yard sale complies with local law.

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“Anything” includes more than just toys.  It means books, clothes, bicycles, pens, school supplies, science kits, exercise equipment, off-road vehicles, shoes, socks, maps, bath toys, and musical instruments.  Anything that you buy for a child, that is given to a child, or that a child uses in school is subject to CPSIA.

Items like car safety seats, foods, cosmetics, and some soaps are not covered under CPSIA because they are regulated by another government agency.

CPSIA also applies to goods that are “distributed in commerce.”  Commerce doesn’t mean only buying and selling.  Under the law, “commerce” also includes things that are given away and even includes lending libraries.

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The testing required by CPSIA on a small business’ products can easily cost more than the price of an employee.  The CPSIA law is so complicated that a business would also have to have an employee to study the law, find out what is required, and make sure it gets done.  If a business already has hundreds of employees, this cost is more affordable.  But for a business with only one person or a handful of employees, this costs too much.

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