CPSIA Rally Planned in Washington, D.C.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Improvement Act of 2008 continues to make the news as industry groups plan an April 1 rally at Capitol Hill and retailers announce product recalls.
In response to what some industry groups perceive as the government’s sluggish response to industry concerns, industry groups—including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, Alliance for Children’s Product Safety, Fashion Jewelry Trade Association and the Handmade Toy Alliance—are hosting a rally and congressional briefing on Capitol Hill on the first of the month. Members of Congress are expected to attend, and speakers will include small-business owners affected by the CPSIA and members of the National Association of Manufacturers.
“So far, Congress has ignored the calls of thousands of small businesses, charities, parents and teachers to fix the flaws in this legislation, refusing even to hold public hearings on the problem,” Rick Woldenberg of the Alliance for Children’s Product Safety said in a statement. “That’s why business and charitable groups are organizing a fly in, rally and [holding a] congressional briefing on Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress, provide information and bring attention to the CPSIA crisis. Wide participation is anticipated in this unique event to call upon Congress to urgently fix the CPSIA.”
Elsewhere, retailers are recalling children’s products that don’t meet the CPSIA’s stringent new lead requirements. Earlier this month, Amazon.com announced a recall of approximately 2,500 products in its toy and baby categories for which they had not received certificates of compliance with the CPSIA’s lead and phthalate limits. All orders of the recalled products were cancelled and their detail pages were removed from the site, a statement from Amazon said. Similarly, 31,000 pairs of girls’ shoes were recalled by Nordstrom for surface paint on the outer sole that contained excessive levels of lead. The private-label shoes were imported from China and were sold exclusively at the department store from September 2006 through February 2009. Also in March, Brazilian flip-flop maker Havaianas saw 210,000 children’s sandals recalled after decorative paint that was used on the sole was found to contain lead.
The act, which became law last August, rankles and confuses manufacturers and retailers alike. The CPSIA made significant changes to previous regulations, which now imposes additional compliance requirements for consumer products produced domestically and abroad. Manufacturers making apparel primarily for children age 12 or younger will take the brunt of the law, facing staggered deadlines for new lead-paint requirements and third-party testing of lead content in small parts and metal jewelry. Other requirements call for tracking labels on children’s products that show where the garment was made, its batch number and other information not previously made available to the consumer.
For more information about the April 1 rally, visit www.amendthecpsia.com. For the CPSC’s list of recalled items, visit www.cpsc.gov. —Erin Barajas
