New App Focuses on CPSIA Regulations
Intertek, a provider of quality and safety solutions, has announced a new iPhone application that focuses on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The app, which is available for free at the online Apple App Store alongside another app that focuses on the European Union’s Textile Compliance Guide, is meant to help keep industry professionals up-to-date on the legislation.
Meant to act as a quick reference guide, the CPSIA iPhone application contains the content of the law by section and in full text, a list of accredited testing laboratories affiliated with Intertek, and answers to frequently asked questions about compliance and safety testing requirements.
“Currently, the app contains the basics of the act only,” said Shelly Lo, Intertek’s marketing executive. “However, we are planning for the next upgrade version of the iPhone app [to include a] notification feature, which is to alert the app users about the latest changes of CPSIA. And the upgraded iPhone app will link to our PC web platform called “GetInfo,” an Intertek Knowledge Portal for global quality, safety and environmental regulation of consumer goods. Both [the] iPhone app and GetInfo will be revamped for a new release in the coming months.”
Passed in August 2008, the CPSIA made significant changes to the previous regulations and imposed additional compliance requirements for consumer products produced domestically and abroad. Children’s apparel makers—labeled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as companies making apparel intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger—have taken the brunt of the law, facing staggered deadlines for requirements related to lead paint, third-party testing, small parts, metal jewelry and all other children’s product safety rules.
The law, which has rankled makers of childrenswear and has been described as “confusing,” has been a major concern for the apparel industry. A release from Centric Software, a Campbell, Calif.–based provider of product life-cycle management solutions, said members of its advisory board identified compliance management as one of the biggest challenges facing manufacturers today. According to a release from Centric, “Compliance, essential for fulfilling terms and satisfying customers, is complex and varies from customer to customer.”
Failure to comply with the CPSIA can result in penalties that include prison time and fines of up to $100,000.
Intertek is betting that a mobile application such as its own, especially after the planned upgrades, will help consumer-goods professionals stay on the right side of the law. “Professionals in the consumer-goods industry can have access to key information when they are in the office, at a trade show or off-site at customer and vendor meetings,” Lo said. “Accredited testing labs in different areas can be found with their testing scope indicated. This is especially useful for buyers who want to import goods from a market they are not familiar with. There’s also the ’Ask the Expert’ button throughout the app, which can link the users to our world of knowledge experts at Intertek should they need further help and information. After the upgrade of the app, users can get a constant flow of industry news and regulatory updates, which will make the app a more invaluable tool.”
For more information, visit www.intertek.com.—Erin Barajas
