Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association: Government Affairs - Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA)

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA)

Following a rash of recalls of tainted products from China, in 2008 Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (P.L. No. 110-314), a massive product safety law that increases penalties for product safety violations, increases funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) and establishes new lead and phthalate limits on products for children under 12, requiring manufacturers and importers to have their products tested to demonstrate compliance.

While well-intentioned, implementation of the CPSIA, from the business community perspective, has been difficult due to tight and unrealistic statutory deadlines, conflicting and confusing interpretations, and a lack of clarity about who is impacted by what requirement when.

The Commission was set to lift a stay of enforcement for CPSIA lead-content testing and certification of total lead content on Feb. 10, 2011, despite having not yet finalized the relevant testing requirements. The lifting of the stay could have had significant implications for some in the nonwoven fabrics industry. Although virtually all textile products, including natural and manufactured fibers, and most textiles treated with dyes and pigments will be exempt from the CPSIA's lead-testing requirements, those with "after-treatment applications" like screen prints, transfers, decals and other prints will still have to be tested.

Fortunately, the Commission heeded the request of industry groups, voting in early 2011 to extend the stay until Dec. 31, 2011. Industry groups applauded the decision to extend the stay, which provides additional time for Congress to complete a corrections package and for the Commission to complete its work on the testing rule. The Commission also noted that the stays of enforcement remain in effect for any children's product safety standard for which requirements for accreditation of laboratories have not yet been published, which includes testing of children's toys and child care articles for banned phthalates and of toys for compliance with ASTM F-963.