One Year Stay from CPSC Provides Temporary Relief To Toy Manufacturers

The CPSC released a statement confirming a one year stay on the new CPSIA law, until February 2010. This stay will delay certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. The manufacturers and importers, however, are still required to fulfill the lead and phthalates limits as well as the other toy safety standards specified in the CPSIA law. The stay only waives the immediate need to test and certify the safety of their products for a year.

It is to be noted that the stay does not apply to certain requirements of children's products. The exceptions to the stay are:

• The ban on lead in paint and other surface coatings effective for products made after December 21, 2008
• The standards for full-size and non full-size cribs and pacifiers effective for products made after January 20, 2009
• The ban on small parts effective for products made after February 15, 2009
• The limits on lead content of metal components of children’s jewelry effective for products made after March 23, 2009

According to the CPSC's website, the purpose of the CPSC's stay is to buy some time while they "finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted".

The stay will provide temporary relief to the manufactures and importers until February 2010 or until the CPSC finalizes it's plans on how to implement the toy certification process.

The stay has evoked mixed reactions from various sources. Small scale and handmade toy manufacturers have been given a year in which to decide which way they want to go. The immediate need to certify their toys and test raw materials has been pushed back, but they are still on tenterhooks awaiting the final rule revisions from the CPSC. On the other hand, consumer groups are strongly advocating toy testing. Their point of view is that it's impossible to judge whether a toy is safe or not without some sort of toy certification standards in place. The ultimate aim is to stop unsafe toys and products from reaching the hands of our kids. If you consider this, it's imperative that there be some way of measuring up to what is safe and what isn't.

The bottom line is that dangerous toys and children's products are still being sold. Recalls based on high levels of lead are being issued ever so often. There has to be some solution to the problem and it's highly unlikely that everyone involved in the toy supply chain will emerge unscathed.