Toy Industry Seeks Strong Federal Third-Party Testing Standards to Preempt States
Toy industry trade groups sought a strong federal standard that preempts state safety standards, in comments on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s notice seeking input on ways to reduce the cost of Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) third-party testing requirements for children’s products that are consistent with assuring compliance with applicable consumer product safety rules, bans, standards or regulations. A patchwork of state standards will make compliance impractical and extremely burdensome, the groups said.
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Third-party Testing to Other Agencies Should Suffice in Some Cases
In some cases, third-party testing to another government agency’s requirements, such as the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) requirements, may provide a company with reasonable assurance of conformity to CPSC requirements and in such cases a manufacturer should be able to rely on this as evidence of conformity with lead substrate requirement for that material without further testing, said one trade group.
No Preferential Treatment for One CPSC Lab Over Another
CPSC should advise retailers that no preference should be given to once CPSC accredited laboratory over another, the groups said. There is no single action which the Commission could undertake which would have more impact in reducing testing costs than to discourage such duplicative testing by making clear that it is wasteful, unnecessary, diverts resources from more productive safety efforts, said one association.
Clarification Sought on Manufacturer Testing Responsibility
Groups wanted further clarification that the manufacturer is the party responsible for certification of a consumer product under 16 CFR 1110. If the importer is relying on supplier based testing and/or certification, it does not make sense to require importers to determine what a representative sample is.
Burdensome for Independently-Owned Toy Manufactures
Requiring independently owned specialty toy makers who already test to tight standards to retest and absorb costs just to enter the U.S. causes economic hardship for retailers, importers and manufacturers and does nothing to improve safety, one association said. The CPSC must apply the rule for definition of a small batch manufacturer to either the U.S.-based importer or to the foreign physical manufacturer and not to both, it said.
CFR Parts 1632 and 1633 Should Not be Considered Children’s Product Safety Rules
A group representing mattress manufacturers said the mattress inflammability standards in 16 CFR Part 1632 and 1633 apply to all mattresses, regardless of age of intended user and so are not “other children’s product safety rules” because they are not specific to children’s products and as such are not subject to third-party testing requirements. So CPSC should conclude that 16 CFR Parts 1632 and 1633 are not considered children’s product safety rules.’
(See ITT Online Archives 11111009 for summary of CPSC notice seeking comments on cost of 3rd-party testing for kid's products)