I couldn’t get Elaine McCool’s thoughtful comment to this baby baskets article I wrote earlier in the month off my mind.
Elaine is concerned, and rightfully so, about the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that goes into effect in February. You can read more about it on the Toy Industry Association Web site.
For clarification, here is the focus of the CPSIA, quoted directly from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Web site:
“Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.”
The bottom line, as I interpret it, is that the children’s products you purchase to create infant, baby, and children’s gift baskets, must pass rigorous testing for lead before placing it on store shelves for consumer purchase and including it within your baskets.
All of the mass produced, low quality, untested products shipped into the United States and sold by big box stores – the same products attributed to lost jobs and a sour economy – are now affecting us in a new, sinister way.
If you’re unsure about the quality of the targeted products in your inventory, contact the manufacturer to learn if it can be sold or if it must be discarded.
This is a huge problem that affects your investment money; however, it may become a legal problem for you if it’s added to a gift basket.
Suppliers that sell these items to us and retailers that sell baby products to the public are no doubt reeling, and some may go out of business. I’m hoping none of you are headed for closure.
There may be one bright spot in this matter – organic goods. Organics are made under specific guidelines, and even though it’s still necessary to make sure manufacturers and suppliers are within the law, organic infant and children’s goods may be out of harm’s way.
See the Organic Wholesale Supplies site for companies that will fill the void while the shakeout continues.
Thank you, Elaine, for voicing your concerns. Does anyone else have an opinion about baby goods and the new law?
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Shirley,
One of the things I’ve been doing over the last year or more has been to not include items in my baskets that the baby might come in direct contact with orally. I used to add rattles, teethers or bottles. Now I intend to move toward using more certified organic products. A safer bet all the way around.
Consuela
Consuela,
You’re certainly on track with your plans, and clients will definitely applaud you with sales.
This weekend, at my Philadelphia Gift Show seminar, I plan to talk about this situation and show items that may be more beneficial and law abiding.