Laws and Regulations

While programs like WRAP and FLA have merit, they just address one area of compliance—and they may not transfer through to your organization.

I was recently asked this question by an industry-leading distributor. He regularly has to field compliance inquiries from his customers and is frustrated by the wide range of responses he gets from suppliers.

As consumer product health and safety concerns are increasingly reflected in the practices of global brands, the U.S., Canada and Mexico are making a concerted effort to eliminate the use of toxic materials in the footwear and apparel industries. The three countries have thus reached an understanding on actions needed to strengthen their trilateral cooperation for the safety of consumers.

The California law, Proposition 65, has been around since 1986. Known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, it lists more than 850 chemicals that are believed to have the potential for harm, including causing cancer and birth defects.

Prime Line was one of several industry suppliers to discuss product safety and brand protection at the Quality Certification Alliance Brand Event in Chicago.

The best solutions to complex problems have always been found through a collaborative effort. And this is true in our industry; it truly takes a village to successfully deliver product safety and compliance.

CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum endorsed the first national Children's Jewelry Safety Standard in a speech before hundreds of safety advocates and industry representatives at the International Consumer Product Health and Safety Organization Conference.

One in four pieces of costume jewelry contains more than 300 parts per million of lead, a recent study found. The report, published Tuesday, found that 57 percent of products tested had high levels of one or more hazardous chemicals.

Our industry seems to be struggling with the question of whether or not to commit time, effort and money to developing compliance programs. It's an oversimplification, but you can group our industry into five basic categories on this topic.

On the eve of SaferProducts.gov's one-year anniversary, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has released its list of the 10 most-reported product categories.

The Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), the not-for-profit association for more than 10,000 member companies, continued its ongoing work to educate federal agencies through its Legislative, Education and Action Day (L.E.A.D.), March 7 and 8, 2012 in Washington, D.C.