Component testing...according to former CPSC Chief of Staff

[Margarita McClure]

So I went to Intertek's Insider Power Lunch in Atlanta last Wednesday where Quinn Dodd was there to answer any questions anybody had regarding the new CPSIA law. He was Chief of Staff at the CPSC during the development of the CPSIA and worked directly with Congress and senior CPSC officials as the new legislation was developed.

Obviously the question about component (or substrate, as he calls it) testing came about. He says that if, let's say, somebody makes T-shirts. And assuming that the T-shirt only had 2 components, which is the cotton fabric and the thread, if you test each one separately, then you can use the results of those tests as a basis for certifying your products. So if you make a T-shirt in S, M, L, XL or some other item, as long as you are only using those 2 tested and certified components, you don't have to do unit testing on each of the sizes, or any other product that uses just those 2 components. You can essentially use the same fabric and thread to create 12, 20 or 50 other styles without having to test each and every style AS LONG AS all those styles only use those 2 tested components. Now if you make a blouse using the tested & certified cotton & thread, but now add buttons, you will either have to test the new blouse or test the buttons. Again, if you use those buttons for other styles, once you've tested them, you don't have to test a different style again as long as all the components of that style has been tested.

If you have different colors of fabrics, you have to test each color separately since, according to him, different dyes may have different levels of lead in them.

As far as frequency of testing is concerned, he says that as long as nothing changes in the way the tested components are made, you can use the original test & certification results indefinitely. So let's say you make baby widgets, and you test that widget and get it certified, as long as nothing changes in the way you manufacture that widget, and as long as your raw material suppliers don't change anything in the way they make the stuff you use to make your widgets, you only need to test it once, unless otherwise specified or required by law.

Can you use certification provided by your fabric suppliers? He says it depends on how much you trust them. Because the person who will ultimately be held liable is the one issuing the GCC for the final product. As we all know, part of the GCC is that we're certifying that reasonable testing or third party testing by a certified lab (as of Aug 2009) has been made on the product/s we're issuing the GCC for. If your fabric supplier tells you their fabric is tested and certified to be lead/pthalate free, and even produces an actual certificate, and you rely on the accuracy of that information as part of the testing required to issue the GCC. But if your product ends up testing for high levels of lead or pthalates when someone from the CSPC checks it out at one of your retailer's stores, then you face the consequences...not your fabric supplier. So it's ultimately your own judgement call. Again, just because your fabric is certified doesn't mean you can issue a GCC just based on that. You still have to take into consideration all the components of the item if there is anything else that has been added to the fabric.

I'm not sure if this is the same info that anybody else has, or if you've heard otherwise. I'd especially like to know if there are contradictory issues to this because this is what we're going by since it came from someone who was directly involved in creating this new law.

[Esther]

The law does not allow for component testing. It was written to require testing by SKU and that is the current interpretation. If Quinn Dodd really wanted component testing, he didn't get it.

[Kathleen F.]

[J C Sprowls]

Ditto.

I like that he's a proponent for component testing. But, sad fact is that the legislation differs from his opinion.

[Miracle]

[Pamela]

So realistically even if the whole thing is brought back in front of Congress to either amend or change the current law we are looking probably to February soonest since in just a few weeks Congress leaves for "vacation" from what someone said here on the forum. That will leave everyone in a very uncertain predicament for several months. Great.

Pam

[Vesta]

Where can we see this in writing? On CPSC letterhead, at a minimum. I want all of this to be true. But we need something in writing.

[Kathleen F.]