CPSC Eases Up on Tracking Label Rule

(Kids Today)

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission members voted unanimously this week to approve a draft statement that will give manufacturers credit for “good faith” compliance with the tracking label requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that go into effect next month.

“I believe that the guidance unanimously approved by the Commission... will help to achieve the goals of improved recall effectiveness and better protection of consumers while also providing industry with assurance that the Commission does not intend to penalize manufacturers for inadvertent violations of the statute when they have made a good faith effort in attempting to comply with the tracking label requirements,” said Inez Tenenbaum, CPSC’s newly appointed chairman.

Section 103(a) of the CPSIA requires manufacturers to place permanent, distinguishing marks on children’s products and the packaging “to the extent practicable” as aid for parents and retailers to quickly recognize whether a toy they own or stock is the same as one involved in a recall.

The regulation has caused several concerns, three of which Tenenbaum acknowledged in her statement: that one size does not fit all when it comes to tracking labels; that small volume manufacturers say they can’t feasibly comply with the statute because their production patterns “do not lend themselves to lot, batch and run labeling systems”; and that confusion over how to meet the requirements comes too late to meet the August 14 deadline for enacting them.

Click here to see the CPSC’s new interpretation and policy statement about Section103(a).

According to Commissioner Nancy Nord, “It is important to note that the guidance issued today probably will not be the last word on this important issue.”