CPSC Reacts to Cadmium in Children’s Products

In another unintended consequence of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act’s lead regulations, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has opened a formal investigation into recent reports that Chinese factories were replacing lead with cadmium in children’s jewelry. The move comes after the Associated Press reported that jewelry purchased at Walmart, Dollar N More and Claire’s stores had anywhere from 82 to 91 percent of the known carcinogen by weight. In a statement last week, CPSC chairman Inez Tenenbaum warned manufacturers against using cadmium, antimony or barium in children’s products and stated that the commission will develop mandatory standards, as needed, to deal with heavy metals in children’s products.

Walmart has since pledged to remove the product in question from its shelves.

In response to the findings in the AP, the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association (FJTA) released the following statement: “Safety is always our No. 1 concern. Children’s jewelry made by our members meets federal lead limits, and test reports from our members to date indicate that children’s jewelry does not contain levels of cadmium that could cause health risks. We are continuing to investigate and are in contact with the CPSC and retail customers, and look forward to analyzing data for the jewelry tested by Ashland University for the story published in the Associated Press earlier this week.”

The FJTA is also forming a safety task force to work with the CPSC, consumers and industry groups to develop a standard for all metals in children’s jewelry.

In this issue: The rules for stocking a successful gift section School uniform trends for fall Tips for selling into department stores Outerwear fashion keys in on details Coming In February: Succeeding in the tween boy category Defining the role of independent reps Examining what ‘Made in the USA’ means today Plus: Tween girls’ and boys’ fashion