CPSC Votes on Tracking Label Stay

In a ballot vote on May 13, the Consumer Product Safety Commission was deadlocked on the decision of whether to grant a request for a stay of enforcement of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act’s tracking label enforcement. Chairman Nancy Nord voted to grant the stay request, which was filed by the National Association of Manufacturers. In her statement, Nord said “It is not clear that the application of the tracking label provisions across the board to all companies will improve recall effectiveness to such an extent as to justify the potential significant disruption and adverse impact on manufacturers, especially smaller companies.” Further, she stated that longer lead times are necessary to allow compliance and education.

On the other hand, in his vote to deny the stay, commissioner Thomas Moore stated that the tracking label requirement is not a one-size-fits-all law since it does not specify where or how the labels are applied. (Though he said that might be helpful and necessary in the future and any further mandates in this area would give manufacturers time to comply.) He maintained the labels are necessary for making accurate recalls and that many vendors already use labels that meet the requirements or are easily adaptable.

Read their full statements at http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/ballot/ballot09/tracklabelstay.pdf#undefined.

In This Issue: Earnshaw’s annual report on the growth of the industry Understanding the grandparent demographic An update on the state of e-commerce Plus: Infant and toddler fashion Coming Next Month: Preschool properties that translate into consumer products success Retailers reveal the power of accessories The sports licensing report Plus: Character-based apparel