Jewelry Manufacturing Group Endorses Proposed Standard for Cadmium in Children’s Jewelry

The Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America announced Thursday that it endorses the proposed new standard for limiting cadmium in children’s jewelry, developed by the Subcommittee on Children’s Jewelry of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Subcommittee members include representatives from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), consumer safety organizations, and testing labs.

The standard, announced May 2, would establish a 300 parts per million (ppm) total weight of cadmium screening limit for fine and fashion children’s jewelry. (“Children’s jewelry” is defined as jewelry for children under 12.) If cadmium content tests above the 300 ppm screening level, jewelry samples would undergo a second round of testing to determine how much cadmium might leach out if the jewelry is swallowed, or a saline test, which simulates what would occur if a child mouths or sucks on the jewelry.