Berkeley Analytical (BkA) is ready to help manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers of children’s products meet their Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008 obligations. We analyze toys, child care articles, furniture components, and other products and materials for their content of the six phthalate esters identified in the CPSIA regulation. BkA can also aid you in differentiating between materials that require testing and materials that may not require testing. We have state-of-the-art instrumentation consisting of cryogenic milling, accelerated solvent extraction, and high sensitivity GC/MS, and we are accredited to the U.S. CPSC and U.S. EPA methods used to extract and analyze products for phthalate esters. We also have an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory partner if you need lead analysis of your children’s products.
BkA has competitive pricing and routinely provides rapid turnaround for results. Contact us for expert advice and to discuss your testing needs.
Compliance with CPSIA is mandatory! – The CPSIA is a sweeping new law that directly impacts manufacturers and importers of toys and child care articles, and even includes those who make and donate products to charities. Additionally, big retailers are taking this law seriously and are requiring their suppliers to show proof of compliance. The CPSC defines a children’s product as one designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. Thus, toys, clothes, furniture, books, jewelry, blankets, games, CDs/DVDs, strollers, and footwear may all be considered children’s products. Packaging that is intended to be reused, or used in conjunction with a child care article or with a children’s toy while playing is also subject to the law. The CPSC has identified materials that need testing and other materials that may not require testing.
Because the term consumer product includes components of an article, the CPSC has interpreted the law to apply to each component part of any children’s article. Further, the CPSC has ruled that phthalate testing may be limited to those plastic parts or other product parts which could conceivably contain phthalates. The benefits of this component approach are to provide greater protection for children and also to significantly reduce manufacturers’ testing costs in many cases.
Six phthalate esters of concern
The CPSIA has permanently banned the sale of any children’s toy or child care article containing concentrations of more than 0.1% of:
The law also prohibits, on an interim basis, the sale of "any children’s toy that can be placed in a child’s mouth or child care article" containing concentrations of more than 0.1% of three additional phthalates:
Materials that require testing
Examples of materials that may contain phthalates and likely will require testing are:
Materials that may NOT require testing
Examples of materials that do not normally contain phthalates and, thus, may not require testing are:
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