News
Trade Shows / Calendar of Events
Operational Hours (New Jersey & Canada)
Industry News and Government Information
CPSIA (click here for details)
Proposition 65 (click here for details)
Berry Amendment (click here for details)
UL Approval (click here for details)
Calendar of Events
We exhibit our products and services at the following trade shows:
IFAI Expo Canada
February 18-20, 2010 Gatineau Canada
Material World
April 20-22, 2010 Miami Beach Convention Center, Miami Florida
LA Textile
April, 2010 California Market Center, Los Angeles California
IFAI Expo
October 27-29, 2010 Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Florida
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Operational Hours
A+ is here to serve you!
Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday 8:30 – 5:30
Our executive offices in NJ are closed in observance of the following national holidays:
New Years Day
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Thanksgiving Day
Christmas
Our offices in Montreal Canada are closed in observance of the following national holidays:
New Years Day
Good Friday
National Patriots Day
St-Jean Baptiste day
Canada Day
Labour Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas Day
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Industry News and Government Information
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
CPSIA: http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML
CPSAI Affects
- Manufacturers
- Private Labelers
- Distributor
- Importer
- Retailer of Consumer Products
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The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is a United States law signed on August 14, 2008 by President George W. Bush. The legislative bill was known as HR 4040, sponsored by Congressman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.).[1] The law - public law 110-314 - increases the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), imposes new testing and documentation requirements, and sets new acceptable levels of several substances. It imposes new requirements on manufacturers of apparel, shoes, personal care products, accessories and jewelry, home furnishings, bedding, toys, electronics and video games, books, school supplies, educational materials and science kits.
- It is targeted mostly toward "children's products", which are defined as any consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.
- There are also new rules governing All terrain vehicle (ATVs).
- It also affects any product that is subject to anything the CPSC regulates by requiring certificates of conformance which state that the product was tested to conform to the regulations it's subject to.
- The legislation reduces the limit of lead allowed in surface coatings or paint to 90 ppm (from the current limit of 600 ppm) effective on 14 August 2009.
- The legislation reduces the amount of total lead content in children's products to
- 600 ppm by 10 February 2009
- 300 ppm by 14 August 2009
- 100 ppm by 14 August 2011
Phthalates
- Phthalates ;1 tenth of 1% or 1 part per thousand or 1000 PPM
- As of 10 February 2009, it shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture for sale, distribute in commerce, or import any children's toy or childcare article that contains the phthalates DEHP, DBP, or BBP at levels higher than 0.1 percent.The legislation bans from any children's toy that can be put in a child's mouth or childcare articles phthalates DINP, DIDP, and at levels higher than 0.1%.
- The legislation bans from any children's toy that can be put in a child's mouth or childcare articles phthalates DINP, DIDP, and at levels higher than 0.1%.
- CPSC General Counsel Falvey provided an advisory opinion on 17 October 2008 that the phthalate ban does not apply to children's footwear. Falvey provided an additional opinion on 17 November 2008 that the ban does not apply to wearing apparel, but does apply to toy costumes, bibs, sleepwear. Notably in its distinction from the lead ruling of 12 September 2008, the phthalate ban will apply to articles manufactured on or after 10 February 2009. However, the decision was challenged by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Public Citizen in the New York Southern District Court and set aside by Judge Paul Gardephe on 5 February 2009.[3]
Mandatory Testing
- The legislation requires that every manufacturer of a product subject to a consumer product safety rule will provide a "General Conformity Certificate" to certify, based on unit testing or a reasonable testing program, that the product complies with all safety rules.[4] This requirement was imposed on every product manufactured on or after 12 November 2008. The certificate must:
- be in English
- list the name, address, and phone number of the manufacturer, importer, and/or private labeler issuing the certificate and any third party testing facility
- list the date and place of manufacture and date and place of testing
- list the contact information of the records keeper
- list each applicable rule, standard, and ban
- These certificates must accompany the product through the distribution chain through the retailer. They must be available to the CPSC during any inspection.
- Children's products are singled out for third party testing by this Act. A schedule for testing is found in Section 102(a)(3)(B) and shows:*
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Proposition 65
- Proposition 65 (formally titled "The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986") is a California law that has been in effect since 1986 to promote clean drinking water and keep toxic substances that cause cancer and birth defects out of consumer products.
- To protect themselves and the water they drink against chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
- To be informed about exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
- To secure strict enforcement of the laws controlling hazardous chemicals and deter actions that threaten public health and safety.
- To shift the cost of hazardous waste cleanups more onto offenders and less onto law-abiding citizens.
The following warning label must appear on products sold in California if they contain chemicals on the Proposition 65 list of hazardous substances.
WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
- Lead: no more than 0.06% (600 parts per million "ppm" of the decorating material may contain lead.
For children's products, however, the limits established by settlement agreements are lower:
- Lead: no more than 0.02% (200 ppm) of the decorating material may contain lead.
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Berry Amendment (PDF - 96.0 KB)
The Berry Amendment (USC, Title 10, Section 2533a), requires the Department of Defense to give preference in procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products, most notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. Congress originally passed domestic source restrictions as part of the 1941 Fifth Supplemental DOD Appropriations Act in order to protect the domestic industrial base in the time of war. The Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) was amended to include exceptions for the acquisition of food, specialty metals, and hand or measuring tools when needed to support contingency operations or when the use of other-than-competitive procedures is based on an unusual and compelling urgency. The specialty metals provision was added in 1973. This provision requires that specialty metals incorporated in products delivered under DOD contracts to be melted in the United States or a “qualifying country”. Specialty metals include certain steel, titanium, zirconium and other metal alloys that are important to the DOD.
On April 10, 2007 the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics determined that most compliant fasteners could not be obtained in sufficient quantity without unreasonably delaying production, and excepted most fasteners from the requirement [1].
Congress has since revised the Berry amendment in the Fiscal Year 2007 and Fiscal Year 2008 National Defense Authorization Acts. The revised statute, 10 U.S.C. 2533b, now includes exemptions for certain Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) items, a de minimis exception for small amounts of non-domestic metal (excluding high-performance magnets), a market basket approach to measuring the amount of domestic metal content in articles delivered to DOD and a national security waiver to prevent the delay in delivery of critically needed systems to troops in combat. Additionally, the blanket exemption for fasteners was removed by Congress, now requiring that at least 50% of commercial fastener specialty metal content be domestic. Finally, Congress required that all waivers or Domestic Non-Availability Determinations (DNADs) be reviewed and revised to comply with the amended law [2].
The original "Berry Amendment," 10 U.S.C. 2533a now excludes specialty metals and applies generally to textile materials [3].
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1), passed by both houses of congress on February 13, 2009, included legislation offered by Congressman Larry Kissell (D-NC) mandating that any textile and apparel products contracted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) be manufactured in the United States with 100 percent U.S. inputs. The "Kissell Amendment" was modeled on and picks up, with little or no modification, many of the specific provisions of the Berry Amendment.
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UL Approval:
UL is the trusted resource across the globe for product safety certification and compliance solutions. Benefiting a range of customers - from manufacturers and consumers to regulatory bodies and code officials - we've tested products for public safety for more than a century.
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