Product Responsibility: A JourneyNot A Destination Anne
Lardner-Stone, Director of Public Affairs Promotional Products
Association International Slide 2 This information is being
furnished for educational and informational purposes only. The
Association makes no warranties or representations about specific
dates, coverage or application. Consult with appropriate legal
counsel about the specific application of the law to your business
and products. Slide 3 Agenda Product responsibility What you need
to know Why you need to know it How you can get started Case
studies Resources 3 Slide 4 Increasingly end buyers and government
agencies are demanding more from our industry Social Environmental
Product responsibility Emerging challenges Slide 5 Compliance with
Federal and state regulations is not optional It can be a strategic
advantage and increase your value to your customer We are in the
brand protection business Slide 6 Product responsibility is
everyones job Distributors must protect their customers brand as if
it were their own and do their own due diligence Suppliers must
ensure compliance with all regulations and oversee all factories
Everyone is responsible for providing safe products that will not
cause harm to the end user Education and awareness are critical 6
Slide 7 When distributors become suppliers A distributor who
sources direct is a manufacturer A distributor who uses a contract
decorator would also be considered a manufacturer 7 Slide 8 All
substances are poisonsthe difference is in the dose. Paracelsus
(1493-1541), a Swiss alchemist 8 Slide 9 2007: Year of the recall 9
Slide 10 10 Slide 11 2007: Year of the recall 11 Slide 12 2007:
Year of the recall 12 Slide 13 2007: Big problem with the dose 13
Slide 14 2007: Big problem with the dose 14 Slide 15 Mattels recall
timeline 2007 August 2: Mattel voluntarily recalls 1.5 million
Fisher-Price toys -- high levels of lead. August 14: Mattel
voluntarily recalls a further 17.4 million products containing
loose magnets easy for children to swallow (Mattel Play Sets and
Barbie Doll & Tanner). September 4: Mattel recalls another
850,000 toys due to lead paint contamination (Barbie Accessory
Sets, It's a Big Big World and GeoTrax Engines). October 25: Mattel
voluntary recalls Go Diego Go! Rescue Boats coated in paint
containing hazardous levels of lead. November 6: Mattel voluntarily
recalls 155,000 Laugh & Learn and Learning Kitchen toys due to
a choking hazard. Slide 16 Congressional response In 2008, Congress
passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) Slide 17
Recalls are down 172 toy recalls in fiscal year 2008 50 toy recalls
in FY 2009 46 toy recalls in FY 2010 34 toy recalls in FY 2011 38
toy recalls in FY 2012 31 toy recalls in FY 2013 Slide 18 Port
stoppages are up CPSC using risk assessment methodology (RAM) pilot
targeting system to analyze CBP data and identify high- risk
shipments of consumer products arriving at U.S. ports of entry, and
then make calculated and effective decisions about which shipments
to inspect Over 6 Million units of violative or defective products
stopped during Q1 and Q2 of FY 2013 87% were childrens products
Lead 335 (paint 46; content 289) (57%) Slide 19 CPSIA focus Defines
a child as 12 and younger Applies to: Childrens products Childcare
articles Childrens toys Slide 20 CPSIA requirements Third party
testing mandatory: Lead in substrate Lead in paint and surface
coatings Some phthalates Childrens Product Certificate mandatory
Tracking labels mandatory Makes previously voluntary standards
mandatory Slide 21 Lead in substrate Substrate is the material of
which something is made, and to which surface coating (i.e. paint)
may be applied 100 ppm lead as of August 14, 2011 Slide 22 Lead
Paint Rule Decorated or scrapable surface coatings 16 CFR 1303 in
effect since 1978 at 600 ppm As of August 14, 2009, sets limit at
90 ppm Slide 23 Phthalates Applies only to childrens toys and child
care products For all such products, DEHP, DBP, BBP limit of 0.1%
For all such products or any part of the product that can be placed
in a childs mouth: DINP, DIDP, DnOP limit of 0.1% (interim
prohibition) Applies to accessible materials only (before and after
use and abuse testing) Slide 24 Ban on small parts Ban on small
parts for products intended for children under 3; warning for
products intended for children between 3 and 8 Slide 25 Childrens
Product Certificate (CPC) Importer or Domestic manufacturer is
responsible for testing and certification All testing must be
reflected in Childrens Product Certificate (CPC) or General
Conformity Certificate (GCC) Must be produced and made available
for every youth order Sample certificates on the CPSC website Slide
26 Childrens Product Certificate (CPC) Slide 27 Tracking Labels
Required for all childrens products manufactured after August 14,
2009 Enhance recall effectiveness Required information:
Manufacturer name Month & year of manufacture City & state
of manufacture Batch or internal order number Distributor PO number
Slide 28 Tracking Labels Must be permanent Hangtags and adhesive
labels not acceptable Supplier should include tracking label
information Depending on changes made to the suppliers product,
distributor may need to include additional tracking label markings
Slide 29 Tracking Labels Example using the PPAI tracking label
system: ps.ppa.org/SAMPLE003 Promotional Products Association
International Slide 30 And more Federal regulations: FDA
(particularly drinkware, sunscreen) Dodd Frank Act Lacy Act State
regulations Prop 65 Cadmium Packaging Lead International standards
And more Slide 31 What worries me? A juvenile imprint can transform
a general use item into a childrens product Discovering the
intended audience can be difficult Far too often, test reports are
out of date, based on wrong standards, incomplete or for a
different product Distribution site often unknown to the
manufacturer Slide 32 How do you determine if something is a
childrens product? Slide 33 Slide 34 Slide 35 Slide 36 Slide 37
Slide 38 Slide 39 Slide 40 Slide 41 Slide 42 Slide 43 Marketing
statements Slide 44 Slide 45 Slide 46 Product responsibility 46
Slide 47 Product responsibility 47 Slide 48 Slide 49 Slide 50 Slide
51 Slide 52 52 Slide 53 53 Most pens are general use Think before
you include a picture of a child interacting with the item on your
website or in your advertising Look for tracking labelsno one size
fits all solution Test reports should include pictures If it is a
childrens product, ask for the CPC No drawstrings! Ask your
screenprinter for ink test reports Look for the secondary tracking
label Even if the item is a general use item, there may be
regulations beyond CPSIA Slide 54 Undue Influence Training Anne
Lardner-Stone, PPAI Director of Public Affairs Slide 55 This
information is being furnished by PPAI for educational and
informational purposes only. The Association makes no warranties or
representations about specific dates, coverage or application.
Consult with appropriate legal counsel about the specific
application of the law to your business and products. Slide 56 New
CPSIA requirements effective February 8, 2013 Testing and Labeling
Pertaining to Product Certification 16 CFR 1107 Certification of
Childrens Products 1107.20 1107.21 Periodic Testing 1107.23
Material Change 1107.24 Undue Influence 1107.26 Recordkeeping
1107-30 Consumer Product Labeling Program Slide 57 Purpose
Establish protocols and standards for ensuring continued testing of
childrens products Material change requirements Safeguards against
exercise of undue influence Establish program for labeling of
consumer products Slide 58 What is undue influence training? Undue
influence training is training to ensure that manufacturers and
their employees do not exert undue influence on testing
laboratories to alter test methods or test results that serve as
the basis for certifying a products compliance under federal law.
Slide 59 If you interact with a third-party testing lab, what must
you do? Establish procedures to safeguard against the exercise of
undue influence by the manufacturer on a third-party laboratory
Written policy Training and retraining CPSC notification of any
attempt to hide or exert undue influence over test results Staff
assurances Slide 60 Written policy Develop a written policy
statement from company officials that the exercise of undue
influence is not acceptable Slide 61 Written policy This policy
should not only satisfy the rule, but also accentuate to staff its
importance to the company Make the written undue influence policy
visible and available to customers and the public Consider
including the policy in the company code of conduct Slide 62 Sample
written policy Slide 63 Slide 64 Training All employees who
interact with testing labs must undergo training to ensure that no
one engages in actions or makes statements that will be considered
undue influence. If the undue influence policy changes, all
employees must be retrained. Slide 65 Training All employees who
are trained are required to sign a statement attesting to their
training attendance. Slide 66 Requirements A digital signature or
other electronic attestation (such as a check box), indicating that
an employee took the training as part of software or online
training, would meet the requirement to sign a statement attesting
to participation in such training. Slide 67 Training courses CPSC
does not provide a model undue influence training course. Slide 68
Undue influence training Testing and certification of childrens
products are important parts of the process of compliance. By law,
you must not apply undue influence on third party conformity
assessment bodies to product favorable testing results Slide 69
What is undue influence? The CPSIA law does not provide a
definition of undue influence. Slide 70 What is undue influence?
Mental, moral, or physical domination (even if natural or right)
that deprives a person of independent judgment and substitutes
another persons objectives in place of his or her own. Exercise of
undue influence is characterized often by excessive insistence,
superiority of physical power, mind, or will, or pressure applied
due to authority, position, or relationship in relation to the
strength of the person submitting to it. Consent obtained for a
contract, relationship, or transaction is voidable if it can be
shown that an unfair advantage has been taken of an involved party.
In dealings between parent and child, husband and wife, attorney
and client, or doctor and patient, undue influence is generally
presumed to have been exercised unless proven otherwise. See also
coercion and duress. Read more:
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/undue-
influence.html#ixzz2LIekFtP7http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/undue-
influence.html#ixzz2LIekFtP7 Slide 71 Undue influence Undue
influence occurs when one party uses his/her position to influence
the other party to gain some advantage Pressure is typically
exerted through persuasion rather than coercion Slide 72 Undue
influence Undue influence may result in undermining the integrity
of testing data that can result in defective products that may
injure or kill consumers, bring liability to the company and cause
loss of business. Slide 73 Best practices to avoid unduly
influencing a third party lab Ensure you follow appropriate sample
selection protocols Do not test golden samples Dont threaten to
change third party testing providers because of an unsatisfactory
test report Avoid developing personal relationships with the lab
that could somehow influence test results Slide 74 Obligation to
exercise due care Applies to each domestic manufacturer or importer
of a childrens product. The importer is not required to train
employees of foreign manufacturers, but must be sure to exercise
due care. Slide 75 Obligation to exercise due care Train your
factories in your policy and advise them that their acts of undue
influence on labs may cause you to rely on their supplied test
reports for CPCs that can be deemed invalid by the CPSC and bring
liability to you as the certifier for failing to exercise due care
in preventing undue influence in your supply chain Slide 76
Reporting If you witness or are aware of what you believe is in
incident of undue influence, it is your responsibility to report it
Ideally, you should report it to your immediate supervisor. If you
are not comfortable doing so, you may report it to any company
officer. The CPSC must be notified immediately of any attempt by
the manufacturer to hide or exert undue influence over test results
Slide 77 Undue influence For our purposes, any action or statement
that undermines the credibility and validity of the testing process
used for the certification of childrens products is undue influence
If you have any doubt, report it Slide 78 Staff assurances
Manufacturers must inform their employees that allegations of undue
influence may be reported confidentially to the CPSC, and
manufacturers must tell their employees how to make such
confidential reports Reports alleging undue influence should be
filed with the CPSC Office of the Secretary Slide 79 Reporting You
may report incidents of undue influence confidentially directly to
the CPSC: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 4330 East West
Highway Bethesda, MD 20814 301.504.7923 or 800.638.2772
www.cpsc.gov Slide 80 When undue influence occurs Employees who
have engaged in undue influence should be disciplined in accordance
with the companys policy for employee disciplinary actions
Discipline may range from a written or verbal warning up and
including termination of employment Slide 81 When undue influence
occurs The company should take appropriate actions to correct the
situation, including retesting of the products and retraining the
employees The company must promptly report all undue influence
incidents to the CPSC. Slide 82 New CPSIA requirements effective
2.8.2013 Testing and Labeling Pertaining to Product Certification
16 CFR 1107 Certification of Childrens Products 1107.20 1107.21
Periodic Testing 1107.23 Material Change 1107.24 Undue Influence
1107.26 Recordkeeping 1107-30 Consumer Product Labeling Program
Slide 83 Periodic testing Manufacturers must develop a Periodic
Testing Plan to ensure continued compliance that includes: Tests to
be conducted Intervals at which the tests will be conducted Number
of samples tested At minimum, periodic testing should be performed
annually Slide 84 Material change A material change includes
changes in: Product design Manufacturing process Sourcing of
component parts Tooling Changes in manufacturing facility New
certification testing will be required on the new product Slide 85
Recordkeeping Childrens Product Certificate (CPC) for each product
Records of each third party certification test Records of period
tests Records of descriptions of all material changes Records of
undue influence proceduresincluding training materials and training
records of all employees These records must be kept for 5 years and
may be maintained in languages other than English if they can be
immediately provided to the CPSC and translated into English within
24 hours of a request by the CPSC Slide 86 Consumer product
labeling program MEETS CPSC SAFETY REQUIREMENTS Label must be
visible and legible Product must comply with all applicable rules,
bans, standards and regulations enforced by the CPSC Additional
labels may be added - Verbiage must not imply that the CPSC has
tested, approved, or endorsed the product Slide 87 Product safety
resources PPAI: www.ppai.org Product Safety powered by PPAI:
http://www.ppai.org/productsafety Sample Undue Influence Statement
of Policy http://www.ppai.org/inside-ppai/product-safety/product-
guides http://www.ppai.org/inside-ppai/product-safety/product-
guides Consumer Product Safety Commission: www.cpsc.gov ;
www.recalls.gov Questions? Anne Lardner-Stone
[email protected]@ppai.org Tim Brown
[email protected]@ppai.org
