Intertek and the American Apparel and Footwear Association Petition U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for Sensible Testing Practices

09 Jul 2009

Intertek and the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) jointly submitted a petition today to formally request the CPSC to expressly approve certain lab testing procedures to determine the presence of lead paint on toys and other children's products--methods the two groups believe will save manufacturers millions of dollars without any loss of test reliability.

Since the enactment of the landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, some assert that the law only allows testing labs like Intertek to test final, finished products to mandatory safety standards, including the ban on lead paint. Because some products may have only a small area of paint (like the fingernails on a doll or painted buttons on a child's garment), this interpretation requires the destruction of an unnecessarily large number of product samples, since the paint must be scraped from the samples, rendering them unusable. These samples--sometimes several hundred per product--are then discarded. This represents a huge cost to manufacturers, especially crafters and other small businesses, which discourages companies from testing and needlessly impacts the environment with discarded samples.

To solve this dilemma, Intertek and AAFA have today asked the CPSC to formally recognize, as acceptable under the CPSIA, certain test methods to detect lead in paint and other surface coatings--procedures that result in the destruction of far fewer samples but with the same or better reliability of those tests. Specifically, the two groups have requested the agency recognize the acceptability of "spray sampling" (painting an entire product with the same color paint, giving lab workers more surface coating to test), "multiple stamping" (stamping products repeatedly with the same paint or ink appliqué to garner a larger sample) and "finished component testing," allowing painted buttons, for example, to be tested before they are sewn onto a garment rather than destroying the finished garment during testing.

"Intertek is continually striving to find cost-saving, pro-safety solutions for our customers and partners, like the AAFA," said Gene Rider, President of Intertek Consumer Goods, North America. "What we are today proposing to the CPSC represents a win-win-win: saving our customers money and time, preventing the wasteful destruction of finished products, and at the same time enhancing the reliability of testing and the safety of children's toys, garments and other items."

Under its regulations, the CPSC has a "reasonable time" to act on this Petition, and the Petitioners have also requested a public hearing to discuss these proposals.

Contacts

For further information, please contact

Julie Naujokas
Telephone: +1 708 955 5010
Julie.naujokas@intertek.com

Quin Dodd
Telephone: +1 202 434 7435
QDodd@mintz.com

About Intertek

Intertek (ITRK.L) is a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Intertek has the expertise, resources and global reach to support its customers through its network of more than 1,000 laboratories and offices and over 24,000 people in 100 countries around the world.