A new vote has exempted fabric and yarn from the lead testing and certification requirements for children’s products under the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The exemption, which is expected to go into effect within a matter of days, does not include snaps, buttons, zippers and the like. The result is that the final garment will still need to be tested.
The testing of fabric and yarn has been a point of contention among children’s apparel manufacturers, who argue that the two items are not lead-bearing and that the costly testing of them places an undue burden on manufacturers.
The CPSIA says it reached its decision on fabrics and dyes after studying hundreds of test reports and analyses that examined lead levels in various textile and apparel products.
“After reviewing and verifying this test data, the staff was able to determine that most textile products are manufactured using processes that do not introduce lead or result in an end product that would exceed the CPSIA’s lead limits,” said a statement released by the CPSC.
The act, which became law last August, rankles and confuses manufacturers and retailers alike. The CPSIA made significant changes to previous regulations, which now imposes additional compliance requirements for consumer products produced domestically and abroad. Manufacturers making apparel primarily for children age 12 or younger take the brunt of the law, facing staggered deadlines for new lead-paint requirements and third-party testing of lead content in small parts and metal jewelry. Other requirements call for tracking labels on children’s products that show where the garment was made, its batch number and other information not previously made available to the consumer.
The apparel industry continues to petition for changes to the CPSIA. On Aug. 25, Kevin Burke, president and chief executive of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, will testify at a CPSC public hearing in Bethesda, Md., on the Commission’s agenda, priorities and strategic plan.
For more information on the CPSIA, visit http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML. —Erin Barajas
You've all been asking how the knitted soaker has been working out, it's great! I unfortunately just have the one in her size, so i better get busy making some more! It holds everything in really great, especially after lanolizing (this is the crucial step in moisture proofing)! The soaker pattern is not only available in the shop, but also in the new Knitcircus magazine, along with many other adorable baby and children's patterns!
Amazing, I am actually using 2 skeins from my ever growing stash! I have decided, after being inspired by the Great Gatsby dress in the Summer issue of Interweave Knits 2009 to knit a nursing shirt. The ribbing (shown in the picture) will be the access point, and a underlayer will be knitted down from the top of the ribbing. We'll see how it pans out... I'll keep you updated!
If you've been following this blog, you know full well how ready Kathryn was for this darling baby to be born. Well, she made her entrance, and very gracefully and beautifully I might add, March 19, a few minutes before 8pm, just as the last rays of the glorious sunset were fading.
Stella Rose peacefully sleeping sandwiched between her loving parents.
Great Grandma Gloria!
Sock fanatics rejoice! There are LOTS of new color on the sock shelves at Ewetopia. I have been busy with a pre-baby dyeing effort to get all the natural sock yarn in our inventory dyed up before my hands are full with something else, ahem this baby if it ever decides to enter our world!
Our beloved bendable, anatomically proportioned dolls are now available in pattern form! Yes for some pregnant women "nesting" means taking an inventory of the entire house, mine meant finishing a few patterns that had been put aside!
Top: Willa and Willow
So as March draws closer, and "nesting" becomes more pronounced, of course wool diaper covers and soakers are moved to the top of the list to finish. I have been busy knitting up and felting and then knitting up more with different techniques (i.e. incorporating short rows!) these little wool diaper covers! Of course, without having a baby here to try these out on I'm needing to just assume that the measurements I can find for regular Bummis covers etc, give an accurate range of sizes. We'll see...
