Introduction to CPSIA

The United States federal government recently enacted a series of regulations that, as of February 10, 2009, limits the amount of lead in "children's metal jewelry" to 600 ppm and further reduces that limit to 300 ppm in August 2009. The implementation of these regulations embodied in the larger Consumer Products Safety Commission Act (CPSIA) has caused a great deal of concern among manufacturers, distributors and retailers, particularly in regard to testing requirements. The jewelry industry, as well as the Internet in general, is alive with discussion forums, blogs and late breaking bulletins about the issue.

For many years TierraCast has been far ahead of the concerns over lead content in jewelry products for both adults and children. We have produced cast pewter jewelry components well below the 600 ppm lead limits since the inception of that product line in 1991. We welcome the newly imposed federal standards and want to take a few moments to fully explain our understanding of their impact, both on ourselves and our customers.

The following is our best attempt to understand the new guidelines; they should not be taken as an "expert legal opinion" but considered as a customer service.

Definitions To Help Understand the CPSIA Regulations-

• This federal legislation only imposes the 600 ppm lead levels (scheduled to be reduced to 300 ppm in August 2009) on "children's product", defined under the CPSIA as "a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger." While this definition is subject to further clarification in US Code Title 15 Chapter 47, section 2052, it is basically self explanatory. If the product is designed for or marketed primarily to young children it is a "children's product". It is not necessarily a "children's product" if it merely happens to have been purchased for a child.
• The current federal 600 ppm lead limit does not apply to "other jewelry or jewelry components" such might be considered for the general, teen or adult consumer. To the best of our knowledge California continues to impose the strictest standard for lead levels for "adult" jewelry. The limit for electroplated jewelry in California is currently 100,000 ppm, and will be reduced to 60,000 ppm in September 2009.
• Requirements for compliance with the 600 ppm lead level and subsequent testing is imposed, among others, on "manufacturers". The definitions portion of the US Code noted above includes "assembly" in the definition of manufacture. Hence it is our understanding that those who assemble our cast pewter components into ‘children's product" carry the obligation for testing the final product.
• Manufacturers must supply a certificate of compliance with each shipment of "subject goods" (ie. products designed for or primarily intended for children 12 years of age or younger) based on laboratory test confirming that their product complies with the 600 ppm limit.
• As of March 23, 2009, third party testing of products for conformity with the lead levels must be done by a CPSIA accredited laboratory. The CPSIA guidelines allow for an approach to testing that would enable the test to be run on production lots and does not require each and every single item to be tested.

TieraCast's Position on CPSIA

TierraCast's position is that we do not fall under the definition of manufacturing "children's products", as we do not design or primarily intend our products for use by children 12 years of age or under. TierraCast does not label, package, display, promote or advertise our products for such an age group, nor do we believe that our products are commonly recognized by consumers for such an age group. Hence TierraCast is not required to supply certificates of conformity and/or testing to confirm compliance with the 600 ppm lead level.

However, TierraCast does fully recognize its responsibility to its customers to continue to provide validated proof of the lead levels in its products, even though those products are not marketed to children. TierraCast believes that the continued use of "lead free" pewter in jewelry components for all consumers is an important health issue. We also recognize that some of our customers may wish to use our cast components to assemble finished products that are intended for children. Under the new regulations, we understand that any of our customers who use our components in the assembly of "children's products" meet the definition of "manufacturers" and that they are required to have their final product tested under these new guidelines.

After due consideration, and with the guidance of legal counsel, TierraCast has decided to continue its own testing program and adjust that program to comply with the specific CPSIA guidelines, using one of the accredited laboratories. These tests of lead content were conducted by Intertek, "an accredited laboratory", and are available for your review.

Please note that TierraCast continues our testing program voluntarily in support of our customer's continuing confidence in us as a manufacturer of jewelry components. It is our understanding that our testing cannot take the place of that required by those who meet the definition of "manufacturers of children's metal jewelry" under CPSIA regulations.