Commission splits vote on manufacturers’ request to postpone beyond Aug. 14

The two seated members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission by a split vote have
turned down an emergency request by the National Association of Manufacturers to postpone a
labeling requirement for children’s products that Congress ordered in the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act.

Acting Chairman Nancy Nord voted on Thursday to approve NAM’s request, but Commissioner
Thomas H. Moore voted to deny it. It was the first time the commissioners split a vote on a
CPSIA question.
 

The CPSIA calls for children’s products – those intended for consumers 12 years old and
younger – to attach labels that would identify the name and location of the manufacturer, plus
production number, batch number or other identifying characteristics.
This portion of the CPSIA is scheduled to take effect on Aug. 14, one year after the law passed Congress.
 

The NAM argued that it would take more than a year to work the tracking labels into productions,
since they would require design, packaging changes, and legal and compliance reviews.
In voting no, Moore said that the CPSIA allows manufacturers to use good judgment in complying
with the tracking label requirement.

He reminded them that the purpose for the requirement was to expedite locating products in case of a recall.
Rosario Palmieri, NAM vice president for legal and regulatory policy, said the tracking label
requirement adds to the confusion and uncertainty over CPSIA which “have become a nightmare
for many manufacturers.