Today is a great day for BellyLaf but a difficult and costly day for many companies making products for children under 12.  Stringent new laws set by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) went into effect today.   BellyLaf has been working diligently over the past few months to understand the new laws and fully comply with the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).   Over the past month, our entire product line of Grippees™ and MiniMitts™ wash mitts were thoroughly tested by a CPSC approved lab called Consumer Testing Laboratories, Inc., based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

We were sure our Grippees™ and MiniMitts™ would pass, and they did! Every single thread apparently! The testing the government now requires of manufacturers is quite rigorous.  Although our product line is made from the same material (60% bamboo/40% cotton)  each appliqué in our line needed to be tested which amounted to 10 different SKUs!  Last week, we received our General Conformity Certificates (GCCs) for the entire product line.   Whew!

Other companies will not be so fortunate and may go out of business due to the new laws.  Costs for testing are high for products composed of plastic, metal or chemical substances.  While there was a one-year stay of enforcement of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act that allowed some to breathe a sigh of relief, the impact is being felt now.  Big-box retailers such as Babies-R-Us, Wal-Mart and Bed, Bath & Beyond are asking for GCCs due to the threat of liability.   They have been anticipating the new federal laws for months and do not want to stock their shelves in 2009 with more products that may not comply with the law in the future.   As far as we’re concerned, the law is passed.