As part of the Federal Trade Commission's systematic review of all current FTC rules and guides, the FTC is seeking public comment on its Textile Rules, which require that textiles sold in the U.S. carry labels disclosing the generic names and percentages by weight of the fibers in the product, the manufacturer or marketer name, and the country where the product was processed or manufactured.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on a previously announced provisional settlement agreement with a penalty of $1.3 million against Spin Master, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, and Spin Master Ltd. of Toronto, Canada. The agreement would settle allegations that the company failed to immediately report a defect and hazard associated with its Aqua Dots product, as required by federal law. It would also resolve allegations that the company knowingly imported and sold Aqua Dots, which were toxic and a banned hazardous substance, in violation of federal law. In agreeing to the settlement, Spin Master denies CPSC staff allegations that it knowingly violated the law.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls for November 3, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls for November 1-2, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recall for November 1, 2011:
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has determined that certain cotton/nylon/spandex raschel knit open work crepe fabric classified in HTS 6005.32.00 and 6005.34.00 cannot be supplied in commercial quantities in a timely manner by Dominican Republic-Central America-U.S. Free Trade Agreement countries. The product will be added to the list in Annex 3.25 of the DR-CAFTA in unrestricted quantities.
Commissioner Northup of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a statement on her disappointment by the majority of the Commissioners to prematurely issue a final rule establishing the protocols and standards for the third party testing of children’s products to ensure continued compliance with applicable standards. She says that this rule should have been reproposed and failure to do so represents an "indefensible policy choice." She is also disappointed with their decision to publish another final rule which was intended to create a market for third party tested and/or certified component parts, as it now contains in the preamble language which she feels will "sabotage" any chance the rule had to reduce the cost of third party testing for medium and small size domestic manufacturers. (Both rules are expected to be published soon in the Federal Register.)
The Center for Environmental Health states that Rubie’s Costume Company and its Forum Novelties division, a New York costume maker and distributor that supplies Target, Wal-Mart, Sears and other major retailers, has for at least three years sold jewelry tainted with lead or cadmium in violation of California consumer protection law. CEH states that since 2008, it has found nineteen pieces of tainted jewelry sold by the Rubie’s/Forum entities, including more than a dozen pieces just this year. The group says that 19 items violate California law, and one item, a child’s hair bow purchased this July, contains high levels of lead in violation of federal law banning lead in products designed for children 12 and under. CEH says it filed suit to protect consumers from the tainted items in January 2009, but the company has not yet taken steps to address the problem.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls for October 27, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a provisionally accepted settlement agreement with a penalty of $1.3 million against Spin Master, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, and Spin Master Ltd. of Toronto, Canada. The agreement would settle allegations that the company failed to immediately report a defect and hazard associated with its Aqua Dots product, as required by federal law. It would also resolve allegations that the company knowingly imported and sold Aqua Dots, which were toxic and a banned hazardous substance, in violation of federal law.