Executive Summary of Change Information Included:

DECA Business Updates:

As you may have noticed already, our name has changed from David E. Campbell & Associates, Inc. to DECA Consulting, Inc. David founded the company in 2001 and we are excited to be celebrating our 20th year in business. Dave is still with us as senior technical advisor and founder of the company, but has stepped back to a reduced schedule as he is now partially retired.

Also, this spring, we hired another engineer, Cory Everman, who has been a great addition to the rest of our team here at DECA and recently launched a new web site.

US Federal Regulation Updates:

The CPSC has passed an unprecedented juvenile product safety standard in the Safety Standard for Infant Sleep Products regulation. This safety standard will effectively ban any infant sleep product that does not meet one of the existing infant sleep product regulations. This infant sleep products regulation itself has been broadly publicized, but we would like to call your attention to the impact that the regulation will have on products that are not intended for unattended sleep. In the product description section of the final rule pre-amble, the commission states: “If a product’s packaging, marketing materials, inserts, or instructions indicate that the product is for sleep, or includes pictures of sleeping infants, then CPSC will consider the product to be marketed for sleep.” In those cases where the CPSC considers a product marketed for sleep, the product must meet one of the existing infant sleep product regulations listed in the scope below. The scope of the Safety Standard for Infant Sleep Products is as follows:

1236.1 Scope.
This part establishes a consumer product safety standard for infant sleep products, including inclined and flat sleep surfaces, that applies to all products marketed or intended to provide a sleeping accommodation for an infant up to 5 months of age, and that are not already subject to any of the following standards:
(a) 16 CFR part 1218 Safety Standard for Bassinets and Cradles;
(b) 16 CFR part 1219 Safety Standard for Full-Size Baby Cribs;
(c) 16 CFR part 1220 Safety Standard for Non-Full-Size Baby Cribs;
(d) 16 CFR part 1221 Safety Standard for Play Yards;
(e) 16 CFR part 1222 Safety Standard for Bedside Sleepers.

Based on the pre-amble of this rule, the CPSC will consider any product intended for use by infants 5 months of age or less and showing an infant sleeping in the product in marketing materials, or with other indications that it may be intended for sleep, to be a sleep product that must meet one of the regulations listed in the scope above. For this reason, we strongly recommend that instructions, labeling, and marketing materials for all products intended for use by infants 5 months of age or less are reviewed to remove images of sleeping children or any other indication that children may be allowed to sleep in the product.

This rule will become effective on June 23, 2022. The effective date for this rule is a “sold by” date, rather than a manufacture date, meaning that all product not compliant with the new requirements must be sold through or otherwise disposed of prior to this date.

US State Law Updates:

There are now a large number of state laws related to chemical limitations that apply to both child restraints and juvenile products. It is noteworthy that there are now state laws which limit flame retardants in child restraints as child restraints must still meet FMVSS 302 for flammability, the limitation of flame retardants creates new challenges. There are two states which will ban certain flame retardants in child restraints, and other children’s products, manufactured after December 31st, 2021.

Massachusetts is banning TDCPP, TCEP, TCPP, TBB, TBPH, Penta-BDE, Octa-BDE, HBDC, TBBPA, Chlorinated paraffins, and Antimony Trioxide in concentrations over 1,000 ppm.

Oregon is banning all chemicals on their list of High Priority Chemicals of Concern for Children’s Health, HPCCCH, after the third biennial report. This law requires that all manufacturers report if the products they sell in Oregon contain chemicals on the list. Other states have similar laws, but Oregon bans any chemical on the list in the product after the third biennial reporting period for that product unless certain criteria are met. Based on the timing of the law, the third biennial reporting period for some products will end on December 31st, 2021.

How DECA can help:

The regulatory landscape around juvenile products and child restraints is constantly evolving and becoming more challenging with every passing year. We continue to offer the same services we always have, but based on the demands created by these changes over time, we have developed some new tools to assist you in ensuring that your products are compliant.

Federal Standards Updates:
A summary of updates and pending changes can be provided by product category (for example: handheld infant carriers, infant bouncers, play yards, etc…) for juvenile products, child restraints, or toys on a biannual basis.

Compliance Documentation Program:
DECA provides a flexible compliance management program. We can manage all or part of the process, depending on your specific needs. We start by identifying exactly what testing is needed based on what the product is and what it is constructed from so your testing will be effective and cost efficient. This program can more than pay for itself with the savings on testing depending on your current testing practices. We can then maintain documentation and notify you when additional testing is needed or manage the testing process and attain test reports as needed to maintain the necessary compliance documentation.

State Law Updates:
A summary of state law updates in addition to a chart summarizing all of the most stringent state law requirements that apply to one of the following broad categories on a biannual basis: juvenile products, child restraints, or toys.

Risk Assessment:
The number of chemicals that require notification or have been restricted by states is now quite large. DECA can provide assistance by providing a risk assessment for what chemicals may be present or which are unlikely to be present based on the materials the product is made of and processes used in production and suggest methods of reducing the risk that any restricted chemicals are present in the product and managing compliance.