This test consists of exposing eight 9″ x 9″ conditioned specimens to a timed burning tablet in a specified test chamber.
The apparatus and test materials required to conduct the test are specified in 16 CFR §§ 1630.4(a) and 1631.4(a).
In summary, each specimen is placed in the center of the floor of the test chamber, traffic side up. Place the flattening frame on the specimen, and position a methenamine-timed burning tablet on one of its flat sides in the center of the 8″ flattening frame hole. Ignite the top of the tablet by touching it with a lighted match, lighter, or other equivalent flame source. Allow test to continue until:
- all flames and glowing disappear, or
- the flaming or smoldering has gone to within 1″ of the flattening frame.
A single specimen meets the test criterion if the charred portion of the tested specimen is not within 1.0″ of the edge of the hole in the flattening frame.
Acceptance criterion – at least 7 of the 8 replicate specimens of a given carpet and rug must meet the individual specimen test criterion in order to conform to this standard.
Yes, if the carpet or rug has had a fire-retardant treatment or is made of fibers that have had a fire-retardant treatment, it must be labeled with the letter “T.” The letter “T” should be legible and conspicuous on the label and/or invoice or other paper related to the carpet and rug, if commercially installed.
Small carpets and rugs not meeting the acceptance criterion of the standard must be permanently labeled with the following statement: FLAMMABLE (FAILS U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE STANDARD FF 2-70): SHOULD NOT BE USED NEAR SOURCES OF IGNITION.
Yes, carpets and rugs treated with a fire retardant or made from fire-retardant materials are to be washed or laundered 10 times using the methods required in the standard.
The laundering requirement for large carpets and rugs that use alumina trihydrate, a fire retardant in adhesives, foams, or latexes in carpet backings or elsewhere in the backings, is currently suspended.
Shearling or hide carpets and rugs that consist of natural wool or hair attached to the hide with no synthetic fibers and that have been treated with a fire retardant may use an alternative wash procedure as specified in the standards at 16 CFR § 1630.61 or 16 CFR § 1631.61. Shearling and hide carpets and rugs using this alternative procedure must also be labeled with a conspicuous, legible, and permanent label containing the statements in 16 CFR §1630.61(c) or 16 CFR §1631.61(c).
Wool flokati carpets and rugs may use an alternative wash procedure as specified in the standard at 16 CFR § 1630.62 or 16 CFR § 1631.62. Wool flokati carpets and rugs using this alternative procedure must also be labeled with a conspicuous, legible, and permanent label containing the statements at 16 CFR §1630.62(c) or 16 CFR §1631.62(c).
Reasonable and representative tests must be conducted to issue a guaranty to a retailer or distributor. Each line/style of carpets or rugs (that are identical in all respects, including such things as dye class, dyestuff, and dying application method) must have at least one test conducted at the beginning of production, importation, or receipt of the first 25,000 linear yards and one test for every additional 50,000 linear yards.
If a guaranty is issued, the person issuing the guaranty must maintain specific records to support the guaranty, as described in 16 CFR § 1630.31(g) or 16 CFR § 1631.31(g).
Carpets and rugs designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger (“children’s carpets and rugs”) are subject to additional requirements pursuant to the CPSIA, including surface coating requirements, lead and phthalate content limits, testing and certification, and tracking label requirements. These requirements are discussed below:
Surface Coating Limit: Children’s carpets and rugs may not be painted with paint that contains more than 0.009 percent lead.
Lead Content Limit: Children’s carpets and rugs cannot contain greater than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) of total lead content in any accessible component part.
Testing and Certification: Carpets and rugs for adults and children over age 12 require a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC). A GCC is a document that certifies, based on a test of each product or a reasonable testing program, that the product complies with all applicable statutes, regulations, rules, bans, or standards under any law enforced by the Commission. A GCC is required for small rugs and carpets permanently labeled in accordance with the standard.
Children’s carpets and rugs, like all products that are designed or intended primarily intended for children 12 years of age or younger, must be tested by an accredited and CPSC-accepted third party conformity assessment body for compliance with other applicable children’s product safety rules. Based on that testing, a domestic manufacturer (or importer) of children’s carpets and rugs must issue a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) indicating that the product complies with those rules.
Tracking Labels: Children’s carpets and rugs must have a tracking label or other distinguishing permanent mark. The tracking label shall be a permanent distinguishing mark on the product and its packaging, to the extent practicable, and must contain certain basic information, including the source of the product, the date of manufacture, and cohort information, such as a batch or run number.
Federal law requires that booster seats comply with the Safety Standard for Booster Seats, 16 CFR part 1237 (Effective January 2, 2020), and with additional requirements, including those of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).
Manufacturers and importers of booster seats must certify in a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) that their products comply with the mandatory standard and any additional CPSIA requirements after the products have been tested for compliance at a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory. These requirements are discussed below and at: www.cpsc.gov/BusinessEducation.
A “booster seat,” as defined in ASTM F2640-18, is a juvenile chair, which is placed on an adult chair to elevate a child to standard dining table height. The booster seat is made for the purpose of containing a child, up to 5 years of age, and normally for the purposes of feeding or eating. A booster seat may be height adjustable and include a reclined position.
The standard seeks to minimize the risk of deaths and injuries associated with the use of booster seats, including those related to infant falls, entrapment, or structural and design problems.
The mandatory Safety Standard for Booster Seats incorporates by reference ASTM F2640-18, the voluntary standard, without modifications. The Commission published its final rule in July 2, 2018, 83 Fed. Reg. 30837 (Effective January 2, 2020). ASTM F2640-18 can be purchased from ASTM International via: www.astm.org.
The standard includes testing requirements for structural integrity, tray performance, the child-restraint system, and other performance requirements specific to booster seats.
The standard also includes:
- a requirement that wooden parts be smooth and free of splinters;
- a prohibition of hazardous sharp points and edges;
- a requirement that no small parts exist before testing or are liberated as a result of testing;
- design requirements to prevent scissoring, shearing, and pinching;
- limitations on measurements of any circular holes in rigid materials to prevent finger entrapment;
- requirements that the product remain fully functional and not tip over backwards or sideways when tested for stability;
- a requirement that any exposed coil spring be covered or designed to prevent injury from entrapment;
- testing requirements for graspable protective components;
- requirements for toy attachments;
- requirements for the content, format, and permanency of labels and warnings; and
- requirements for the inclusion of written instructional literature.
For more information on the requirements reference ASTM F2640-18.
Booster seats are subject to requirements for surface coatings, lead, testing and certification, registration cards, and tracking labels. These requirements are discussed below and at: www.cpsc.gov/BusinessEducation:
- Surface Coating Limit: Booster seats must not be painted with paint that contains more than 90 ppm (0.009 percent) lead.
- Lead Content Limit: Booster seats must not contain greater than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) of total lead content in any accessible component part.
- Phthalate Content Limits: Booster seats that contain plasticized parts and are designed, marketed, or intended to facilitate eating, must not contain more than 0.1 percent of the following eight specified phthalates: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP).
- Testing and Certification: Booster seats, like all products that are designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, must be tested by a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory for compliance with the Booster Seats Standard (Effective January 2, 2020) and all other applicable children’s product safety rules. Based on that testing, a domestic manufacturer (or importer) of booster seats must issue a Children's Product Certificate specifying each applicable rule and indicating that the product complies with those rules.
- Product and Outer Package Labeling Requirements: Durable infant or toddler products, such as booster seats, must be permanently marked with specific labeling information, including tracking labels, on the product and on the packaging.
- Product Registration Card Requirement: In addition, durable infant or toddler products are required to have additional product markings and a product registration card attached to the product. This chart summarizes the specific labeling and registration requirements that durable infant and toddler products must meet.
Federal law requires that baby changing products comply with the Safety Standard for Baby Changing Products under 16 CFR part 1235 (Effective June 26, 2019), which incorporates by reference ASTM F2388-18 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Baby Changing Products for Domestic Use, and with additional requirements, including those of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).
Manufacturers and importers of baby changing products must have the products tested to the requirements under the Standard and additional requirements (such as lead) by a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory. Manufacturers and importers must certify in a Children's Product Certificate that the products comply with the Standard and the additional requirements. These requirements are discussed in more detail below and at: www.cpsc.gov/BusinessEducation.
The term “baby changing product,” as defined in ASTM F2388-18, includes (1) changing tables, (2) changing table accessories, (3) add-on changing units, and (4) contoured changing pads. (These four terms are defined in more detail below.)
Note, only products defined as “baby changing products” under ASTM F2388 are subject to this standard—flat, non-contoured changing mats that are typically included with a diaper bag, for example, are not covered under this definition, and therefore, are not subject to this standard.
- Changing Table: an elevated, freestanding structure generally designed to support and retain a child with a body weight of up to 30 lbs. (13.6 kg) in a horizontal position for the purpose of allowing a caregiver to change the child’s diaper. Changing tables may convert from or to other items of furniture, such as, but not limited to, a dresser, desk, hutch, bookshelf, or play yard, may have pull-out or drop-down changing surfaces, and they may provide storage for diapers and diaper products.
- Changing Table Accessory: an accessory that attaches to a crib or play yard designed to convert the product into a changing table, typically having a rigid frame with soft fabric or mesh sides or bottom surface, or both.
- Add-On Changing Unit: a rigid addition to or separate product used with an item of furniture that provides barriers to prevent the infant from rolling off the product during a diaper change.
- Contoured Changing Pad: a changing pad designed for use on an elevated surface that incorporates barriers to prevent a child from rolling off the changing surface and that often consists of synthetic-covered foam with contoured edges.
The Standard seeks to minimize injuries to children from normal use and reasonably foreseeable misuse or abuse of baby changing products. Specifically, this Standard attempts to minimize injuries and fatalities to children due to: (1) falls from changing tables, (2) failure of structural or mechanical components, (3) instability and entrapment in openings in the table structure, and (4) suffocation.
The Standard is published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 16 CFR part 1235. The Standard incorporates by reference ASTM F2388-18.
ASTM F2388-18 contains requirements for baby changing products concerning:
- Sharp points and edges;
- small parts;
- surface coatings;
- wood parts;
- openings;
- toys;
- threaded fasteners;
- protective components;
- scissoring, shearing, and pinching;
- structural integrity;
- stability;
- barriers;
- retention of contoured changing pads and add-on changing units;
- entrapment in shelves and in enclosed openings;
- self-folding steps;
- restraint systems;
- warnings and labels; and
- instructional literature.
The specific requirements and descriptions of the tests for baby changing products are in ASTM F2388-18, which can be purchased from ASTM.
Baby changing products are subject to requirements for surface coatings, lead content, small parts, testing and certification, registration cards, and tracking labels. These requirements are discussed below and at: www.cpsc.gov/cpsia:
- Surface Coating: Baby changing products may not be painted with paint that contains more than 0.009 percent (90 ppm) lead.
- Lead Content: Baby changing products cannot contain greater than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) of total lead content in any accessible component part.
- Phthalate Content Limits: Plasticized components of baby changing products that facilitate sleeping or feeding of children under 3 must not contain more than 0.1 percent of the following eight specified phthalates: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP).
- Testing and Certification: Baby changing products, like all products that are designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, must be tested by a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory for compliance with applicable children's product safety regulations, including the Baby Changing Products Standard. Based on that testing, a domestic manufacturer (or importer) of baby changing products must issue a Children's Product Certificate indicating that the product complies with those regulations.
- Registration Forms: Each manufacturer of a baby changing table must (1) provide a postage-paid consumer registration form with each product, and (2) keep records of consumers who register their products with the manufacturer. In addition, manufacturers must add permanent markings to the product that state: (3) the manufacturer's name and contact information, (4) the model name and number of the product, and (5) the date of manufacture on each such product.
- Tracking Labels: Baby changing products must have a tracking label or other distinguishing permanent mark affixed to the product and its packaging. The tracking label shall be a permanent distinguishing mark on the product and its packaging, to the extent practicable, and must contain certain basic information, including: (1) the name of the manufacturer or private label, (2) the location and date of manufacture, and (3) cohort information, such as a batch or run number.
If the information required to be marked on the product (by the tracking label requirement and the registration rule) is duplicative the markings on the product may be combined to satisfy both requirements. Note: the tracking label must also be on the product's packaging.
Federal law requires that bassinets and cradles comply with the bassinets and cradles standard and with additional requirements, including those of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).
Manufacturers and importers of bassinets and cradles must certify in a Children's Product Certificate that the bassinet or cradle complies with the standard and the additional requirements after the bassinets and cradles have been tested for compliance at a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory. These requirements are discussed below and at www.cpsc.gov/BusinessEducation.
A bassinet/cradle is a small bed designed primarily to provide sleeping accommodations for infants that is supported by freestanding legs, a stationary frame/stand, a wheeled base or a rocking base, or that can swing relative to a stationary base. While in a rest (non-rocking) position, a bassinet/cradle is intended to have a sleep surface less than or equal to 10 degrees from horizontal.
This standard also includes requirements pertaining to bassinets that are accessories to play yards or non-full-size cribs. These accessories must meet both the bassinet and cradle standard in addition to the standard for the primary product, like a play yard or non-full-size crib.
The standard seeks to minimize the risk of deaths and injuries associated with the use of bassinets and cradles, including those related to infant falls, entrapment, or structural and design problems.
The standard is published in the Code of Federal Regulations at 16 CFR Part 1218. The standard incorporates by reference ASTM F2194-13, with some modifications. ASTM F2194-13, the Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bassinets and Cradles, contains the specific requirements and descriptions of the required tests and can be purchased from ASTM International.
The ASTM standard includes performance requirements specific to bassinets and cradles, general performance requirements, and labeling requirements. The key provisions of the ASTM bassinets and cradles standard include the following:
- Spacing of rigid components/fabric-sided enclosed openings – intended to prevent entrapment between slats or other rigid components that are under the fabric sides.
- Static load – intended to ensure the product is structurally sufficient to hold the intended occupant.
- Stability – intended to address incidents where a sibling, looking into the bassinet, might tip it over.
- Sleeping pad thickness and dimensions – intended to prevent suffocation or asphyxiation as a result of gaps between the sleeping pad and non-rigid sides of a fabric or mesh bassinet.
- Side height – intended to prevent falls from the product.
- Flatness of segmented mattresses – intended to prevent asphyxiation of an occupant lying face down in a segmented mattress joint.
- Rock/swing angle – for products that swing or rock, this requirement is intended to prevent entrapment due to the swing angle.
- Warnings – intended to alert the caregiver to infant fall and suffocation hazards when using bassinets and cradles.
The ASTM standard also includes: (1) requirements prohibiting small parts; (2) requirements prohibiting hazardous sharp points and edges; (3) unintentional folding requirements; (4) requirements for the permanency and adhesion of labels; (5) requirements for toy accessories to meet ASTM F963 Toy Safety standard (6) scissoring, shearing, or pinching requirements, (7) corner post requirements, (8) requirements for fasteners, (9) requirements pertaining to bassinets that are accessories to play yards or non-full-size cribs, (10) restriction requirement for restraints, (11) openings requirements, (12) protective components requirements and (13) requirements for warnings and instructional literature.
The regulation at 16 CFR Part 1218 also contains modifications to the ASTM standard. The modifications include the following:
- A change in the angle limitation for the segmented mattress flatness test. The federal standard limits the allowable angle to 10 degrees.
- A clarification that dual mode/combination products shall meet the requirements of both (or all) standards associated with the use modes.
- A modification to the stability test procedure to make it more
Bassinets and cradles are also subject to requirements for surface coatings, lead and phthalate content, testing and certification, registration cards, and tracking labels. These requirements are discussed below and at: www.cpsc.gov/BusinessEducation.
- Surface Coating Limit: Bassinets and cradles must not be painted with paint that contains more than 90 ppm (0.009 percent) lead.
- Lead Content Limit: Bassinets and cradles must not contain greater than 100 ppm (0.01 percent) of total lead content in any accessible component part.
- Phthalate Content Limits: Plasticized components of bassinets and cradles must not contain more than 0.1 percent of the following eight specified phthalates: di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), or benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), di-n-pentyl phthalate (DPENP), di-n-hexyl phthalate (DHEXP), and dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP).
- Testing and Certification: Bassinets and cradles, like all products that are designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger, must be tested by a CPSC-accepted, third party laboratory for compliance with the bassinets and cradles standard and all other applicable children's product safety rules. Based on that testing, a domestic manufacturer (or importer) of bassinets and cradles must issue a Children's Product Certificate specifying each applicable rule and indicating that the product complies with those rules.
- Product and Outer Package Labeling Requirements: Durable infant or toddler products, such as bassinets and cradles, must be permanently marked with specific labeling information, including tracking labels, on the product and on the packaging. In addition, durable infant or toddler products are required to have additional product markings and a product registration card attached to the product. This chart summarizes the specific labeling and registration requirements that durable infant and toddler products must meet.
The same principles that apply to art materials and crafts apply to books and magazines. The age guidelines provided by librarians, education professionals, and publishers are helpful for this particular class of products.
Yes. The Commission provides the example of a stuffed animal packaged with a candle. While the candle is not a children's product, the stuffed animal might be considered a children's product because the manufacturer should expect that the recipient will likely provide the stuffed animal to a child and use the candle themselves.