Children Can't Wear Rhinestones

[jimmy olsen]

ZOMG! Think of the children! 

http://www.projo.com/business/content/CRYSTAL_BAN_07-26-09_8HF5JJ5_v20.31d315a.html

Children can't wear rhinestones

01:00 AM EDT on Sunday, July 26, 2009

By Barbara Polichetti

Journal Staff Writer

Little girls who like to dress up as princesses are going to lose some of their sparkle.

For that matter, all items for children ages 12 and under –– from sneakers and sunglasses to dance costumes and denim jackets –– won't be shimmering as much now that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has refused to exempt crystals and rhinestones from the latest federal consumer safety law.

The three-member commission rejected a petition that would have allowed manufacturers of jewelry, clothing and other items to continue to use crystals and rhinestones to adorn children's apparel and accessories.

In written statements accompanying their July 16 decision, commissioners acknowledged that even though crystal and rhinestones exceed allowed lead limits they actually pose little health threat because the lead is bound to them on a molecular level and would be difficult to leach free even if swallowed.

But they said they could not grant an exemption because they are bound by the very specific language of the new product safety law.

"Because the statute does not give us the ability to be flexible, I cannot vote to grant exclusion in this case," wrote Commissioner Nancy Nord, adding that she is aware that "there will be significant and severe economic injury to those who make and sell these products."

The decision is being decried by many jewelry and apparel manufactures, including the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, based in North Kingstown. Michael Gale, executive director of the association, said the commission voted to "hurt businesses without protecting consumers."

The trade association, which has more than 200 members nationwide, was in the forefront of the national petition drive, as well as the Providence-based Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America.

"We would do whatever would be necessary to ensure the safety of our products if there were any concern, but every bit of testimony submitted [shows] that the crystals and rhinestones are safe regarding lead," Gale said. "This is going to hurt suppliers and retailers in an already severe economy."

Consumers have yet to feel the impact of the consumer board's decision, he said, but will soon notice that sparkly items have disappeared from store shelves.

At Aim High Academy, in East Greenwich, one of the largest gymnastic training centers in the region, there hasn't been talk of the new restrictions yet. But program director Allie Jackson said that rhinestone and crystal decorations have long been standard trimming on gymnastic competition costumes.

"It gives the costumes an added special touch and is also important because often they are being viewed from as far as 100 feet away," Jackson said. "I'm not sure what we would do if the rules change and they take them [the rhinestones] away. It will take a lot away from our competition uniforms."

The law that the consumer safety board had to interpret in deciding the request from crystal and rhinestone manufacturers is called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Effective since February it is a sweeping, controversial law that sets safety standards for almost every type of consumer product although it has a strong focus on goods intended for children.

It addresses numerous safety issues including, but not limited to, the content of lead and other hazardous materials. For the first time it sets allowable lead limits and introduces stiff fines.

Lead and lead compounds can be highly toxic if absorbed, having the ability to cumulate in soft tissue and also cause damage to the central nervous system.

While the law has many detractors in business and industry who say it goes well past what is safe and practical, the CPSIA has equally fervent supporters in parent and consumer groups. "Remember the message is 'get the lead out,' " said Scott Wolfson, a spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission. "The commission believes this is a good child safety law...and under Chairman [Inez] Tenenbaum's leadership we're going to enforce the law as written using a common sense approach."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency created in 1972 with the charge of protecting the public from risk or injuries from consumer products.

Jewelry manufacturers contend that one of the most onerous aspects of the law is that it expands the definition of what constitutes children's products — raising the age limit from 6 to 12.

According to the American Apparel & Footwear Association the new federal act is so wide-ranging and burdensome that it is nearly impossible to calculate what it's going to cost businesses. Rebecca Mond, government relations manager for the association, said there is mass confusion over the law and a lot of products are getting pulled from shelves unnecessarily.

"The way I've put it to our congressional leaders is that repealing the CPSIA would be the cheapest stimulus package this country could get," she said.

The part of the law that hits directly at the jewelry business and rhinestone and crystal industry is the section that spells out acceptable lead limits. Since February, the CPSIA has limited lead levels to 600 parts per million and next month the standard gets stricter, dropping to 300 parts per million.

According to people in the jewelry industry, lead is what gives rhinestone and crystals their sparkle. There are various descriptions of how lead is infused into the product, usually when the glass crystal is in its molten state. For jewelry industry purposes, there is little difference between rhinestones and crystals, with both being primarily glass-based although rhinestones tend to have a metallic "foil" back to enhance their sheen.

What is clear, according to the fashion jewelry association, the footwear and apparel association and the Providence-based Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America is that there is a big consumer appetite for the "bling" that rhinestones provide.

"You name it, it's going to be affected," Mond from the American Apparel & Footwear Association said rattling of a partial list of rhinestone encrusted products that won't be available for children 12 and under. The list includes cell phones, belts, eyeglasses, headbands, princess costumes, T-shirts, cheerleading outfits and countless more items.

Swarovski, a preeminent manufacturer of crystals with its U.S. headquarters in Cranston, said it is already feeling the impact on the wholesale level, although it is fortunate that almost all its product line is aimed at adults.

"There are fundamental problems with this law since it addresses lead content rather than what lead is actually accessible," said Edward Capobianco, vice president and general counselor for Swarovski in the U.S. "People have worn and enjoyed our crystal products for years," he said. "But because Congress wrote a law that forces a ban on a safe product [such as crystals], it doesn't seem concerned about the harm to the companies that make these safe products."

In Johnston, children jewelry manufacturer Argo Products Inc. has boxes and boxes of bracelets and necklaces that can no longer be sold because they have rhinestones. "A good portion of my product line has been made illegal," said Argo owner Allen Green.

He said that he and others are looking for acceptable, affordable substitutes, but plastic or synthetic stones simply don't come close to matching the shine of crystals or rhinestones.

"I wouldn't make anything that wasn't safe for my granddaughter to wear," Green said. "...These products are safe and I've got the lab results to prove it."

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[Darth Wagtaros]

Lolz are: Communist Police State now?

[Ed Anger]

I'll invest in a bedazzler then.

[Neil]

Well, that takes care of trashy people.

Yet another example of the moral cowardice of the West.  No doubt Berkut had something to do with this.

[Strix]

Those hippy art stands that sell the crap at local "festivals" will get a huge economic boom from this. Hippy Lettuce for everyone!

[garbon]

I'll invest in a bedazzler then.

Amen. I'm going to take to the streets and then start bedazzling!

[Sophie Scholl]

Thank Hod JonBenét was spared from a world where this could happen!

[sbr]

Thankfully the economic crisis has hit China hard enough that they aren't sending any more lead toys to the US and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission can now focus on the real hazards to the American population.

[Ed Anger]

I'll invest in a bedazzler then.

Amen. I'm going to take to the streets and then start bedazzling!

[garbon]

Next they'll come for our glitter.