JPMA Responds to New Full Size Crib Standards
December 15, 2010
JPMA Responds to New Full Size Crib Standards Recently Approved by the CPSC
Recently, the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) voted to approve new safety standards for full size cribs. The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA), a non-profit association dedicated to promoting the industry and the safe selection and use of juvenile products, has filed comments in support of a timely and orderly transition to the new standard.
The members of the JPMA have been testing full size and non-full size cribs to the new voluntary (ASTM) standard – which mirrors in most ways the proposed federal regulation – since it was first published in 2009. Because of this early adoption, there will be a negligible impact to manufacturers upon passing of the final rule in terms of product being able to meet the new federal standard. However, JPMA is concerned that there be a timely and orderly transition to products which meet the new standard so as to ensure enough product in the marketplace by the compliance date without the burden of re-testing already safe product.
JPMA does anticipate impact on the cost to be in compliance with the new mandatory rule to the manufacturers from a material standpoint. JPMA estimates the impact to be upwards of approximately 10% due to additional materials being utilized in order to meet some of the new requirements. The association estimates that in 2009 there were approximately 1.5 million full size and rigid, non-full size units sold in the U.S. and this represent approximately $125 million in manufacturer (not retail) sales.
The JPMA has an ongoing concern of babies being placed to sleep in an unsafe sleep environment, and has instituted a comprehensive safe sleep campaign to help educate parents and caregivers on creating a safe sleep environment for babies. Safety resources for parents include brochures, videos, messages through Twitter and Facebook and a website solely dedicated to safe sleep –cribsafety.org. This ongoing education effort is so important to helping parents understand the substantial increased risks with putting a child to sleep in an unsafe environment. For this reason JPMA has urged regulators to assure that perfectly safe cribs at retail and in the possession of consumers can be sold or used when the new standards become effective.
Finally, JPMA would like to acknowledge the member companies who put forth all of the technical and engineering work to get these standards approved. In addition to educating parents, JPMA consistently communicates safety messages to other important audiences, including retailers, media and partners, and we look forward to working with all stakeholders, with an interest in the health and well-being of children to disseminate accurate safety information about childcare.
About the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is a national trade organization of more than 250 companies in the United States, Canada and Mexico. JPMA exists to advance the interests, growth and well-being of North American prenatal to preschool product manufacturers, importers and distributors marketing under their own brands to consumers. It does so through advocacy, public relations, information sharing, product performance certification and business development assistance conducted with appreciation for the needs of parents, children and retailers.
Follow JPMA on Twitter@JPMA, connect with JPMA on YouTube at YouTube.com/TheJPMA and on Facebook.com/jpma.org or visit http://www.jpma.org to learn additional safety tips and other JPMA initiatives.
Contact: Linda Woody, Communications Manager, 856-642-4420 lwoody@ahint.com