SGMA News Alert: Formal Certification of Compliance with Product Safety Laws Now Required

WASHINGTON, D.C. – It’s now official. Beginning on November 12, all goods rolling off the production line will be required to have a “General Certificate of Conformity” (GCC) stating that the shipment of products complies with all applicable Consumer Product Safety Act rules and all similar rules, bans, standards, and regulations applicable to the product or shipment under any Act enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The responsibility for producing this documentation rests in the hands of the importer.

CPSC issued a guidance document on November 11 which is available on www.SGMA.com under the Public Policy link.

Importers of products manufactured outside the U.S. must provide the certification of compliance with all product safety laws as required by the Consumer Product Safety Act. The GCC must be available to the CPSC no later than the time when the product or shipment is available for inspection in the United States.

Manufacturers of domestically made products must make the GCC available to the CPSC prior to the introduction of the product into domestic commerce.

Certificates can be made available to the CPSC in electronic form. The GCC can also be provided to retailers and distributors electronically. It can be as simple as listing a URL on the outside of each container indicating where the GCC can be found. The identification of the manufacturer does not have to be listed, as was initially proposed.

Required information on the GCC includes:

1.) Identification of product

2.) Citation of compliance with appropriate CPSC product regulation or statutory requirements

3.) Identification of importer or domestic manufacturer certifying compliance of product
– importer or domestic manufacturer name
– full mailing address
– telephone number

4.) Contact information for test results
– name
– e-mail
– address
– full mailing address
– telephone number

5.) Date and place where the product was manufactured and tested;

6.) Identification of any third-party laboratory that certified the product as compliant
– name
– full mailing address
– telephone number

SGMA continues to work with the CPSC to clarify the classification of industry products.

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association, the #1 source for sport and fitness research and author of the single-sport participation study on basketball, is the global business trade association of manufacturers, retailers, and marketers in the sports products industry. SGMA leads the sports and fitness industries while enhancing industry vitality and fostering sports, fitness, and active lifestyle participation. More information about SGMA can be found at www.sgma.com.