It’s a dream come true for young eyes. A staggering collection of toys – scooters, trampolines, tiny tractors and more – stocked in what can only be described as a fantasy playroom sprung to life. Except there are no children in this room – just techs in lab coats. In fact, no kids are allowed. “Only if they’re dum-mies,” jokes one of the test engineers, refer-ring to the crash-test variety.

The room is the Toys and Juvenile Products Laboratory, housed within the U.S. headquarters of the SGS Consumer Testing Services offices. If an outsider didn’t know any better, he would haz-ard these professionals are scientifically proving the concept of “fun.” In reality, they are performing a battery of physical

tests to simulate the destructive hands of a child. Tactile accessibility probes poke in every corner and opening. Items are placed in small cylinders, designed to replicate tiny throat cavities. Toys are dropped, twisted, pulled and tipped, with the results dutifully written down after each step. Safety is the goal here. SGS test engineers are trying to ensure that each toy complies with ASTM F963-11, the new standard enforced by the Consumer Prod-uct Safety Commission.

If there’s any group that could take the fun out of toys, it’s the CPSC. The gov-erning body had good intentions when it instituted the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008. Chil-dren’s safety had to be safeguarded, after all, from lead paint, magnets and other

dangers in toys and children’s products. But the implementation of those regula-tions was broad, messy and subject to much (OK, very much) interpretation. “Initially, there was chaos, because the language was not crystal clear,” says Piy-ush Shah, director of technical support – hardlines for SGS.

In the subsequent years, the CPSC has clarified its guidelines and delayed various CPSIA deadlines for compliance. During that period, ad specialty companies have become more comfortable with the regu-latory landscape; in a Counselor survey administered last fall, seven of 10 respon-dents said product safety and testing was either important or very important to them “right now.”

And yet, despite that, nearly 60% By C.J. Mittica

When you need to know a product is safe so you can be a superhero for clients, who do you turn to? Independent organizations like SGS. Counselor visits a testing lab to find out just what it takes to be compliant.

On Site at a Testing LabINSIDE STORY

Flammability is one of three key testing areas under the CPSIA. Physical tests and analytical chemistry are the other two.

SGS Assistant Laboratory Manager Christina Crimi tests a drawstring bag. She must first cut the strings to extract the grommet, which will be tested for lead.

Tracking labels, like the one on the side of this beach ball from Prime Line (asi/79530), are required on either children’s products or packaging under CPSIA regulations.

SGS utilizes a mass spectrometer to analyze the presence of lead and other metals in the samples it tests.

SGS test engineer

sure a toy cannot be ingested.

Jerris George uses a small cylinder to simulate the throat cavity of a child. The physical test is designed to make

Testing a product for sharp edges. The tape is meant to simulate human skin; if the tape cuts, the toy fails.

To test the decoration of this drawstring bag for lead, SGS scrapes off some of the imprint, which will be collected and then tested in a mass spectrometer.

SGS boasts an HDXRF benchtop unit, which takes mere minutes to measure the presence of heavy metals in a product.PH

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admitted to having little or no knowledge of current regulations. The confusion is typical with product safety. Distributors inevitably have questions: Why do I need to comply? Is this a children’s product? What should I test for? What do these results mean? Who can help?

For all those questions, there are places you can turn to. Places like SGS, which Counselor staff toured recently, in an effort to uncover exactly what goes on when a promotional product is tested.

Independent and CertifiedThere is little to suggest that the nonde-script building in this New Jersey indus-trial park belongs to a global juggernaut. But then again, that’s typical of a corpora-tion that often performs its work outside of the public view. Headquartered in Swit-zerland, SGS is a multinational company, boasting over 70,000 employees and 1,250 offices and labs in more than 140 coun-tries. The corporation offers independent inspection, certification and verifica-tion for hundreds of industries. Testing is foremost among that, and it serves as the specific focus of the consumer test-ing offices in Fairfield, NJ. Those services run the gamut: examining typical promo-tional products, of course, along with more unusual duties, such as simulating cross-country drives inside an 18-wheeler to test freight packaging integrity.

The role of organizations like SGS – independent, third-party labs that offer unimpeachable proof of compliance – is crucial. Many suppliers use them for their audits and testing. Moreover, very few dis-tributors have the means to conduct their own testing. By utilizing places like SGS, distributors can take additional measures to avoid exposing themselves to risk.

SGS strives to provide certainty. It posi-tions itself as a partner with expertise in product safety and testing. “We’re always

here to advise on all the different changes taking place,” says Jennifer Dwyer, assistant marketing manager. “It’s about having a good understanding and being a source to help you identify how to best mitigate your risks.” A testing organization will ask what regulations a distributor wants to comply with (CPSIA, California Prop 65, etc.), and then determine the proper amount of coverage to ensure pro-tection (see sidebar). “If you’re over-testing,” Dwyer says, “you’re spending more money than you need to. If you’re under-testing, you’re putting your product at risk.”

Inside the LabDistributors who don’t test their products are playing with fire. Here in the SGS flam-mability lab, it’s more than just a metaphor. Test Engineer Bill Booth grabs a pink cotton bag from Prime Line (asi/79530), but before he gets his pyro on, he must measure. He draws a measuring tape diagonally across the bag. This is the longest axis of the prod-uct, the measure of which determines the burn rate under ASTM toy guidelines. Booth then takes a burning paraffin wax candle, places the bag in a vented metal hood and sets it aflame. (No flamethrowers here. Or at least none easily accessed by prying media types.) The bag catches fire and begins a slow burn along one of the corners.

“You want it to burn slowly to let the child get away from the flame,” says Booth, checking his watch for the 60-second time limit. Once time is up, he extinguishes the flame and measures again. The singe marks have hardly made a dent across the great-est expanse of material, and falls well under the .1 inch/second burn rate limit. This bag passes easily.

The flammability test seems relatively primitive, but the same can hardly be said about the analytical and chemical test-ing done at the facility. It’s here where the ultimate determination about lead and phthalate content are made. Most products require what Assistant Labora-tory Manager Christina Crimi terms “wet chemistry.” She throws on a pair of blue nitrile gloves and demonstrates. Grabbing a flat razor blade, she scrapes the logos off another drawstring bag and a scrambler puzzle onto pieces of paper – one for each color in the logos. From here, the scrap-ings will be weighed, dissolved in nitric acid, boiled on a hot plate (or in a sub-strate microwave), filtered and diluted up to volume. Finally, they will be placed in

the ICP-OES – a mass spectrometer that measures the presence of lead and any other heavy metals.

That’s the traditional way to analyze a product for lead, but not the only way. The SGS lab boasts a new benchtop HDXRF unit – “not a gun,” says Crimi, correcting a visitor. The differences are significant. XRF test guns aren’t nearly as sensitive and cannot measure surface coatings. The new HD unit, on the other hand, is certi-fied under the CPSIA to measure lead in surface coatings. (Though it can measure substrates too, the CPSC has not updated the test method regulations yet.) It is also a nondestructive method, which saves on sample costs – and helps justify the $70k-$80k price tag for the unit.

Testing is simple. The product slides under the lenses, a few mouse clicks set it up, and six minutes later the results emerge for a host of metals. “As long as it’s calibrated to whatever element you want to look for,” says Crimi, demonstrating the machine, “that’s what it scans for.” Many manufacturers, for example, are substitut-ing cadmium for lead in their products because it’s cheaper. To search just for lead would be to ignore a potential problem.

The test results are where SGS earns its money. After the tests are completed, Crimi and others conduct a technical review to compile the data and analyze the results. “Test results are the most important thing that comes out of the lab,” she says. They show if there was a failure and where it occurred. It might be an interim failure, where just one of the components is at fault, and not the whole product. From there, it’s on the client (distributor, supplier or otherwise) to act accordingly. SGS can make suggestions, but ultimately it is just the messenger.

In the FutureThe CPSIA was a game-changer that com-pletely transformed the product testing field. While subsequent developments lack

the same impact, they still certainly matter. States are creating their own levels of com-pliance, in very much the same vein that California has done in the past with bills like Prop 65.

E-commerce solutions enable buyers to purchase from all over the globe – and force e-tailers to juggle myriad amounts of stan-dards, both domestically and abroad. In addi-tion, manufacturers are moving away from China to other countries.

“The standards remain the same,” Dwyer says, “but because China has had to deal with manufacturing for international standards for so long, companies there might be more familiar with what’s required for interna-tional markets than some of the new coun-tries that are getting involved.” Future areas of concern include magnets and increasing use of electronics in children’s products.

In the vein of verifying claims, SGS is making an aggressive expansion into sustain-ability. The company can run eco assess-ments that actually determine – by looking at the sourcing of raw materials, energy expen-ditures, transportation, etc. – if a green prod-uct is producing a beneficial environmental impact. SGS has even created its own green certification mark.

“Greenwashing was a big concern,” Dwyer says. “We’re actually putting some feet behind it to say we tested every part of this process, and our clients can prove a reduc-tion in the carbon footprint.”

It’s the very foundation that SGS – and the whole product testing industry – has built itself on: a desire for proof.

E-mail: cmittica@asicentral.com. Twitter: @CJ_Wearables

“If you’re over-testing, you’re spending more money than you need to. If you’re under-testing, you’re putting your product at risk.”Jennifer Dwyer, SGS

Protector of Good vs. EvilBe a superhero for clients by knowing exactly what needs to be tested in various products.

Clarity is often elusive with product testing. Distributors may not know what standards they need to comply with, let alone which tests to conduct to ensure they meet those standards. Testing companies like SGS will offer their expertise and can explain what tests are best to run on which products. To demonstrate, Counselor brought four prod-ucts, courtesy of Top 40 supplier Prime Line (asi/79530), to the SGS testing labs. SGS experts talked about what to look for in each product, and then walked through the test methods they use to see if each product is compliant. Here’s a look at each:

Drawstrings Bags The CPSIA was designed to test and regulate children’s prod-ucts – items intended specifically for children 12 and under. But what about general-use items that can be used by anybody? That’s the question staring out from the SGS conference room table, where two drawstring bags from Prime Line lay side by side.

One has a rustic transfer decoration of a camping outpost; the other, a giveaway bag with a cartoon stick figure for a children’s fun run. Surely the lat-ter bag falls under the CPSIA’s iron hammer? Not exactly. “Items that are for general use need not be tested as children’s products unless they have child-appealing features,” says Piyush Shah, direc-tor of technical support – hardlines for the compa-ny’s U.S. consumer testing services. “This does not have that.” If it were a children’s product, the draw-strings would potentially be strangulation hazards and would be tested as such. Even with general-use products, “If a client said to test it for strangulation

hazards,” adds Christina Crimi, assistant laboratory manager, “we would test it.”Though the bags look exceedingly similar in design, there are differences that matter in

how SGS would approach testing. While one bag features sewn-in strings, the other has knotted strings threaded through metal grommets; the grommets would have to be tested for lead if the bag fell under CPSIA guidelines. The most obvious difference between the two – the fabric – doesn’t ultimately matter. Even though one bag is made from a cotton canvas material and the other is nonwoven polyester, fabric is exempt under the CPSIA.

Scrambler Puzzle This popular toy arrived with multiple imprints, each in different colors representing popular chocolate candies. While visually pleasing, the various colors also increase the chance of a lead-contaminated ink. To be safe, SGS would have to scrape and test every color and individual logo on the product. That, along with the variety of physical tests, “is why we will normally ask for six samples,” says Shah. CPSIA does allow component testing now, which certainly saves on the number of samples a client would have to supply. In this case, SGS could test the individual squares and make do with just one sample of the finished product.

The SGS experts also spot a tiny ring inserted into the empty square in the puzzle. It’s obviously designed to be removed so the game can be played. But if the puzzle is handed out with no instructions to discard, that creates a potential problem. “If there are no instructions provided,” says Shah, “we would recommend testing it for phthalates.”

Beach Ball There is no doubt that the beach ball is a toy, and thus falls under the CPSIA guidelines for lead and phthalates. Shah and Crimi point out a number of features that must be tested: the nozzle and vinyl coating for phthalates; the multiple colors of paint for lead; and the vinyl material itself for lead in its substrate.

But that’s not all. Examining the beach ball, the SGS experts pick up on a small-but-important detail: a tracking label, printed on the side of the ball. It’s seemingly minor, but tracking labels are an essential part of the CPSIA regulations. By comparison, the scram-bler puzzle carries no tracking label. If it’s not on the product, it has to be on the packaging.

“Initially, there was chaos, because the CPSIA language was not crystal clear.”Piyush Shah, SGS

ONLINE EXCLUSIVESWant to know exactly what elements of various products need to be tested? Go to www.CounselorMag.com now to view our interactive photo gallery.

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