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Product Safety Compliance
SanMar takes great care to ensure that the materials used to manufacture our private label products are safe and meet our high standards and specifications. We understand that product safety is a high priority for our customers. That’s why we continually make significant and incremental investments in people and programs to ensure we meet legal requirements as well as SanMar's additional voluntary safety standards. SanMar works with global experts to ensure we remain leaders in our industry and meet the expectations of our customers.
What This Means to You
In compliance with the new product safety laws and in keeping with our commitment to social responsibility, SanMar has instituted a broad-level initiative to provide our customers with ready access to General Conformity Certificates (GCC) for all applicable private label products.
Accessing General Conformity Certificates
Use our GCC Search tool to locate the appropriate documentation for each SanMar product. This robust web tool offers you direct access to print and save the documents you need. Remember that GCCs are created and maintained for applicable products only by the company that imports those products. For that reason, SanMar makes available GCCs for the following brands only: Red House®, Port Authority®, Sport-Tek®, District®, District Made®, Precious Cargo®, Port & Company® and CornerStone®. Please note that our GCCs cover product as imported (exclusive of decoration).
Product Testing Program
Working with Intertek (a third-party vendor), one of the global leaders in product testing, we have instituted a rigorous product testing program across our private label supply chain to verify that manufacturers are producing goods that meet our high standards and those of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) and other applicable federal and state laws.
Compliance with Product Safety Laws
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) became law in August 2008 and is applicable to certain products manufactured after November 12, 2008. The CPSIA enhances current U.S. product safety laws and primarily covers hazardous substances and flammability requirements for children’s products as well as flammability requirements for general wear apparel. The law also requires the issuance of a General Conformity Certificate (GCC) for all products imported into the U.S. subject to safety regulations enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
We can confirm that each applicable product manufactured after November 12, 2008 and imported by us is accompanied by a GCC and meets all testing requirements under the CPSIA.
California Proposition 65
Many of you may already be familiar with this law. California Proposition 65 is the "Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986," a ballot initiative passed by the voters of California in November 1986. The law includes a requirement that consumers be informed about the presence of certain chemicals, known by the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects and/or other reproductive harm, in products. The law covers an evolving list of more than 800 chemicals, some of which are commonly found in consumer and household products. The fact that a product bears a Proposition 65 warning does not mean by itself that the product is unsafe. Chemicals may be used in the product manufacturing process, or they may be introduced later when embellished or modified. Because of this law, some companies have elected to put Proposition 65 warnings on products such as bags (which have been subject to recent enforcement actions).
Rest assured that SanMar is committed to verifying that materials used to manufacture our private label products are safe and meet or exceed all applicable U.S. product safety laws. Product safety is a high priority for SanMar and we know it is a high priority for you as well. To the extent products require Proposition 65 warnings, and to assist our customers in meeting these challenges, SanMar provides the following Proposition 65 warning for products sold in California:
Warning: This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
At your request, we are also happy to provide you with Proposition 65 warning labels for placement on products being sold in California.
For more information on either of these programs, please contact your SanMar sales representative. You may also view additional information online at http://www.ppai.org/inside-ppai/product-safety/prop65.
Further Resources
Learn more about Intertek
Learn more about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
Read PPAI’s Guide to the CPSIA published before the one-year stay of enforcement was issued.
