CPSIA Lead Laws

I am printing a copy of an article published in Textile World Magazine pertaining to the new CPSIA regulations.
CPSC Issues Policy Paper On Lead Content In Children’s Products
James A. Morrissey, Washington Correspondent
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a new policy statement covering the lead content in products used by children. The policy appears to exempt virtually all fabric, both dyed and undyed, from testing and certification requirements. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act requires that products intended for use by children under 12 years of age may not contain more than 300 parts per million of lead. Products that exceed that level are required to be tested by third-party labs and certified as to their lead content. In its announcement, CPSC said: "The law limits our ability to exempt products from the lead content limit, however, we have found that certain products, by their nature, will never exceed the lead content limit, so those products do not need to be tested and do not need certification to show that they comply with the law." CPSC says textile fabric falls into the exempt category, but the exemption may not apply to after-treatments such as screen printing, transfers, decals or other printing`. With respect to final products that may contain a number of components, including some exempt and non-exempt, the commission said it will address that question in a later rulemaking. October 27, 2009

This is good news on the apparel manufacturing front, but leaves the burden of compliance in the use of snaps, screen prints, embroidery patches, zippers, etc. Let's discuss this a bit.

It is now a given that the textile componant will pose no lead hazard. How about a snap or snap tape? New "low lead" snaps are on the market, and the cost of these products is 50-85% MORE than the standard product. Lead is a necessary evil in the manufacture of snaps. so even the "low lead" units have some lead content, but are below the boundary of 300ppm. Now, has anyone tested how much lead would come out of an unpainted nickle based snap if sucked on for 100 hours? How many snaps would be required to be in an infants mouth, and for how long, before any lead would leach out into their system? Is there an ASTM "suck test"? Would they need to eat the snaps? Wouldn't the consumption of snaps fall under some other safety regulation regarding sharp objects or removable objects? How about screen printing? Sure, plastisol printing can be abraded by teeth and possibly be consumed in small quantities, so maybe, if indeed there is lead in plastisol ink, it makes sense. What about water based digital prints or discharge prints? I suppose the ASTM "suck tester" would be needed again, but we are speaking of ink. Do we need a lead test on every piece of paper with printing on it that may come in contact with an infant? What about that digital print on the cute little phenol free bottle he has? What about the printed bumber pad and pillows in his crib? His sheets or pillows likely have zippers!

I am not against safety regulations, but if we are going to regulate than we had best be sure that the consequences of these regulations are not onerous and do not cause a litigatory creative rigamortise so that anyone trying to enter the industry is scared silly. In the meantime we are using "low lead" snaps, and the costs are having to both be absorbed or passed on.

Garment and Fabric Shrinkage Secrets Revealed!

Why is it that a consumer must evaluate a garments fit, when new, with an angel on one shoulder saying it will fit after laundering and a devil on the other saying to buy a size larger to accomodate shrinkage? Why do cotton fabrics shrink more than polyester fabrics? Why do wovens shrink less than knits? Why does a tumble dryer cause shrinkage when a washing machine doesn't? Have any of these questions ever crossed your mind? Here, finally, in plain english, are the answers.

In the industry, we break shrinkage into two seperate catagories. The first is called relaxation shrinkage, and is exhibited by taking a piece of unlaundered fabric, laying it in a bowl of water, and observing the dimensional changes. The first thing you will note is that it does not move much at all. Placing a fabric in a liquid suspension will cause two things to happen. The first is that the water will act as a lubricant and allow any residual energies or tensions in the fabric to relax. The second is that, if the fabric is absorbant, the fibers will swell, causing the structure that binds them to consolidate. It is old hat that polyester and nylon do not absorb, but in todays world, don't be fooled. Both fibers can now be temporarily (through topical finishes) or permanently (through molecular change) modified to absorb (think "performance fabrics"). Conversly, there are finishes that can be applied to cotton (stain resistance, water repellant) that make cotton non-absorbant. Regardless, this "relaxation shrinkage" is a very very small componant of the shrinkage you experience in a finished garment. Maybe a half a percentage, if that, is caused by relaxation.

The second measure of shrinkage is called "consolidation shrinkage". This is a consequence of combining lubrication (water and heat) with mechanical action (tumbling) that facilitates the movement of the structure as it releases the tensions that caused process deformation of the woven or knit structure. This deformation is caused by the inherent tensions when bleaching, dying, hydro-extracting, and drying the fabrics in an industrial environment. Consolidation shrinkage is the primary cause of shrinkage in home laundering.

Woven fabrics(poplins, muslins, duck,canvas,georgette,etc) are constructed by laying yarns across each other in engineered patterns. The yarns are typically tightly woven in a manner that leaves little space between the yarns. For this reason, wovens are inherently more stable (and less stretchy). There are exceptions (like gauze), where the fabric is loosely structured, but we won't concern ourselves with exceptions or this article will be longer than you will care to read (are you still reading?). Cotton wovens will, typically, have higher shrinkage than synthetics or blends, but not for the reasons you suspect. Synthetic fibers all have a heat range in which they begin to soften (glass transition temperature). When a fiber is brought to that temperature for a very brief period of time it will cool and "set" itself in whatever arrangement it is confined to. What this means is that you can process fabrics with synthetics to purposefully heat set them so that they stabilize at that specific point in time within the structure, thereby stabilizing the structure itself. You can't do this with natural fibers. Therefor, it is not the fact that cotton fabrics shrink more, it is the fact that synthetics can be manipulated to shrink less!

There are a few processes to help stabilize cotton shrinkage. In years gone by, the industry used urea formaldehyde resins to cross link the fibers and set them. This worked great, as long as nobody cared that the plant workers were dying of cancer. Once the link of urea formaldehyde and carcinogens was found the industry resorted to mechanical compression. Although there are several types of methods used, they all result in squishing the fabric temporarily together, so that when washed, it does not move as much. This is known as "pre-shrunk". The only issue is that these processes are not exacting. They cannot measure how much the fabric was stretched in previous processes and cannot measure the variability of those forces over any given length of fabric, so that the entire process is reliant on an operator setting the equipment to a fixed setting. This allows for variation yard to yard and roll to roll, especially in knit products. Add to this the fact that fabrics are then spread on a cutting table, and that the tensions involved in spreading may actually pull out some of the compaction, furthering the variability!

Knit fabrics are a story unto themselves. There are two main knit catagories, weft and warp, and most fabrics you encounter in casualwear (tees, sweats, undies, polos, etc) are weft knits. Warp knits are typically found in lingerie and foundation garments. Therefor, we will stick with weft knits here. Knit fabrics are made up of loops that are formed one within another. Unlike wovens, where yarns are laid across each other, knits require bending and forming of yarns into all kinds of constructions. This means knits have allot more space between the yarns, which lends to their being stretchy. These spaces allow room for the structures to deform more readily in processing. As fabrics run through rollers, are soaked in liquids (making them extremely heavy) and dragged over and under beams they are stretched. It is the challenge to recover those fabrics to their original form that defines how much they shrink. Therefor, knits shrink more than wovens due to their less stable structure.

Now, why does a garment shrink in the dryer but not the washer? If you have been paying attention you now know that the washing machine simply makes a garment wet and that means relaxation shrinkage is the only factor involved. Yes, there is mechanical action and yes, there may be hot water, but therin is the rub. Fabrics do not begin the process of consolidation shrinkage until they reach a moisture level near 20%, and in a washer, they are fully saturated. I had mentioned heat acted as a lubricant, in conjunction with water, but the weight of the water must be low enough to not cause drag and fiber swelling. Once the fabric begins to near a level of dryness the structure is aided by the reduced swelling, lower coefficient of friction, and the loops and yarns can begin to recover to the original state in which they were formed. This is why hanging clothes to dry results in no shrinkage- no heat or mechanical action!

As always , your questions and comments are welcome.

Geokrazy Minerals Calcite Update

Today, Geokrazy added a gallery of calcite specimens de-acquisitioned from the geoffrey Krasnov collection. This gallery features European calcites, many with signifigant provenance and historic localities. Represented are Andreasberg,Schneeberg, Saxony, Black Forest and Harz Mountain specimens from Germany, calcite specimens from Italy,France, Spain, Belgium, England, Bulgaria and several from the Karolytaro Mine in Hungary. Three specimens came from the famous Mary and Gardner Miller Calcite Collection, featured in the Mineralogical Record Volume 18,#6,1987. One of those calcite specimens is ex Krantz. Another came from the Oren Root Collection and traces this signifigant calcite specimen from his collection to Hamilton College and onward. The link is www.geokrazy.com and you should have a look if interested in display quality minerals in varieties of sizes, colors and forms.

Geokrazy Minerals Launches New Website

Geokrazy Minerals is a DBA of Style Source Inc, and was established to offer high quality display minerals for mineral collectors, decorators, artisans, and those seeking information about our natural world. I have been collecting natural mineral specimens for display since childhood, and it eventually led me to trading, field collecting and selling minerals at local shows. Crystal healers use mineral specimens for their energies, jewelry makers enjoy wrapping natural crystals in wire or setting them into necklaces, potters use them to mount to acheive a balance of man and nature, decorators use them as centerpieces, and mineral collectors simply enjoy their beauty. People collect minerals for their colors, their forms, and their associations (don't forget fossils too!). They collect all sizes, from micro-mounts to toenails and thumbnail, small cabinet, cabinet and museum sized. They collect them polished and carved. You would be amazed at the number of people that attend mineral shows and make some form of mineral collecting their hobby. The Tucson show, held in February each year, occupies dozens of sites, runs for three weeks, occupies 6 hotels, and attracts tens of thousands of people from around the world. Geokrazy is a side business for me, and I fill my spare time updating the website at www.geokrazy.com and keeping up with new finds and prices. If you know of anyone interested in mineral specimens be sure to tell them about Geokrazy Minerals!

Import Apparel Pitfalls -How to Import Clothing and Not Lose Your Shirt

Style Source Inc has been importing custom clothing for 5 years now, but our depth of experience is much deeper than that time period portrays. Years ago, we made the decision that turning away customers because we could not hit their price points with domestic manufacturing was wasted opportunity. Having had experience in sourcing with Sara Lee Corporation, I knew that starting from scratch with unproven vendors would be a long and difficult road. I had learned that you cannot judge a book by its cover, and that all the great things a sales representative at a trade show booth could tell me they were capable of had little relation to what could be expected when the rubber hit the road and it came time to develop and impliment custom apparel from customer specifications. The decent english spoken by the man in the booth was, typically, the companies best effort, and the soldiers manning the front lines brought about a new challenge in communication. Therefor, I decided to tap the shoulder of someone who was well established, with over 20 years of experience, and with rock solid proven channels. Thus was born the relationship we have today with our import apparel partner, which has proven to be one of the best decisions we could have made.

When looking for an import partner pay very close attention to the initial processes. It is your responsibility to define the product at a detailed level. This normally takes the form of specification packages. When dealing with another country and language barriers, it is critical you define the fabric for content, yield and performance parameters. You need to know the garment construction, or at least have a sample to go by. You must define the sizing and the size grade. Packaging, labelling, placements, etc must all be very specific. With a company like Style Source, we help you gather this information and even offer the service of creating initial spec packs. When dealing directly with a foreign entity the responsibility falls solely on you.

Pay very close attention to initial samples. If the samples are shoddy turn and run. The factory should supply you with approval samples of the fabric, all the findings, and lab dips of your colors. If embellishments are being added these should also be sampled first for accuracy, detail, placement and colors. Many of these operations will require a deposit of 100% before starting this process. Beware, as once the money is overseas you have no out!

The issue of logistics comes into play, and this facet of the decision makiong process needs to occur at the onset rather than as an afterthought. When dealing directly with an overseas based supplier terms are usually ILOC or payment up front. Shipments are made FOB port of origin, meaning you release your letter of credit when the goods reach the port of origin. You then have full responsibility to have the goods scheduled, insure all documents are processed, and to pay all fees (broker, port, security, inland and ocean freight, duties, document preparation, etc etc) from that point. Be SURE to add up all the fees and the duties and to add them to your FOB cost to determine your true landed/duty paid(LDP) cost!

Style Source Inc takes all of the pain out of this process. We will quote you an LDP price (exclusive of freight) and estimate the freight costs for you. We pay all of the fees and duties and handle the logistics. We manage the sampling process. We offer terms of 50% down and 50% at document presentation for export, allowing you to hold onto 50% of the order value through the typical 90 day manufacturing process. Most importantly, we offer a guarantee of satisfaction, and as a US based company, you have the assurance that you have recourse if there is any unresolved issue. What do you pay extra for the managment of the entire process of importing private label clothing and the security of full package custom apparel importation? We like to say nothing, as our pricing is most competitive and we channel enough volume through our suppliers that we receive favorable pricing from them. Unless you are producing thousands of units a month on an ongoing basis and sourcing direct you will not find more competitive pricing.

HOW TO START A CLOTHING LINE-SEARCH STRINGS

We review allot of satistics here at Style Source world headquarters, and I found it interesting that the search strings most commonly used to find us reference the word clothing instead of apparel. " How to start a clothing line " was number one followed by " private label clothing " and " starting a clothing line ". Mis-spelled or abbreviated terms also come into play like " starting clothing line " how start custom clothing ". No matter how you spell it, or what string you use, you will land at Style Source, your preferred alternative for manufacturing custom clothing or custom private label apparel! Our website is full of helpfull information about importing custom clothing or how to import custom apparel. Our import division has set a record this year in volume, and has imported polo shirts, childrens custom rompers, woven dress shirts, jeans, hats, shorts, dresses, canvas totes, belts, ties, and many other items with 100% customer satisfaction. Feel free to inquire about your custom clothing line and we will help guide you!

A REVIEW OF THE MAGIC AND KIDS TRADE SHOWS

We just returned from 110 degree smoke filled (both outside from the wild fires in California and inside in the Casinos) Las Vegas and here are some thoughts on what we saw.

The MAGIC ( originally Mens Apparel Guild In California)show has continued to evolute. There are added venues as the definition of catagories has transformed. How to differentiate between Pool, Project , Street and Slate has become a challenge, as it seemed we were seeing virtually the same merchandise with different graphics in each venue. The fact that Pool, Slate, Street, Mens and Premium all blended from one to the other in the same humongous hall did not help. At least Project was in a different building, but if you asked me the difference between Pool and Project I would be hard pressed to answer! The use of decorations continues to expand and gain importance, as evidenced by the riot of colors and graphics overlayed with crystals, foil, applique and whatever other creative means could be employed. This means the bulk of products were either made in the Los Angeles area, where these types of decorating are available, or made overseas. Finding booths that relied more on cut, fabric drape, and style versus patterns, color combinations and decorations was a chore!

The kids show at Magic was laughable. There were maybe 8 booths of kidswear. It adjoined Ecollection, which was an area I expected to be greatly expanded with the advent of organics and natural fibers. Unfortunately, this area consisted of about a dozen or two of booths, with very little in the way of fashion or childrenswear!

We attended the WWIN womenswear show at the Rio, as we have several customers that were showing there, and , when catching the shuttle we noticed there was an independant Kids show at Ballys. If not for the shuttle sign, we would have never known! We went there and had no issues navigating the aisles, as, apparently noone else knew of this show either. Exhibitors were setup similar to the ENK show, and the show size was pretty decent, but it was extremely disheartening to see how poorly attended it was, a foreboding sign for the shows future.

CPSIA EXEMPTS TEXTILES FROM LEAD TESTING

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has decided to exempt virtually all textile products, including natural and manufactured fibers, from the lead testing requirements of the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). In making the announcement, the CPSC said the staff had reviewed hundreds of test reports submitted by interested parties and concluded that most textile products are manufactured using processes that do not introduce lead or result in an end product that would exceed the CPSIA lead limits. The blanket exemption does not apply to all products that may be altered by dyeing or printing, but the commission said the exemption could apply in most circumstances. The CPSC ,on its website, listed the following exempt textile fiber products:• natural fibers - cotton, silk, wool, hemp, flax, ramie, linen, jute, kenaf, bamboo, coir, sisal, kapok, alpaca, llama, mohair, cashmere, angora, camel, horse, yak, vicuna, qiviut and guanaco. • manufactured fibers - rayon, nylon, lyocell, acetate triacetate, rubber, polyester, olefin, nylon, acrylic, aramid, azion and spandex. Components of apparel products such as buttons, snaps, zippers, trim and fasteners are not exempt.