Dearacademy Vendor

12-22-08

DearAcademy Vendor:

UPDATED NEWS!!!!

There have been some recent changes in U.S. laws that will affect the children’s products that you may be manufacturing. On August 14, 2008, United States HR 4040 was signed into the Law which is now known as The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). Through a series of deadlines and requirements, this new law directly impacts products made by your company and sold to Academy. In order to meet all the requirements of the CPSIA as part of our overall product safety initiative, we have developed a Certificate of Compliance that will be required from you for each product you sell to Academy. This letter is to make you aware of the new requirements that are mandatory for products sold in the United States.

The Certification Date is the first significant deadline of the Act to fall into place. Pursuant to the New Certification Requirement, manufacturers and importers must issue a Certificate of Compliancefor every consumer product that is subject to any applicable CPSC rule, ban, standard or regulation. The Certificate of Compliance must certify that the product complies with all applicable CPSC rules, bans, standards and regulations based on a test of each product or upon a reasonable testing program.

Applicable products manufactured on or afterNovember 12th, 2008, must have a Certificate of Compliance. Any manufacturer should review their products that are subject to CPSC rules, bans, standards and regulations. If so, the New Certification Requirement is required.

Below is a guide of products affected by the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008:

Children's Products. Beginning on the Certification Date, children's products must be accompanied by the Certificate of Compliance that certifies compliance with a number of CPSC standards, including lead content, lead paint and surface coatings, phthalates, ASTM F963-07—Toy Safety Standards, and others. The Act also sets forth additional certification requirements for children's products that will fall in place over the next few months (i.e., lead content, lead paint and surface coating, phthalates, ASTM F963-07). Children's products will eventually be required to be third-party tested and certified at a Third Party Accredited Lab (as opposed to just self-tested). There is a list of Third Party Accredited Labs on CPSC’s website at The third-party test/certification requirements will be phased in over the next year.
Apparel and Footwear. Beginning on the Certification Date, all applicable apparel and footwear must be accompanied by a General Conformity Certificate that certifies compliance with the new CPSIA. This includes any surface coatings, screen printing, etc., where the paint or inks could contain lead content. Additionally, painted and/or metal buttons, grommets, eyelets, snaps, metal jewelry (i.e. small charms) on children's apparel and children's shoes must be certified as to lead content and lead paint standards. Any applicable apparel or footwear that contains, for example a plastic appliqué, would need to be tested for phthalates. As the third-party testing requirement is phased in over the next year, children's apparel and children's shoes will also be required to be third-party tested and certified at a Third Party Accredited Lab (as opposed to just self-tested). There is a list of Third Party Accredited Labs on CPSC’s website at

The CPSC continues to change/finalize their requirements and rules of this new legislation. Please note the following attachments that will help you to understand the new law and Academy’s required documentation:

Vendor Letter---12-22-08
Vendor Procedure: Booking Children’s Products Affected by the New US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008—Flow Chart
CPSC Direct Import Vendor presentation—for better understanding of the Act
Certificate of Compliance—required to be presented if a product is manufactured after November12th, 2008, and applicable to new Law
Updated Document Checklist

If you have any further questions, please contact . More information on the CPSIA Act can be found at

Thank you!

Lynne Sprugel

Senior Director

Import Logistics and Compliance

Academy, Ltd.

1800 N. Mason Rd.

Katy, TX 77449