The
Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America endorsed the proposed
Children’s Jewelry Safety Standard on May 2.

The
proposed standard would establish a 300 parts per million (ppm) total weight of
cadmium screening limit for fine and fashion children’s jewelry. “Children’s
jewelry” is defined as jewelry for children under 12.

The
standard also proposes that if the cadmium content tests above the 300 ppm
screening level, jewelry samples should undergo a second round of testing to
determine how much cadmium might leach out if the jewelry is swallowed, or a
saline test, which simulates what would occur if a child mouths or sucks on the
jewelry.

The
Children’s Jewelry Safety Standard was developed by the Subcommittee on
Children’s Jewelry of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Subcommittee
members include the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), consumer safety organizations,
and testing labs.

The
new standard has yet to be approved by the larger ASTM body.

According to spokeswoman Peggy Jo Donahue, MJSA hopes this new standard ends up part of federal regulations.

“Federal regulation of cadmium in children’s jewelry would likely pre-empt state laws, creating a national standard for testing and cadmium limits,” she tells JCK. “This would greatly help the jewelry industry in compliance. Currently, there are a variety of tests and limits on the amount of cadmium in children’s jewelry now embedded in the four laws that states have passed (with seven more have bills pending).”

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