NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I., July 22 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, July 17, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted "to hurt business without protecting consumers," according to Michael Gale, the Executive Director of the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association (FJTA). All three CPSC Commissioners said they lacked authority to grant the petition of the FJTA and other members of the fashion industry to exempt crystal and glass rhinestones from the total lead limits of the Consumer Product Safety Improvements Act of 2008 (CPSIA)--despite the CPSC staff's conclusion that the products are safe.

Along with the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America, Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, National Retail Federation and United Dance Merchants of America, FJTA submitted a request to exclude crystal and glass rhinestones and beads from total lead limits under the Consumer Product Safety Improvements Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The request was supported by technical data showing the products were safe.

Prior to the vote, FJTA wrote to all three Commissioners outlining the devastating impact on small business. "We provided specific examples of lost sales and lost jobs directly attributable to the lack of a crystal exemption," Gale said. Democratic Commissioners, Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and Thomas Moore, favored "enforcement discretion" but Commissioner Nancy Nord supported a stay. He added, "It is hard to understand how, in this economy, and with the information we provided, a majority of Commissioners would not even vote for a formal stay. Even their own staff agreed the products are safe but now more jobs stand to be lost as a result. We hope that members of Congress with constituents who are jewelry producers or retailers will address this unjust situation immediately."

FJTA counsel, Sheila A. Millar, a partner with the law firm of Keller and Heckman, LLP, said, "The Commission's vote is unlikely to clarify the rampant confusion reigning in the fashion industry. We have even heard that shipments of adult jewelry products featuring crystal are being stopped at the border." Millar said that the decision illustrates the need for Congress to fine-tune the law to avoid banning safe products.

The Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, based in Kingstown, Rhode Island, represents over 200 members, producers of fashion jewelry.

SOURCE Fashion Jewelry Trade Association

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