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Promotional Products Industry Goes 'above And Beyond' Lead Ink Regulations |
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Submitted by Sofia Herring
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The promotional products industry topped $18 billion in sales in 2006. As one of the larger promotional products distributors in the country, Absorbent, Ink. takes the welfare of our customers very seriously. We strive to work with environmentally conscious suppliers who manufacture and produce the safest products in the industry, and have been very pleased to see our industry take our environmental concerns seriously.
A recent article titled “Recalls have Parents on Alert,” by Kevin Rader of WTHR.com said Mattel recalled a toy jeep that contained lead paint. “The jeep was a promotional product marketed from the movie cars. Lead paint has been banned in this country since 1978 but it is still produced in China,” wrote Rader.
The promotional products industry topped $18 billion in sales in 2006. As one of the larger promotional products distributors in the country, Absorbent, Ink. takes the welfare of our customers very seriously. We strive to work with environmentally conscious suppliers who manufacture and produce the safest products in the industry, and have been very pleased to see our industry take our environmental concerns seriously.
A recent article titled “Recalls have Parents on Alert,” by Kevin Rader of WTHR.com said Mattel recalled a toy jeep that contained lead paint. “The jeep was a promotional product marketed from the movie cars. Lead paint has been banned in this country since 1978 but it is still produced in China,” wrote Rader.
A press release from Mattel on Aug. 15, 2007, stated the company voluntarily recalled the toy because the paint on the die-cast vehicle had “impermissible levels of lead.” This recall caused Mattel to change the way it regulates and checks for lead in paint.
Promotional products are supposed to leave a good impression in clients’ minds, not leave them worrying if they purchased an item that could be potentially dangerous.
Although ink containing a low level of lead is not banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, suppliers in our industry have been experimenting with inks, such as soy-based and zinc-based, to replace those with trace amounts of lead. The challenges these inks present are a lack of gloss, less resistance to scratches, and less dishwasher durability. Imprinting with these inks sometimes leaves customers unhappy with the end result, but are potentially safer for society.
One state that has gone above and beyond to protect people from potential harm is California. The CPSC has standards and guidelines with products containing lead paint and heavy metals. California, however, has set its own guidelines.
California’s guidelines are outlined in The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65. Proposition 65 is more stringent than the CPSC regulations require. It requires companies to put warning labels on products with paint or ink containing miniscule amounts of lead. There still remains debate on whether Prop 65 is necessary or not, but we are happy to comply with these regulations
State governments are not the only ones tightening production guidelines; some companies are as well. Sabina, a drinkware supplier, is one of many printers that have honored Proposition 65 by marking items with low lead content imprints with warning labels. Sabina also offers zinc-based and organic-based inks as an alternative.
Claudette Bretzloff, an employee at Sabina, said the company uses ink that complies with CPSC standards. Sabina offers warning labels for any shipment, but for all states other than California, the warning label is optional.
Keeping people safe is an important priority and we are relieved to see that companies in our industry go above and beyond in meeting federal regulations.
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