U.S. CPSC – 16 CFR 1309 Proposed Rule for Ban of Crib Bumpers

Vol. 1316 | 03 Aug 2022

On May 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021 (SSBA), requiring crib bumpers regardless of the date of manufacture to be considered a banned hazardous product under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA).

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) proposes to codify the SSBA’s mandate of crib bumpers as a banned hazardous product based on:

• Definition - Means any material that is intended to cover the sides of a crib to prevent injury to any crib occupant from impacts against the side of a crib or to prevent partial or complete access to any openings in the sides of a crib to prevent a crib occupant from getting any part of the body entrapped in any opening; the definition Includes a padded crib bumper, a supported and unsupported vinyl bumper guard, and vertical crib slat covers; and does not include a non-padded mesh crib liner.
• Effective date - CPSC proposes to make the effective date for this ban November 12, 2022, consistent with 180-day period referenced by Congress.
• Inventory - the ban applies to inclined crib bumpers that are manufactured before and after the effective date.
• Preemption - The federal law would preempt any state regulations or performance standard for crib bumpers.

The proposed rule is open for comments until the submission deadline on Aug 25, 2022.

The proposed rule can be viewed here: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/07/26/2022-15906/ban-of-crib-bumpers.

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com, +1 224-318-0220), or Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, +1 847 212 8273).