wfn.org | Newsline: Brethren Press responds to ruling about lead in children's products

[cobnews <cobnews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl Brumbau gh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

BRETHREN PRESS RESPONDS TO RULING ABOUT LEAD IN CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

(April 9, 2009) Elgin, IL -- Brethren Press, the Church of the Brethren pub lishing house, and Gather 'Round, the Christian education curriculum jointl y produced by Brethren Press and the Mennonite Publishing Network, are work ing under a tight timeline to meet new requirements for testing for lead an d other chemicals in children's products, and certification of children's p roducts including books and other printed materials.

A recent act of congress has set a year's deadline to prevent the presence  of lead and phthalate, and other potential health hazards in children's pro ducts. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) has set the new  requirements for testing and certification of children's products that are  sold or distributed in the United States.

The deadline for compliance was originally Feb. 10, 2009, but recently a on e-year stay of enforcement was announced. The act affects not only publishe rs but libraries and schools that own books for children.

Under the CPSIA, "we would be liable if it were discovered that any product s we sell contain lead over the legislated maximum," said Anna Speicher, ed itor for Gather 'Round. "We would never want to produce and sell a product  that would pose a health hazard to anyone," she said. "However, all indicat ions so far are that the US printing industry is not using paper or inks th at contain levels of hazardous substances anywhere near the minimum amounts  specified by law."

The curriculum and Brethren Press will be seeking third-party certification  of their products for children, which are printed by a variety of companie s.

"We were heartened by the reactions from the printers who appear to be taki ng the view that it is their responsibility to provide any necessary testin g and certification," Speicher said. "Further, it does not appear to be the  case that we need to test every product, but rather that a testing program  needs to be in place and the paper and inks we use would need to be certif ied as sufficiently lead-free."

Brethren Press already has received certification on two of its stronger se lling children's titles, "Faith the Cow" and "Benjamin Brody's Backyard Bag ." Both titles have passed the requirements, reported Jeff Lennard, directo r of Marketing and Sales.

The publishing industry has filed a request to be exempted from the act on  the grounds that regular books do not present any kind of a health threat.  The request is being filed through the Association of American Publishers,  an organization whose members include large and small publishers of childre n's books in the consumer marketplace, nonprofits, and publishers of instru ctional and assessment materials for students at all levels of education.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continu ing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in  community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith t raditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated it s 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts more than 125,000 members across the  United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nig eria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org