Category: United States

Prefab Home Regulations & Safety Standards in the United States

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Prefab Home Regulations in the United States

Thinking of importing or manufacturing prefabricated homes for the US market? Although a unifying building code standard for prefabricated homes does not exist yet, there are regulations and safety standards that should be observed.

Construction products that are commonly referred to as “prefabricated” include:

  • Kit homes
  • Modular homes
  • Stick-built homes
  • Prefabricated panels
  • Manufactured homes

However, from a legal point of view, there are two types of prefabricated homes:

  • Those that follow federal laws (legally known as “manufactured homes”)
  • Those that follow local state laws and codes (legally known as “modular homes”).

In this article, we present various legislation, codes, and safety standards that are relevant to the prefabricated housing market in the United States.

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Voluntary Product Safety Standards: An Essential Guide

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Are you thinking about having your product meet voluntary product safety standards? Some might consider it to be costly and time-consuming. However, there are compelling reasons to do so, not to mention that it may help you avoid civil liability in some jurisdictions.

In this article, we present common questions associated with voluntary product safety standards and present the business case for adopting such voluntary standards.
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NRTL Approval for Importers and Manufacturers: A Summary

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NRTL Approval

Are you an importer or a manufacturer supplying products like electrical installations or equipment into the United States? Then you may be required to seek NRTL Approval for your product.

In the US, the Occupational Safety and Health Commission (OSHA) imposes duties on employers to ensure a safe working environment for employees. To do this, OSHA requires certain products to be “approved” by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL).

In turn, employers, retailers, and customers have an expectation that applicable products supplied are compliant with OSHA rules.

In this article, we present information related to the NRTL approval process and explain why it would be important to importers and manufacturers.
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UL Listed Products: An Essential Guide for Importers & Manufacturers

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UL Listed

Are you an importer or a manufacturer looking to have your product UL Listed? UL Listed products are products that have been tested for safety by Underwriters Laboratories (UL), or by third-party labs accepted by UL.

In this article, we cover UL listing services for consumer products, including their general requirements for UL Listed products, how it differentiates between other UL marks and more.

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CPSC Electronic Filing of Certain Certificate of Compliance Data

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CPSC Electronic Filing

Imagine a future in which businesses must submit test reports and product certificate data as part of the importing process. Thanks to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, that future is coming closer.

The CPSC is currently planning its second pilot test of a product certificate eFiling system. This is part of their roadmap to implement a permanent eFiling system in the United States.

In practice, this will require US importers to submit data on the regulations, standards, and rules to which the product conforms. Further, information about the lab testing company must also be submitted.

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Children’s Clothing Regulations in the United States: An Overview

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 8 Comments

Children’s clothing sold in the United States is subject to various safety standards, chemical and heavy metal restrictions, labeling, testing, and certification requirements.

In this guide, we cover some of the most important regulations and requirements, including CPSIA, ASTM standards, tracking labels, 16 CFR Part 1120, flammability requirements, and more.

Note that some regulations and standards mentioned in this guide are not exclusively applicable to children’s products but to consumer products and apparel in general.
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Sunglasses and Eyewear Regulations in the United States: An Overview

Posted on by Ivan Malloci — 2 Comments

Sunglasses Regulations United States
Planning to import sunglasses and other non-prescription eyewear to the United States? In this article, we explain what you must know about FDA regulations for sunglasses, and the OSH Act for safety glasses.

This guide also covers other relevant standards and regulations such as ASTM standards, CPSIA for children’s eyewear, California Proposition 65, and more.

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ETL Certification and Marking: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Yvette Shen — 2 Comments

ETL Certification & Marking

Intertek has a long history of providing testing and certification services to clients wanting to ensure their products conform to relevant safety standards and regulations. This includes the ETL Certification Program. ETL stands for Electrical Testing Laboratories, which is Interteks lab testing branch.

When products have been tested and found to be compliant with the program’s requirements, manufacturers and importers can affix the ETL Mark on their products.

There are several types of ETL marks that can be used by companies whose products have been found compliant, including the ETL Listed Mark and the ETL Verified Mark.

This guide includes a list of ETL-covered products, information about ETL Certification, ETL Mark, and ETL Listing. Additionally, we explain the necessary steps that must be taken to ensure compliance, and how much it costs to have your products certified via Intertek’s ETL Certification Program.

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CPSC Product Safety Regulations and Standards: An Overview

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CPSC Regulations and Standards Guide

Planning to import and sell products to US consumers and not sure what safety regulations apply to your product? In this guide, we cover the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), and other related Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) acts.

Please note that this is a non-exhaustive list of CPSC regulations.
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Wood & Bamboo Product Regulations in the United States: A Complete Guide

Posted on by Vincent Cheng — 7 Comments
Wood and bamboo products are subject to various regulations, covering standards, permits, testing, and documentation requirements. In this guide, we explain what American importers must know about compliance requirements applicable to wooden handicrafts, furniture, bamboo products, and more.

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