Choosing
Safe Baby Products with the JPMA
by Lance Judd, Halfvalue.com
What
Is the JPMA?
How
Does the JPMA Certification Program Work?
How
Do I Know If a Product Is Certified?
What Is the JPMA?
The Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) is an
international trade organization that represents 95 percent of
the North American companies responsible for the manufacture and
import of child and infant products. Formed by 29
industry-leading companies in 1962, it has since grown to
include more than 330 companies in the United States, Canada,
and Mexico.
How Does the JPMA
Certification Program Work?
The JPMA maintains an extensive, highly regarded certification
program designed to help parents select child and infant
products that are built with safety in mind. A JPMA team of
product experts has developed performance standards and tests
for a variety of baby- and child-related products, including
highchairs,
playards,
walkers,
hook-on chairs,
carriages and strollers,
gates and enclosures, full-size
cribs, and
beds for toddlers. These specific product categories were
chosen because they are basic, high-use items that nearly all
new parents use.
To become JPMA-certified, a product must be tested by an
independent testing facility for compliance with the standards
of the American Society for Testing and Materials. If a product
passes the tests, JPMA allows the manufacturer to label it with
the JPMA Certified Seal.
How Do
I Know If a Product Is Certified?
Parents can look for the JPMA seal on baby products or product
packaging for added assurance that the product was built with
safety in mind.
If you are interested in a product but are unsure if it is
JPMA-certified, ask your retailer for assistance or contact the
manufacturer.
Lance Judd, a former sports journalist,
has been with Halfvalue.com since 1997. Lance now edits many of the
category pages for Halfvalue.com's Web shopping service. Lance is a
veteran board-sports enthusiast; when time allows, he also plays
tennis and video games, and maintains his lawn. |