Safety eBook: Everything Your Shop Needs to Know

As a company, some of the most frequent questions we receive revolve around the topic of safety. What could be more important than knowing that the products you make are safe for your family, friends and customers?!

Because of this, we’ve been working behind the scenes for months (yes, months!) preparing a special surprise that will have everything you need to know about safety!

We are so excited to launch our safety e-book today!

It’s been a labor of love, and we really hope that it helps support you in your crafting and as you build your hobbies into businesses! Although the topic of safety compliance can seem daunting and overwhelming, once you are well informed and have the necessary information, you will be equipped with the necessary tools and information to ensure you are making safe and high-quality products!

Our new safety e-book is a downloadable e-book PDF that is FULL of all sorts of details and helpful information to support you as a maker! We couldn’t be more excited to finally launch it, and know it will be one of your critical crafting tools going forward!

To celebrate our safety e-book, we thought we would include a few other helpful bonus tidbits of key safety information with you here today to get you excited about digging into the new e-book! Our e-book is filled with so much more information, but these points are easy, practical ways you can begin your compliance journey! As a maker, there are some important safety details to always keep in mind, and these helpful nuggets of information will make your crafting so much better!

1. Let’s Talk Knots!

Having safe, secure and tightly pulled knots is a critical part of making products - especially baby products! Finding creative ways to introduce extra safety mechanisms into your products will help you and your customers feel more confident in the items you make.

Whenever possible, finish a pacifier / soother clip with multiple knots in key areas. This will ensure that if one knot ever happened to come loose, there is another knot that will prevent further unravelling or loosening. Multiple safety knot areas will keep your product safe and beads securely attached.

We’ve developed two pacifier clip designs, and each of them contains knots in critical areas for extra safety measures. Here is a little snippet of our Pacifier Clip Design #1, where you can see we have carefully used multiple knots to finish off the end of the soother clip. For the full tutorial, check it out here!

Try to use unique, self-tightening knots! There are lots of different knot designs and ideas all over YouTube, and taking time to think of knots that provide self-tightening under pressure can help you also make products that are extremely safe. Here is a link to some knot ideas!

Use the best tools to create tight knots! Our knot gripper tool is a MUST HAVE! It allows you to leverage your strength on the knot to make it as tight as possible. These knot grippers are a genius crafting tool, and are the protected and unique design of Canadian company, Wheatland Woodshop. We are so proud to carry this high-quality, original design in our shop! Check out our knot gripper tutorial here to see how amazing it is in action!

2. Fusing

An important tool that can also help you make products safer is a good-quality lighter. Using a lighter to fuse knots or to stop fraying on your cording will keep your items from deteriorating over time.

We also recommend fusing actual knots so that they are firmly molded together and extra strong (*always be careful when doing this that you only slightly melt the knot together, and you do not compromise its strength by over-fusing).

Always be careful when using a lighter - especially when you are fusing knots together. Our trusted silicone thimbles often help with this process, as they keep your fingers from being affected by the hot cord.

The importance of properly fusing can directly affect the lifespan of your products. Check out the comparison photo below!

3. Be Aware of Standards and Lengths!

Be aware and stay educated on the safety standards that apply to your products for your regions. This is what our e-book is designed to help you navigate, and it is full of the key information you will need to know to create compliant products. For example, did you know that the CPSC recommends the length of your pacifier clips not be longer than 7-8 inches in total length? This is just one example of some of the nuggets of information you will find compiled in our safety e-book!

And what about the loop at the end? While there are no official regulations on the length of your soother clip loop, just overall length recommendations, we suggest a length of no more than 2 inches. You want your loop to be long enough to loop itself on a thick teether or pacifier, but not too long that it could pose a strangulation hazard.

4. Choke/Toy Safety Tests

Our toy safety tests are a critical tool for every maker to have in order to ensure the products they are creating are safe and do not pose choking hazards. These testers help you immediately identify why parts of your design you may need to change or modify in order to ensure they are compliant with choke hazard regulations.

Although some of your products may still need to be tested by a third party agency, it can be very helpful to have a toy choke test handy so that you can ensure your designs meet expectations BEFORE you then spend the money to have them tested! This will set you up for success with your third-party testing, allowing you to do some of your own quality checking prior to the investment. Since young children often put things in their mouths, these choke test regulations are aimed to protect young children from small component hazards in toys.

To see if your toys or teething products pass preliminary requirements for small parts choking hazards , you can purchase a choke test for your own preflighting purposes on our website. The choke tests we carry in our shop are a necessary and incredibly high quality safety tool; they are made via CNC (Computer Numerical Control) to ensure exact lab precision requirements that third party testing agencies require.

Toy choke tests come in both round and oval shape to mimic the open cavity of a child's mouth. These pre-determined sizes and shapes will help you gauge if your toy design will pass or fail. Your teething toy, children’s toy, or rattle should not be able to pass through the choke test, and no small parts should hang down through the test either.

More specific details and information can be found in our e-book for the process of testing your products! Our e-book has all the specific details and information you will need to get started on your compliance journey.

Don't forget to also purchase our official toy safety testers here! We’re proud to provide you with as many tools as we can to give you confidence in your products!

5. Warnings and Care

Don’t forget to include appropriate warning labels and information on your products! Ensuring your customers know how to properly care for and use their products is critical. For example, most makers and companies will indicate to their customers what the lifespan of their products should be, how to wash them carefully, and what to do if they see damage to the product.

Here is a sample warning that might be useful for some products:

Small objects and beads can present a choking hazard for small children. Never leave a child unattended with the product. Always inspect the product before use and dispose of it if there are any signs of damage. Cords, clips and clasps are not designed to be chewed or placed in mouths. The recommended lifespan for this product is 8 weeks of continued use.

We hope that the tips and resources above will help support you as you make products and craft safely!

For a compilation of key safety details and standards, don’t forget to purchase our new safety e-book here… you will find pages and pages of support for you to grow your business and make your products safely!

Xo

-the girls

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Laws and regulations are subject to change. This blog post and e-book is meant for educational and informational purposes only, with helpful links to official compliance documents. However, it is not to be construed as legal advice, and all readers/customers are responsible to ensure they are performing their own due diligence and assume all responsibility and liability for the final use/crafting of our products. Customers are responsible that their final products made from our supplies meet the appropriate safety requirements for their region.