16 C.F.R. § 1242.6

Current through October 31, 2024
Section 1242.6 - [Effective 4/23/2025] Marking and labeling
(a) Each product and its retail package shall be marked or labeled clearly and legibly to indicate the following:
(1) The name, place of business (city, state, and mailing address, including zip code), and telephone number of the manufacturer, distributor, or seller.
(2) A code mark or other means that identifies the date (month and year as a minimum) of manufacture.
(3) The marking or labeling in paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section are not required on the retail package if they are on the product and are visible in their entirety through the retail package. When no retail packaging is used to enclose the product, the information provided on the product shall be used for determining compliance paragraphs (a)(1) and (2). Cartons and other materials used exclusively for shipping the product are not considered retail packaging.
(b) The marking and labeling on the product shall be permanent.
(c) Any upholstery labeling required by law shall not be used to meet the requirements of this section.
(d) Warning design for product:
(1) The warnings shall be easy to read and understand and be in the English language at a minimum.
(2) Any marking or labeling provided in addition to those required by this section shall not contradict or confuse the meaning of the required information or be otherwise misleading to the consumer.
(3) The warnings shall be conspicuous and permanent.
(4) The warnings shall conform to sections 6.1 through 6.4, 7.2 through 7.63, and 8.1 of ANSI Z535.4-2011, (incorporated by reference, see § 1242.8), with the following changes.
(i) In sections 6.2.2, 7.3, 7.5, and 8.1.2, replace "should" with "shall."
(ii) In section 7.6.3, replace "should (when feasible)" with "shall."
(iii) Strike the word "safety" when used immediately before a color (for example, replace "safety white" with "white").

Note 1 to paragraph (d)(4).

For reference, ANSI Z535.1, American National Standard for Safety Colors, provides a system for specifying safety colors. See note 1 to § 1242.8(b) for ANSI contact information.

(5) The safety alert symbol and the signal word "WARNING" shall be at least 0.2 in. (5 mm) high. The remainder of the text shall be in characters whose upper case shall be at least 0.1 in. (2.5 mm), except where otherwise specified.

Note 2 to paragraph (d)(5).

For improved warning readability, avoid typefaces with large height-to-width ratios, which are commonly identified as "condensed," "compressed," "narrow," or similar.

(6) The message panel shall meet the following text layout requirements.
(i) The text shall be left-aligned, ragged-right for all but one-line text messages, which can be left-aligned or centered.

Note 3 to paragraph (d)(6)(i).

Left-aligned means that the text is aligned along the left margin, and in the case of multiple columns of text, along the left side of each individual column. See figure 1 to this paragraph (d)(6)(i) for examples of left-aligned text.

Figure 1 to Paragraph (d)(6)(i)-Examples of Left-Aligned Text

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Note 4 to figure 1 to paragraph (d)(6)(i).

The text shown for these warnings is filler text, known as lorem ipsum, commonly used to demonstrate graphic elements.

(ii) The text in each column should be arranged in list or outline format, with precautionary (hazard avoidance) statements preceded by bullet points. Multiple precautionary statements shall be separated by bullet points if paragraph formatting is used.
(7) An example warning in the format described in this section is shown in figure 2 to this paragraph (d)(7).

Figure 2 to Paragraph (d)(7)-Example of Warning

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(e)Warning statements. Each product shall have warning statements. The text must address the warnings as shown in figure 2 to paragraph (d)(7) of this section.

Note 5 to paragraph (e).

"Address" means that verbiage other than what is shown can be used as long as the meaning is the same or information that is product-specific is presented.

(f)Package warnings.
(1) The warnings and statements are not required on the retail package if they are on the product and are visible in their entirety through the retail package. Cartons and other materials used exclusively for shipping the product are not considered retail packaging.
(2) Each product's package shall have warning statements to address the following, at a minimum, as specified in paragraphs (d)(1) and (2) and (4) through (6) of this section:
(i) Do not use for sleep.
(ii) Do not use in sleep products like cribs, bassinets, or play yards.
(3) Each product's retail package shall address the manufacturer's recommended weight, height, age, or developmental stage or combination thereof of the infant.
(4) Warnings, statements, or graphic pictorials on the product and package shall not indicate or imply that the infant may be left in the product without an adult caregiver in attendance.

16 C.F.R. §1242.6

89 FR 85414 , 4/23/2025