In August, Baby Safety Alliance (BSA) announced it has expanded its product verification program to include CRs for the first time. Although recently renamed Baby Safety Alliance Verified, the program has operated for nearly 50 years under its former Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association name.
As CPSTs know, manufacturers that sell CRs in the U.S. and Canada must self-certify that the CRs meet government safety standards. However, the problem of counterfeit and other noncompliant products offered online has grown significantly over the past several years. These products often look safe to an unsuspecting consumer, yet do not meet safety standards and would be dangerous in a crash.
Therefore, the Baby Safety Alliance verification seal offers CR manufacturers an additional way to assure families and CPSTs that a product is legitimate and has been independently tested. CPSTs should expect to see this seal on a manufacturer-applied sticker on some current CRs and many going forward.
Understand, however, that BSA does not verify every CR. Rather, it offers manufacturers the option to participate in the verification program. So, while a BSA Verified sticker is a positive indication that a CR is compliant, the absence of the sticker is not automatically cause for alarm. And CPSTs should not allow spotting a BSA sticker to replace the habit of checking a CR for the appropriate certification labeling required by the government (U.S. or Canada).
BSA offers verification for the following CR categories:
- CRS—Infant Seats
- CRS—All-in-One Car Seats
- CRS—Convertible Car Seats
- CRS—Forward-Facing Car Seats
- CRS—Combination Harness to Booster
- CRS—Booster Seats
Note that for a CR model to be verified, all of the models that a company makes in that category must be able to earn the verification seal. For instance, a manufacturer who makes Infant Seat A, B, and C models could not secure verification for only Infant Seat A; all three models would need to pass.
Learn more about the verification program at www.babysafetyseal.org. That page includes a link to a searchable directory of participating companies by product category (including CRs and 30 non-CR baby gear categories). A check through the various categories shows that most CR manufacturers are already participating, including the largest companies—Dorel, Evenflo, and Graco.
Some companies that are not yet participating in the new verification program may do so in the future, especially if BSA achieves its goal to have the verification seal become well known by shoppers and regularly visible online at the point of sale.
To this end, BSA is also expanding its retail partnerships, with the aim of having more sites feature the verification seal when applicable. Ultimately, this expanded participation by retailers large and small should help consumers identify reliable online marketplaces. The seal could also eventually help trustworthy retailers source compliant CRs and identify products to avoid.