| Background
 California enacted the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law to limit the amount of lead in jewelry, including children’s jewelry and body piercing jewelry. High amounts of lead, a persistent and toxic metal, have been found in jewelry, especially inexpensive children’s jewelry. Exposures to lead can cause a host of health effects ranging from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to organ failure, and even death. Children 6 years old and under are most at risk because their bodies are growing quickly.
Lead-containing jewelry poses a particular concern because children are prone to placing jewelry in their mouths, which can result in lead absorption at dangerous levels. Recalls of lead-contaminated jewelry sold in places such as discount stores, gift shops, and vending machines, in addition to the death of a 4-year-old child in Minnesota who had swallowed a jewelry charm containing lead, have increased the public’s awareness of the health hazards associated with lead. Guidelines for Consumer Product Activities General Questions about the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law
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| History of the Law
 In June 2004, the California Attorney General’s Office and two environmental groups filed a lawsuit under Proposition 65 against several major retailers for selling jewelry containing dangerous amounts of lead. The lawsuit resulted in a consent judgment with a number of jewelry manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. The settlement requires these businesses to comply with restrictions on lead in jewelry.
Shortly after the original parties settled the lawsuit, the California legislature enacted the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law (Assembly Bill 1681, Pavley, Stats. 2006, c. 415). The law codifies the standards that are in the consent judgment. In 2008, the Legislature amended the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law with Assembly Bill 2901 (Brownley, Stats. 2008, c. 575). Among other things, AB 2901 amended the definition of jewelry, extended the restrictions to promotional items, required manufacturers to provide compliance certifications, and enhanced DTSC's enforcement authority.
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| Who is Affected by the New Law?
The Lead-Containing Jewelry Law applies the restrictions on lead in jewelry from the consent judgment to any person who manufactures, ships, sells, or offers for sale jewelry for retail sale in California, or offers jewelry for promotional purposes in California. Businesses of all sizes are subject to the law, including but not limited to: large retail "box" stores; online stores and Web sites; discount stores; bead shops; craft stores; gift shops; souvenir stores; businesses that sell children's jewelry in vending machines; tattoo shops; body piercing shops; people who make and sell their own jewelry; video arcades; and mail order companies. All jewelry is subject to the lead restrictions set forth in the law. There are separate standards for children's jewelry, for body piercing jewelry, and for all other jewelry. • For the full text of the law, see the Health and Safety Code, sections 25214.1-25214.4.2
• To learn the legislative history, read Assembly Bill 1681 and Assembly Bill 2901.
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| Information and Requirements for Jewelry Manufacturers, Distributors, Suppliers and Retailers
 Effective September 1, 2007, for children’s jewelry and March 1, 2008, for all other jewelry, including but not limited to body piercing jewelry, a person must not manufacture, ship, sell, or offer for retail sale or offer for promotional purposes jewelry in California unless it is made entirely from one or more of the materials specified in the law.
See full text of law for detailed requirements.
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| Definitions of Jewelry, Children's Jewelry and Body Piercing Jewelry
The law defines jewelry as any of the following ornaments worn by a person:
| | • Anklet
• Arm cuff
• Bracelet
• Brooch
• Chain
• Crown
• Earring
• Necklace
• Pin
• Ring
| • Hair accessory
• Body piercing jewelry
• Jewelry placed in the mouth
for display or ornament
• Any bead, chain, link, pendant, or other component (part) of an ornament specified above
• Any removable charm, bead, chair, link, pendant or other attachment to shoes or clothing
• A watch in which the timepiece is part of an ornament specified above, excluding the timepiece itself if the timepiece can be removed from the ornament | 
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Children’s jewelry: jewelry made for, marketed for use by, or marketed to children ages 6 and younger. Body piercing jewelry: any part of jewelry that is manufactured or sold for placement in a new piercing or a mucous membrane, but does not include any part of that jewelry not placed within a new piercing or a mucous membrane. See full text of law for complete definitions.
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| Types of Materials Required in Jewelry
Effective September 1, 2007, for children's jewelry and March 1, 2008, for all other jewelry, including body piercing jewelry, a person must not manufacture, ship, sell or offer for retail sale or promotional purposes jewelry in California unless it is made entirely from one or more of the materials specified in the Table of Materials Required for Jewelry.
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| Compliance Assurance
 The testing methods for determining compliance with this law are EPA Method 3050B, EPA Method 3051A, and EPA Method 3052, as specified in EPA Test Methods for Evaluating Solid Waste, Physical/Chemical Methods, SW-846 (Third Edition, as currently updated).
Please consult the full text of the law for additional information on sample preparation procedures and specific testing procedures for the following types of materials: • Metal plated with suitable undercoats and finish coats
• Unplated metal and metal substrates that are not a class 1 material
• Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)
• Plastic or rubber that is not PVC, including acrylic, polystyrene, plastic beads, or plastic stones
• Coatings on glass and plastic pearls
• Dyes, paints, coating, varnish, printing inks, ceramic glazes, glass or crystal
• Glass and crystal used in children’s jewelry weight determinations The law allows DTSC to adopt regulations that modify these testing protocols in the future, if necessary. Failure to comply with this law may result in civil penalties up to $2,500 per day for each violation.
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| Certification
California law requires that a manufacturer or supplier of jewelry be able to certify that their jewelry complies with the lead restrictions in the Lead Containing Jewelry law. More specifically, a manufacturer or supplier of jewelry sold or offered for sale in California must either provide the certification to a person selling or offering to sell that jewelry, upon their request, or display the certification prominently on the shipping container or packaging of the jewelry. Please see the attached sample of certification wording. Please note that this is merely a sample and other versions may be used to comply with the certification requirement set forth in Health and Safety Code section 25214.3(b) and (c). Additionally, the manufacturer or supplier of jewelry subject to the Lead Containing Jewelry law must, upon request from DTSC and within 28 days, provide to DTSC technical documentation or other information showing that the jewelry is in compliance with the law.
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| California's Lead-Containing Jewelry Law Fact Sheet in Different Languages
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| Lead in Jewelry FAQs
| Q. |
How do I locate an appropriate laboratory to have testing done, and at what expense?
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| A. |
The California Department of Public Health maintains a list of accredited laboratories at http://www.cdph.ca.gov/certlic/labs/Pages/ELAP.aspx. You can contact a lab near you and request cost information for conducting EPA Methods 3050B, 3051A and 3052 to comply with the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law. Since lead limits vary depending on the type of jewelry component, each component type must be tested and analyzed separately. The price of testing may vary depending on the number of jewelry components and the complexity of the components you have tested; laboratories can give you pricing information.
Note: California’s Lead-Containing Jewelry Law requires the jewelry manufacturer or supplier to provide certification regarding the lead content of the jewelry. The manufacturer or supplier of jewelry or jewelry components providing the required certificate should ensure that the laboratory that tests the jewelry is qualified to do the type of testing required, i.e., the laboratory should have familiarity and experience with the specified sample preparation and testing techniques required by the law. It is in the manufacturer’s or supplier’s best interest to use a qualified laboratory. Additionally, the certificate should cover all of the jewelry materials that the law requires to be tested. |
| Q. |
I am a very small business owner. Is it my obligation to perform the testing described in EPA Methods 3050B, 3051A, and 3052?
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| A. |
If, as a "small business owner," you sell, offer to sell, or offer for promotion jewelry in California, it is your obligation to ensure you do not sell or offer to sell or promote jewelry that violates California's Lead Containing Jewelry law.
California’s Lead-Containing Jewelry Law requires the jewelry manufacturer or supplier to provide certification that that manufacturer’s or supplier’s jewelry does not contain a level of lead that would prohibit the jewelry from being sold in California pursuant to the law. The manufacturer or supplier must provide that certification directly to the person who sells the jewelry or must display the certification prominently on the shipping container or packaging of the jewelry.
DTSC highly encourages businesses that sell, offer to sell, or offer for promotion jewelry in California, to obtain certificates of compliance and other detailed information about the composition of materials purchased from jewelry component suppliers. The law specifies various factors that will be considered when assessing penalties for violations, including whether good-faith measures were taken to comply with the law. |
| Q. |
What about people who sell vintage jewelry? How are we supposed to know if the jewelry contains lead? These pieces are often one of a kind and could contain lead since they were made a long time ago.
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| A. |
Currently, the law does not make a distinction between new and vintage jewelry. However, EPA Methods 3050B, 3051A, and 3052 are destructive testing methods; therefore, jewelry cannot be salvaged after testing is conducted using these methods. DTSC acknowledges that it is not feasible to test one-of-a-kind vintage jewelry items using these destructive test methods. Since these older jewelry items were made prior to any awareness about the harmful properties of lead and they were produced on virtually a “one-of-a-kind” basis, DTSC is currently focusing its limited enforcement resources on primarily new and mass-produced jewelry.
However, as mentioned in the previous question, the only way to know for certain if an item is in compliance with the law is to have it analyzed by a laboratory using the methods specified in the law (EPA Methods 3050B, 3051A, and 3052). Some laboratories may be able to screen your jewelry without destroying it by using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers. XRF screening results can provide you with an estimate of the amount of lead and other constituents in your jewelry. However, since XRF results are only estimates, they may not necessarily agree with laboratory results using EPA Methods 3050B, 3051A, or 3052.
Vintage jewelry, like all jewelry — regardless of its lead content — should be stored in areas away from children. Children should also be monitored to ensure they do not put jewelry in their mouths. |
| Q. |
I did not see copper or bronze listed anywhere in the suitable materials list. For artists/jewelers working in these materials, should we check with suppliers about the lead content?
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| A. |
Copper and bronze would fall under Class 2 materials for adult jewelry. For purposes of complying with the law, requirements referring to metal include metal alloys, so the percentage of lead allowed in adult jewelry would depend on whether the copper or bronze is electroplated or unplated. Metallic materials used in children's jewelry must be either a Class 1 material or contain less than 0.06% lead by weight, under California law. Please note, however, that under the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), all children's products must currently contain less than 0.03% (300 ppm) lead by weight (this restriction will drop to 100 ppm August 14, 2011, if technically feasible). The CPSIA defines "children" as age 12 and under.
DTSC strongly encourages you to check with your suppliers and obtain certificates of compliance and other detailed information about the composition of the materials you purchase from them. |
| Q. |
Can I sell jewelry containing lead as long as I label that it contains lead?
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| A. |
The requirements under the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law are completely separate from Proposition 65 warning requirements. Complying with the Proposition 65 warning requirements does not relieve you of complying with the requirements in the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law. The Lead-Containing Jewelry Law places limitations on the amount of lead that can be present in jewelry but does not specify any warning requirements. You may still be responsible for warning requirements under Proposition 65 if you sell jewelry containing lead and/or other chemicals listed under Proposition 65. To find out if your business must comply with the warning requirements under Proposition 65, please visit the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment’s Proposition 65 Web page at http://www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65.html. |
| Q. |
What are the requirements for body piercing jewelry?
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| A. |
The law defines body piercing jewelry as “any part of jewelry that is manufactured or sold for placement in a new piercing or a mucous membrane but does not include any part of that jewelry that is not placed within a new piercing or a mucous membrane.” Beginning March 1, 2008, a person shall not manufacture, ship, sell, or offer for sale body piercing jewelry — the part of the jewelry that is placed directly within the new piercing or mucous membrane — for retail sale in California unless it is made up entirely of one or more of the following materials:
· Surgical implant-grade stainless steel
· Surgical implant-grade of titanium
· Niobium (Nb)
· Solid 14-karat or higher white or yellow nickel-free gold
· Solid platinum
· A dense low-porosity plastic, including but not limited to Tygon or Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), if the plastic contains no intentionally added lead.
DTSC will be focusing its enforcement resources on whether the materials used for new piercings or mucous membranes contain detectable levels of lead.
Jewelry that is not placed directly within a new piercing or mucous membrane, such as a bead on a belly button ring, must meet the requirements specified for other “jewelry.” Therefore, for adult jewelry, any components of the body piercing jewelry not placed within a new piercing or mucous membrane must be made entirely from a Class 1, Class 2, or Class 3 material, or any combination of these three classes of materials. Any jewelry made for children ages 6 and under that is not placed directly within a new piercing or mucous membrane, such as any component attached to a starter earring stud that does not go directly through the piercing, must meet the requirements for “children's jewelry” as defined by the law. |
| Q. |
Is leaded crystal, such as Swarovksi crystal, allowed in jewelry? What are the requirements for using leaded crystal in children’s jewelry?
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| A. |
Glass and crystal decorative components used in adult jewelry are considered Class 1 materials. There are no lead limits for Class 1 materials used for adult jewelry. Therefore, the use of leaded crystal, including Swarovski crystal, may be used in adult jewelry.
With regard to children’s jewelry, the federal Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) restricts lead in all children’s products to 600 ppm (0.06%) until August 13, 2009. After that date the limit drops to 300 ppm (0.03%), and then again to 100 ppm (0.01%) (if feasible) on August 14, 2011. Anyone selling children’s jewelry in California must keep these restrictions in mind, even when considering California law, as described in the following paragraph. For more information on the federal law, go to http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML.
Under California law, the use of crystal or glass decorative components in children’s jewelry is limited to a total of 1 gram. The law specifies that glass or crystal decorative components that contain less than 0.02% (200 ppm) lead by weight and have no intentionally added lead are not part of the 1 gram calculation. In other words, the use of Swarovski crystal (or any other crystal 0.02% (200 ppm) or higher in lead) in children’s jewelry is limited to 1 gram total. Crystal or glass components containing less than 0.02% (200 ppm) lead by weight with no intentionally added lead may be used in children’s jewelry without any weight limitations. This assumes the crystal components do not exceed the prevailing federal limit for children’s products. |
| Q. |
As a manufacturer or supplier of jewelry, do I need to provide certification no matter what type of material I use?
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| A. |
The manufacturer or supplier of jewelry must be able to provide certification that the jewelry (including each component) does not contain a level of lead that would prohibit the jewelry from being sold or offered for sale in California, pursuant to California’s Lead-Containing Jewelry law, no matter what material is used to make the jewelry. |
| Q. |
Does the law apply to anyone selling online and then shipping to California?
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| A. |
Yes, the law applies to anyone who manufactures, ships, sells, or offers for sale jewelry for retail sale in California, including online establishments. |
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| Federal Regulatory Information for Manufacturers, Distributors, Suppliers and Retailers
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (U.S. EPA’s) reporting requirements under the Toxic Substances Control Act
- U.S. EPA’s letter to 120 companies that were either a party to the consent judgment or were participants in a recall of children's products containing lead
- U.S. Congress recently enacted legislation, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, that restricts lead in children's products, including jewelry. See information on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is responsible for protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from consumer products. CPSC provides information on product recalls. Information can be obtained on the CPSC Web site or by calling 1-800-638-2772. Unsafe products can be reported at http://www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. (Please note that products in violation of California's Lead-Containing Jewelry Law may not necessarily meet the CPSC's criteria for initiating a product recall.)
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| Links to Other Resources
If you have knowledge of a possible violation of the Lead-Containing Jewelry Law, the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) would like to know about it. Please use the Cal/EPA Environmental Complaint Form to file an environmental complaint with Cal/EPA. In the "Complaint Information" section, under "Complaint Related To," be sure to check the box for "Toxic Substances" to ensure the complaint is received by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. You may also call the complaint hotline from anywhere in California at 1-800-698-6942. Contact us with questions or comments at: leadinjewelry@dtsc.ca.gov
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