Published in November 2011, ASTM F2923-11 – the “Children’s Jewelry Safety Standard,” has been approved by ASTM International. ASTM F2923-11 covers children’s jewelry that is intended primarily for use by children 12 and under.
The voluntary specification includes test methods for specific heavy metals (total and soluble content & nickel release) and mechanical hazards testing (hazardous magnets, battery usage, and strangulation hazards). ASTM F2923-11 also addresses age labeling, warnings, and provides guidance on the users of jewelry (children or adults). This specification was developed due to the safety concerns of children’s jewelry; a couple of main concerns were cadmium in children’s jewelry and hazardous magnets. One thing to note regarding the cadmium requirements: this not only applies to metal jewelry but also plastics. Per ASTM F2923-11, Section 9.1, if the piece of jewelry contains greater than 300 ppm of total cadmium then it will need to undergo additional testing for the solubility of cadmium (to determine the amount that is migratable).
Please feel free to contact our lab for additional information regarding testing to meet current and future regulatory requirements. Our laboratory is accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), certificate number 1888.01 and 1888.02. Additionally, we are a CPSC accredited lab, our laboratory identification number is 1030.