Children's Safety and bedding

I thought I would address a few questions I have received on baby blankets and bedding with regards to flammability issues. The CPSC has issued guidelines on crib safety and bedding. I have searched high and low for any more guidelines on bedding and flammability and did not find anything more specific.

I find this curious because the CPSC has such a strong emphasis on sleepwear and flammability. After all, bedding of any kind will be associated with a sleeping activity at some point with infants. In the soft bedding guidelines, it is recommended that all extra bedding materials (small pillows, decorations, toys, extra blankets, etc) be removed from a crib when a child is there. They go so far as to say a baby should wear a sleeper instead of using blankets or sheets.

Customized baby blankets are a hot item. I have seen them in various fabrics and trimmings. The safest approach is to be sure that the fabrics comply with basic flammability guidelines (links found in my previous post). Also, make sure any attached trims are very secure. Don't have any dangling cords, ribbons, or attachments. As an extra precaution, I include a copy of the soft bedding warning in all of my blanket orders. You may wish to add a sticker or slip of paper that states the blanket should be removed from a crib while a baby is sleeping.

I love making baby blankets. It is a fun and very useful item for new moms. Since I am not a lawyer, I can not advise on liability issues. So while the above ideas make good sense, they may not legally protect you in a burn suit. Just do the best you can in making a safe product and provide a caution statement.

Next time: Children and small objects

2019 note - CPSC links have all changed. The information is still there but you will have to search for it.

Recall : Flammability Issues with child's bathrobe

The consumer product safety commission recently issued a recall for children's bathrobes because they are considered highly flammable. The robes were made of 100% cotton terry cloth. Even though a bathrobe is not technically sleepwear, it is a piece of clothing that is connected to sleeping and thus must comply with the Children's Sleepwear standard.

More information can be found on the children's sleepwear standard (read this letter on loungewear too). It took me over an hour to finally find links to these two pieces of information and I read lots of interesting information on other products. If you go to the CPSC site, be sure to click on the Business link for guides and summaries.

Since you can read the government regulations at the links above, I won't repeat much of it here. Suffice it to say, the actual Flammable Fabric Act applies to just about all fabrics and articles of clothing (there are some exceptions). Some fabrics that consistently fail flammability testing include: sheer rayon or silk, rayon chenille, cotton fleeces, and cotton terry cloth. Synthetic fabrics (polyester, nylon, acrylics) or wool fabrics are generally exempt. This is because these fabrics either simply melt or do not hold a flame once the flame source is removed.

If you design childrenswear consisting of any suspect fabric, you should take the time to send either your fabric or clothing to a testing lab. A flammability test can run anywhere from $200-$500, depending on the lab. Small change compared to a burn lawsuit.

Next time I will tackle children's safety and bedding.

2019 note - The links to the recall and the CPSC are no longer good. If you do click through, you will have to search the database for the relevant information. 

Recall : Hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings

Two recent product recalls on children's clothing prompts me to issue a reminder. There are two major safety issues in relation to children's clothing. The first is drawstrings and the second is flammability.

Drawstrings

It never fails. I have seen drawstrings in one form or another on children's clothing each season. The consumer product safety commission (cpsc) recently issued a recall for hooded sweatshirts with drawstrings. The fact that these products made it into a major department store shows multiple failures along the vendor supplier chain. Nearly all products sold in a department store must pass some form of inspection. If this is a private label for Kohl's, then the failure is even greater. A major department store chain usually has a technical designer and quality auditor over every division. A private label garment must be approved by a technical designer, who is responsible that the garment not only fits, but is safe. A quality auditor is supposed to ensure quality standards and compliance during and after manufacturing. Both individuals should KNOW of the safety guidelines on drawstrings which have been in existence since 1996.

Another layer of failure is at the buyer level. A childrenswear buyer should also know the rule and should not even consider an item with a drawstring. I can guarantee Kohl's will either severely reprimand or fire the buyers and technical designers over that division. Not only is this a major financial issue for the company, but an accident waiting to happen.

Most major department stores are so concerned about the drawstring issue, that they have self-imposed their own safety guidelines. In other words, they have banned any type of item that dangles beyond a certain point. Waist ties on dresses can only be so long. Bibs no longer have bias ties. No knots (trims, pom-poms, flowers, etc) on the end of strings. Those large, pretty sashes found on girls special occassion dresses have to be shortened. Hoodies have elastic in the hood hem instead of drawstrings.

Boutique and specialty stores do not understand this safety issue sufficiently, and I still see drawstrings on childrens clothing. If you are a children's designer, be sure to pay attention to safety issues!

Next time: Product recall on children's bathrobes.

My thoughts on September 11th

Beyond My Ken [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

I don't know why the 5th year anniversary was so hard. Anyone that works in the fashion industry has ties to people in New York City. I didn't personally know anyone that died in the attacks, but I still grieved for the people of New York, a city that I love.

The last time I flew on a plane was April 2001 to New York. This was a business trip and I attended the fabric show at the Javitts center and met with fabric sales reps. One showroom is on 27th and Broadway, the closest I was to the business area of town on that trip. On a previous trip, I had toured that area and taken the boat out to Ellis Island. I still have my picture of the twin towers from the boat. Since I have to fly from the west coast, I can't help but think I could have been on one of those planes...

Between April and September I got married, moved and changed jobs. I happened to land a job with a small design company. My first day on the job was Sept 11, 2001. As I was getting ready for the day, I saw the second plane hit. Then I watched the towers collapse. I was in quite a state when I called my employer and asked if we were still working. We were. For most of that day we listened to the radio, in shock.

My new employer needed a fabric source. I knew of one, but the rep was located in New York City. I felt like such a snake calling him up one week later and asking for a swatch. I could feel the pain in his voice.

Sept 11th is a hard day for me. I still grieve for the people that died.

FAQ: Can I make a profit in the fashion business?

I received some great questions in my mail box the other day from a new childrenswear designer:

Is getting into children's wear a big business? I mean, can one be profitable? I see a lot of my friends who are women's wear designers just breakeven after all that hard work. I enjoy designing for kids and feel that it might be less competitive that women's wear so therefore one may be able to be a tad more profitable in this area?

Let me tackle these one at a time.

Is getting into children's wear a big business?
Yes. I won't take the time to find the numbers, but there is a lot of money to be made in children's apparel. Well known designers may start with women's wear, but they end with children's. It may seem they add a children's line as an afterthought, but that is also where the largest profit margins are. With a well established women's brand, it makes sense to extend it into children. Labor and material costs are less, but the prices can be as high as women's. Hollywood stars and well-meaning, new mothers launch their own children's line when they start a family. Then let's throw in cheap imports by the major chain stores. How is one supposed to compete with that!? If you don't fall into any of these categories, it can seem overwhelming! There is a lot of competition in children's clothing.

I mean, can one be profitable?

With all of the competition that already exists, this is a good question to ask. And it all depends on how you run your business. Any business is difficult. If you start a business, you are the one that bears the responsibility to make it successful. Often the hours you work will be longer and harder than a regular job. You will take your work home at night, lose your weekends, and may never really take a vacation. You do all of this in the hopes of making a profit (and maybe because you love it too).

The simple definition of a profit is to spend less money than you make. Even with the complexity of the fashion business, this simple definition remains true. At the end of the day (week, month), you must sit down and analyze your income vs. expenditures. If you are spending more than you make, you will not make a profit.

The real question here is "How do I make a profit?" This is a slightly more complex answer. There are a lot of variables, even in the childrenswear category. I have read business books and talked with many people in the fashion business. Here are some of the guidelines I have learned that I now use for my business:

1. Spend less than you make.

2. Avoid debt. Most small businesses will take out a small business loan or use savings to get started. Determine a plan to pay off your loans as soon as possible. A debt payment is less money earned in income.

3. Put a little into business savings and make a small charitable donation to your favorite organization (It will make you feel good, is tax deductible, and it just might help somebody). You can use your business savings for future equipment, expansion, and to cover lean times.

4. Try to deal on a cash basis as much as possible. If you are just starting out, you are not in a position to extend credit to anyone, nor to overextend your own credit situation. If you make a sale, try to get money as soon as delivery is made.

5. Plan carefully. More mistakes are made by not planning carefully. Kathleen Fasanella's book, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Sewn Product Manufacturing explains how to manufacture your designs. If you follow each step of the process outlined in her book, then you will more likely succeed.

6. Keep growth under control. You may have received a $20,000 order, but unless you can fill it, don't do it. It may seem ludicrous to turn down such a large order. But if you take the order and don't fill, you can do a lot damage and may put yourself out of business. When you are ready to start taking such large orders, have everything in place beforehand.

7. Set goals. Why are you in business? Where do you want to go? These can be large and lofty or small and mundane. One of my goals is to be able to pay my bills and earn X amount of income. Another goal of mine is to provide X number of jobs to the local economy. Try to set goals that are realistic for the short term, but keep in mind the big ones.

8. Stay focused. When starting out, it is best to focus on one category - like girl's dresses or boys outfits. Later, you can expand into related categories.

9. Ask for help (or hire it). It is easy to get overwhelmed. But believe it or not, there are many out there willing to help.

10. Enjoy what you do! If you love what you do, you are more likely to stick with it.

I see a lot of my friends who are women's wear designers just breakeven after all that hard work. I enjoy designing for kids and feel that it might be less competitive than women's wear so therefore one may be able to be a tad more profitable in this area?

The first few financial years of your business will either break even or run in the red. It is a simple fact of life. But if it has been longer than that, then I have to wonder if these designers are following any of the guidelines above. And really, it doesn't matter what you design, you must pay attention to the business end. At the end of the day, the numbers must make sense. Any category has an equal chance of success or failure. If you want to design kid's clothes, then go for it!

I hope these guidelines are helpful. They have proven to work for me. You can succeed in fashion and as Tim Gunn says, "Carry on!".