Well, as many small businesses that create children or baby toys or products have learned, the CPSIA has created the need for "track labels", where the manufacturer now has to have labels that can be used to track merchandise, show when it was made, where it's from, etc. That way the manufacturer can know what materials were used when, if there should ever be an issue with a product. To read more about this law visit..http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/sect103.html
So in light of this, I had to come up with a way I could abide by the law and not spend too much money. Since I'm a hands on person, I decided to continue as I have been, and stamp my own tags!
Before, I had just stamped my company name on the fabric tape and sewed it in. Now I do the same process, but have created a much larger stamp...
-I first, designed a tag template on adobe photoshop, any design software would work.
-I measured the tape and decided how large I wanted the tag to be, and then designed accordingly.
-I uploaded my design to an online stamp company and ordered it, it was very simple and inexpensive.
-I then located a fabric stamp ink pad online that can be heat set to be made permanent. For the separate small initial and date stamps, I just cut up some small translucent/clear stamps you can find at any local craft store in their stamp section.(After everything, not including the twill tape, I spent about $25-30 on stamping materials, but will have them to use for a very long time, so it's not a bad way to go!)
I wanted my name/logo on one side and when folded, the tag would have the rest of the information, such as-
- materials used
- city, state, it was manufactured in
- item id
- date of manufacturing, which was determined to be once the product was finished
I would then stamp the date and item id separate. Above, you can see the tag laying flat open not folded as it would be sewn in to an item. The item ID is "W" and the date of manufacturing of DOM is A9, which to me is August 2009. It unfortunately takes more time than my previous tags, printing the item and dates, but is legal and has more information for the consumer.
