U.S. – CPSC Adopts ASTM F2088-20 for Infant Swings in Direct Final Rule

Vol. 1223 | 05 Feb 2021

As part of the rulemaking process required by Section 104(b) of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved the new ASTM F2088-20 to be incorporated in the federal regulation 16 CFR 1223 – Safety Standard for Infant Swings.

An infant swing as defined in the standard is, “a swing that enables an infant in a seated position to swing or glide and is intended for use with infants from birth until infant attempts to climb out of the swing (approximately 9 months)”.

The ASTM F2088-20 is the third revision to the standard since the CPSC adopted ASTM F2088-13 standard in a previous direct final rule. The CPSC has ruled that the revisions from the ASTM F2088-13 to the ASTM F2088-20 version have been neutral or improve the safety of infant swings and hence adopted the F2088-20 in this direct final rule.

The significant revisions from the ASTM F2088-13 to the ASTM F2088-20 version of the standard are as follows:

• Revised procedures for measuring seat back and seat bottom angles added along with clarity on placement of the hinged weight gauge.
• To address possible entanglement of children around the base of the product, definition for ‘tethered strap’, performance requirements and test methods added.
• Scope revised to include products with a powered mechanism that have a gliding action.

The revised ASTM F2088-20 standard becomes the mandatory Safety Standard for Infant Swings effective April 3, 2021, unless the CPSC receives any significant adverse comments by February 18, 2021. Infant Swings manufactured on and after this date shall meet requirements of this rule and additionally will also require certification per 16 CFR 1110 based on testing at a CPSC-approved third-party accreditation body (third-party lab) per ASTM F2088-20 standard.

The Final Rule can be reviewed at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-01-19/pdf/2020-28362.pdf

For questions, please contact Laxmi Ravikumar (laxmi.ravikumar@intertek.com, +1-630-209-9265).