Selco Product Safety

When the updated regulations for Prop 65 went into effect in August of 2018, we fielded a lot of questions about compliance.  For years I thought I knew the answers, but now, more targeted questions came up.  We decided we better renew our efforts, work with our partner brands and take a closer look.

Retail Brand Partners

When we first reached out to our partner brands (ie: Seiko, Fossil, Bulova) we figured they must be getting the same questions.  We found that some of our partners were fielding similar inquiries.  Others were only just beginning to realize the need for answers.  A few of our partners were quick to give us the “all clear” while a few took a little longer.  Eventually we heard from all of our partners that their products did not contain the listed chemicals.  Fortunately, product supplied by our brand partners did not require labeling.

Selco’s Overseas Suppliers

Meanwhile, Selco was going over old tests and requesting new data from our manufacturers.  We found many of them were going through or had gone through similar process.  Many suppliers pointed to projects that they had recently worked on that were run through multiple test cycles.

When all was said and done, we could not find any evidence that our alloy, tin, poly-urethane or stainless steel carried any of the chemicals on the long California Prop 65 list, or at least in the concentration restricted by the law.

Since August of 2018, Selco has re-verified compliance with our packaging factories.

Ongoing Testing

Selco checks different components on each new PO’s to make sure our factories continue to use approved materials in our watches.  We have not found any issues in the materials used to make our A*Belle and Selco Geneve watches.

Selco will continue to monitor the product safety environment and test our products.

Associations

Selco is proud to be a long-time member of the American Watch Association (AWA).  The AWA influences safe & fair regulation for the watch industry.  AWA stays on the forefront of safety policy and regulations.

The Promotional Products Association (PPAI) has also been a great resource.  Selco is part of their Product Safety Aware program.  We also take advantage of PPAI webinars to stay abreast of the latest changes and updates to  regulations.

Sincerely,

Mark Abels

Update

Since December 2018 when I initially wrote this, a very large and well know brand tested 7 pieces of our top selling A*Belle strap watch against their high standards.  The watches and packaging passed as expected with no issues and the order proceeded as planned.