Menu Shop Vendor and Product Compliance Requirements Product quality and safety is a priority for Barnes & Noble, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (“Barnes & Noble” or “B&N”) and, as new and complex safety standards emerge, we count on our suppliers, manufacturers, and other vendors (collectively, “Vendors”) to provide products that meet or exceed all applicable safety requirements. Barnes & Noble requires all Vendors to stand fully behind their products. Many of the products produced and sold by Barnes & Noble are regulated by federal, state, and local laws and other industry guidelines and standards. Regulations and standards change over time and as such, Vendors must maintain knowledge of and comply with all safety standards for their products. B&N has developed the B&N Compliance Program to ensure that Vendors are supplying or manufacturing high quality, safe products to our customers. To that extent, Vendors who manufacture or supply proprietary products or products for which B&N is the Importer of Record (Direct Imports) are subject to the product testing and factory verification programs found in the B&N Product Compliance Manual. All costs associated with the removal of a Vendor’s products from Barnes & Noble stores or distribution centers in violation of these requirements or any other product compliance remediation, will be at the cost of the Vendor. Barnes & Noble reserves the right to assess doing business with any Vendor who does not comply with these requirements. Please follow the links below to requirements for certain products. This is not an exhaustive list of requirements. Vendors are required for ensuring that products manufactured for or supplied to B&N comply with all applicable laws, standards, or rules. 1. Children’s Products 2. Green Chemistry Laws 3. California Proposition 65 4. Electronics Products 5. Product Certification Requirements 6. Packaging Labeling Requirements for B&N Direct Imports 7. B&N Compliance Verification Program 1. Children’s Products With respect to Children’s Products in particular, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), along with other directives and amendments, enacted requirements related to lead paint, lead content, phthalates and tracking labels for products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years old or younger. (For more details on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, visit www.cpsc.gov/en.) For all Children’s Products (which are defined by the CPSIA as products intended primarily for children 12 years old or younger), Vendor shall ensure that: All Children’s Products will comply with all applicable safety testing requirements including, but not limited to, American Society for Testing and Materials (“ASTM”) requirements for toy safety and CPSIA requirements for lead content, lead paint and phthalate requirements. All Children’s Products will contain all requisite labeling and safety warnings, including, but not limited to, requisite CPSIA tracking information, which will be permanently affixed to the product. 2. Green Chemistry Laws All products produced for and/or supplied to Barnes & Noble must comply with federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations regarding toxic chemicals in products. These laws are often known as “Green Chemistry Laws”. Green Chemistry laws are enacted at the state level, including, but not limited to, Washington, Oregon, Maine, Maryland, and Vermont. All Barnes & Noble suppliers and manufacturers are expected to remain abreast of existing and newly adopted safety standards and legal obligations applicable to their products. Some Green Chemistry Laws require manufacturers (or importers or retailers if the manufacturer has no US presence) to disclose the presence of certain listed chemicals above pre-defined limits in their products. Some jurisdictions prohibit the inclusion of listed chemicals in children’s products sold there in any quantity. For jurisdictions where a sales ban or limit is in place for certain chemicals, Vendors are required to meet those conditions and limit or eliminate the presence of those chemicals in their products as required by law. If a Vendor’s product contains chemicals that are banned from any jurisdiction, they must notify B&N immediately to restrict sales and distribution in those jurisdictions. Vendors of in-scope products may be required to make a reasonable, good-faith effort to provide declarations about the chemical content of product supplied in the form requested by Barnes & Noble. For jurisdictions where sales of the product obligate the manufacturer or retailer to disclose or report certain information regarding such products, Vendors are responsible for completing the report to the respective state and paying any and all associated fees. Information on current Green Chemistry statutes can be found at the following links: Children’s Safe Products Act (Washington) https://ecology.wa.gov/Regulations-Permits/Reporting-requirements/Reporting-for-Childrens-Safe-Products-Act/Chemicals-of-high-concern-to-children Chemicals of High Concern to Children (Vermont) https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/chapter/18/038A Toxic Chemicals in Children’s Products (Maine) https://www.maine.gov/dep/safechem/childrens-products/index.html Toxic-Free Kids Act (Oregon) https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/HEALTHYNEIGHBORHOODS/TOXICSUBSTANCES/Pages/Toxic-Free-Rules.aspx Toxic Free Kids Act (Minnesota) https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/childenvhealth/tfka/index.html 3. California Proposition 65 Under the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, California Health & Safety Code §§ 25249.5 et seq. (“Prop 65”) listed chemicals are identified which are known to the state of California to cause cancer or birth defects or other reproductive harm. Companies must provide notice to California consumers if their products contain a listed chemical. These regulations are not limited to children’s products and apply to all products sold in the State of California. All products produced for and/or supplied to Barnes & Noble must comply with the permissible chemical limits as indicated in Prop 65 Settlements for specific products or product types. Prop 65 Warning Labels on products are not permitted without Barnes & Noble’s prior written consent. Products found to be the subject of a Prop 65 notice of violation will be removed from California stores and will be made unavailable to California residents on bn.com. Vendor is responsible for any associated costs, including legal fees, fines, freight and handling. Products which should be verified for Prop 65 compliance, include but are not limited to the following: Books with vinyl covers Packaging made of vinyl or other plastics Bags, totes, wallets or other personal carrying items made of polyurethane (PU), polyvinylchloride (PVC) or other synthetic materials. Products with surface coatings or paint Vendors should work closely with an accredited third-party testing lab and their legal counsel to ensure these requirements are met. For more information on Prop 65 please visit https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/about-proposition-65 4. Electronics Products For all Electronics Products, Vendor shall ensure that: If required, Vendor has registered its products as covered electronic devices (each a CED) in all states that have enacted e-Cycling laws and will renew and maintain such registrations so long as Vendor supplies such CEDs to B&N for resale. Vendor will provide to B&N adequate quantities of any materials or information required by law for retailers to distribute or share with consumers in connection with a sale of Vendor’s CEDs in any and all appropriate forms of media, including, but not limited to, internet website links, notices or inserts affixed to or included with the product, and printed posters, flyers or brochures, as required. If Vendor's product is defined as a CED by the Public Resources Code of California Section 42463, Vendor will notify B&N in writing, so long as B&N will be carrying its product by April 1 of each year, and Vendor shall also submit a copy of such notification letter to the California State Board of Equalization. Such notification shall include the brand and type of CED and applicable fee category. Immediate notification will be provided to B&N if Vendor’s CED registration status changes in any state. There are currently 25 states that have electronic recycling laws. Refer to the link below to find further information on state laws and covered products: https://www.ecycleclearinghouse.org/maps.aspx 5. Product Certification Requirements Barnes & Noble requires Vendors to certify compliance for all manufactured or supplied Children’s Products and other regulated non-children’s products, pursuant to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Children's Products Vendors who supply or manufacture Children’s Products for Barnes & Noble are expected to maintain a Children’s Product Certification (CPC) based on third party testing by an accredited lab. Vendors must include a CPC with the shipping documents for direct import children’s products. Regulated Non-Children's Products Vendors who supply or manufacture CPSC-regulated non-children’s products for Barnes & Noble are expected to maintain a General Conformity Certification (GCC) based on a reasonable testing program. Follow the link below for more information on CPSC-regulated product: Regulations, Mandatory Standards and Bans | CPSC.gov CPCs and GCCs must be maintained by the vendor, must be made available to Barnes & Noble upon request, and must be included with the shipping documents for each import shipment. Access the Children's Product Certification (CPC) template here. Access the General Conformity Certification (GCC) template here. CPC / GCC Instructions Provide the EAN or UPC, title and description of the product covered by the CPC or GCC. A separate CPC or GCC is needed for each product supplied to Barnes & Noble. Identify separately each applicable law, rule, ban, standard, and/or regulation that is applicable to the product. Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the U.S. importer or domestic manufacturer of the product. Provide the name, full mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the person maintaining test records in support of the CPC or GCC. Provide the date(s) when the product was manufactured by at least month and year. For the place of manufacture, provide at least the city and country or administrative region, of the place where the product was finally manufactured or assembled. If the same manufacturer operates more than one location in the same city, provide the street address of the factory. Provide the name, full mailing address, and telephone number of the third-party laboratory that conducted the tests and upon which the CPC or GCC is based. Each CPC / GCC shall certify, based on a test of each product or upon a reasonable testing program, that such product complies with all rules, bans, standards, or regulations applicable to the product. 6. Packaging Labeling Requirements for B&N Direct Imports B&N proprietary product OR products for which B&N is the Importer of Record must meet regulatory labeling requirements. Vendors are responsible for ensuring all requisite labeling is present on their product. Vendors should work closely with an accredited third-party testing lab to ensure compliance with regulatory labeling requirements early in the process and prior to submitting your product for final testing under the B&N Compliance Verification program. General Merchandise Packaging Product Identification (EAN, UPC or ISBN) Net quantity of contents shall be expressed in terms of weight or mass, measure, numerical count, or combination to give accurate information to facilitate consumer comparison (U.S. and metric units), i.e., 3 cookie cutters, 100 cards, 3 paint brushes, etc. Responsible Party name & address (City, State & Zip Code) (and website on proprietary product) on packaging and product (Manufacturer, Packager, Publisher, or Distributor) Textiles – material content, care instructions on packaging and product Claims - Any claims made on packaging, i.e., candle burn time, weight capacity of a tote, product dimensions, non-toxic, etc., must be accurate and verifiable. Packaging shall indicate country of origin legibly, permanently, and in comparable size and proximity to any mention of country other than country in which the article was manufactured or produced. Must be visible at point of purchase. CPSIA Tracking Label Products intended primarily for children ages 12 and under must bear a CPSIA Tracking Label which provides the following information Unique Identifier = EAN, ISBN or UPC Manufacturer/Distributor/Publisher Name and full street address City and Country of Manufacture Batch or Lot Number Month and Year of Manufacturing Refer to the link below for further information: Tracking Label Requirement for Children's Products | CPSC.gov Stuffed Toy Labeling In accordance with various state laws (Pennsylvania Stuffed Toy Act, Maryland Stuffed Toy License Act, and Ohio Bedding & Stuffed Toys Act) stuffed toys must have a permanently affixed label – often referred to as a Sewn-In Label (SIL) – and must contain the following information: CPSIA Tracking Label, as above A statement that "All New Material" was used Type of stuffing material The assigned state registration number (Pennsylvania, at a minimum) Care Instructions – verbiage or graphics + verbiage Refer to the links below for specific state laws regarding stuffed toys: https://www.toyassociation.org/App_Themes/toyassociation_resp/downloads/advocacy/state/stuffed-toy-licensing-and-labeling-laws.pdf Warnings - US Specific warnings may be required based on the product components, unique for each product, including but not limited to Hazard Warnings for Children’s (i.e., Small Parts, Functional Sharp Points or Edges) or Hazardous Substance Warnings, as determined through product safety testing by an CPSC-accredited third-party testing lab. 7. B&N Compliance Verification Program Vendors producing proprietary product or product for which B&N is the Importer of Record (Direct Import) are subject to the B&N Compliance Verification Program, which includes the following: Factory Compliance Verification Factories which Vendors have engaged to produce proprietary or Direct Import products must verify compliance with Social Responsibility and Security (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism “CTPAT”) requirements. Verification may include review of existing documentation or physical audit by the B&N selected Service Provider. Product Compliance Verification Vendors producing proprietary or Direct Import product which are subject to US federal, state or industry laws, rules or standards must submit products or documentation to the B&N selected Service Provider for safety or compliance testing to verify compliance. Details of the Compliance Verification Program are only accessible to B&N Vendors of Record and can be found in the B&N Product Compliance Manual. About Us Visit BN.com More to Explore Shop BN.com Find a Store Follow Us: Copyright Barnes & Noble, Inc. 2021 Barnes & Noble uses cookies to offer you a better user experience. By clicking “Accept All Cookies” you agree to the storing of cookies on your device in accordance with our Cookie Policy Manage Preferences Accept All Cookies