Federal US law does not set a single cadmium limit for jewellery, so several states have written their own. California, Minnesota, Illinois, Maryland, Washington and others restrict cadmium in children's jewellery, and California's metal-containing jewellery law also limits lead in jewellery sold to adults.
If you sell nationally, online or through a retailer with stores in many states, you are in practice selling into the strictest of these states. Most importers therefore design their testing around the toughest rule rather than state by state.
Why cadmium became a state issue
Cadmium entered the news around 2010, when low-cost children's jewellery was found to contain high levels of it. Cadmium is cheap, it casts well and it can replace lead in some alloys, which is why it turned up after lead limits tightened. Federal action was slower, so states moved first.
The state laws are not identical. Some set a total cadmium content limit, some refer to how much cadmium can be released (soluble cadmium), and some point to the voluntary ASTM F2923 standard for children's jewellery. Definitions of "children's jewellery" also differ, usually by age group and by how the product is marketed.
California goes further
California's Metal-Containing Jewelry Law covers both children's and adult jewellery. It restricts lead in adult jewellery by type of material and restricts cadmium in children's pieces. California's Proposition 65 also requires a clear warning where a product exposes consumers to listed chemicals, and lead and cadmium are both listed.
Because many large retailers and marketplaces sell into California, their supplier manuals often adopt California's rules as a national baseline.
How to stay on the right side
- Specify cadmium-free and lead-free materials in your purchase order, for every metal part, solder, stone setting and coating.
- Ask your test lab which state requirements your product falls under, given your target age group and where you sell. Limits and definitions change, so confirm them at the time of testing.
- Test children's ranges against ASTM F2923 and the relevant state limits, not just federal lead rules.
- Keep the test reports and link each one to the production lot it covers.
- Watch low-cost alloys and solders. These are the most common places cadmium appears in imitation jewellery.
What this means for a buyer
For US buyers, the practical answer is to test to the strictest state you sell into and to keep cadmium and lead out of the material specification from the start. Retesting after a failure costs far more than choosing compliant alloys at the sample stage. Our guide to what a jewellery purchase order should include shows where to write these requirements.
Creston & Co works for buyers only, for a fixed fee agreed in writing. We check the materials Rajkot makers actually use, arrange testing at accredited labs and make sure the production lot matches the tested sample. Start with a free sourcing review.