ACMI & AMACO
What is ACMI?
The Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI) is an international association of more than 200 art, craft, and creative material manufacturers seeking to promote safety in art and creative products through its certification program. Many small companies, as well as large ones, participate in the ACMI product certification program. For over 80 years, the ACMI program for children’s art materials has certified that these products are non-toxic using the AP Seal. In 1982, the program was expanded to include a much broader range of art materials, including adult products, ensuring that they are non-toxic (AP Seal) or carry appropriate health warning labels (CL Seal) where necessary.
ACMI-certified product seals (AP Approved Product and CL Cautionary Labeling) indicate that these products have been evaluated by a board-certified toxicologist (medical expert) and are labeled in accordance with federal and state art material labeling laws.
Each product in the program undergoes extensive toxicological testing that covers acute and chronic toxicity concerns before being granted the right to bear the ACMI certification seal. The ACMI product certification program includes an ongoing review of the latest scientific and regulatory information available to keep the program current. The program also includes a five-year review of product formulations to meet the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act requirements.
AMACO & ACMI
In keeping with our focus on education and safety, AMACO helped to create a safety organization and usher in a new era of protective standards that have made teaching and making ceramics safer for both the maker and the user. Originally called the Crayon, Watercolor and Craft Institute (CWCI, established in 1936), which was changed to Art and Creative Materials Insti-
tute (ACMI) in the 1970s, this organization provided safety leadership in the ceramics industry. Working closely with ACMI, AMACO initiated the first-ever glaze labeling safety practices. With ACMI and independent toxicologists, some of the most rigorous guidelines have been implemented for producing, labeling, and using ceramic materials for both school and private studio use.
Eventually, ACMI’s testing and labeling standards for health and safety became the national standard and the forerunner of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International’s document ASTM D-4236 Standard Practice for Labeling Art Materials for Chronic Health Hazards, which is the basis for the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA).
While governmental standards continually shift and change, along with societal attitudes toward safety, AMACO continues to work diligently to adapt and ensure a safe working environment for those who use our products.
Learn more about The Art and Creative Materials Institute, Inc. (ACMI) and the seals:
Approved Product (AP) SealCheck for the AP Seal on creative products for kids in sixth grade or younger.
- Non-toxic for humans when used as intended
- For young children and adults who are physically or mentally handicapped or don’t understand safety labeling on product packages
- Contains no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children
- Don’t cause acute or chronic health problems
The AP Seal identifies art materials that are safe and certified in a toxicological evaluation by a medical expert to contain no materials in sufficient quantities to be toxic or injurious to humans, including children, or to cause acute or chronic health problems.
Cautionary Labeling (CL) SealCheck for the CL Seal on creative products for kids in seventh grade or older. Never give children in sixth grade or younger a product with the CL Seal.
- For adults and kids older than sixth grade
- Not hazardous for humans if used correctly
- Must read the product label in full before opening
- Labeled according to the chronic hazard labeling standard, ASTM D 4236, and the U.S. Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA)
- Appears on only a small percentage of adult art materials, and on no children’s materials
The CL Seal identifies products that are certified to be properly labeled in a program of toxicological evaluation by a medical expert for any known health risks and with information on the safe and proper use of these materials.