Protest the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008!
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shared by Pamela Vasquez
Thu 12:18pm
(My daughter posted this after I sent it to her and did such a good job expressing herself, I asked if I could copy and paste it.)
I would only add that in addition to Etsy and people who sell there, this will kill church bazaars, fundraisers, craft shows, and other home businesses.
At this moment, there is actually debate over whether one is able to make something to give to a child without having it tested. That seems rather outrageous and unbelievable, but so it the law in general, so why not?
This is not a rumor - some of the links go to the actual act on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website.) If you're like me and love sites such as Etsy and the like, you can pretty much kiss them goodbye after January. I love Etsy because pretty much every product on there is hand made, one of a kind, no two the same, or they are very old and vintage.
Either way, if it is for children under 12, it'll be illegal to sell after January. Maybe they have good intentions, but it is NOT their right to kill small business like this.
These artists and DIY folks are not going to be able to pay to have everything tested, especially since EVERYTHING THEY MAKE IS UNIQUE. They would have to have EVERY item they sold tested. It's just not going to happen.
Things sold on eBay and Garage sales will be effected, too. It doesn't really effect the majority of us reading this now, because it's only for products for children under 12. But it does effect a lot of other people and it's just not right.Please take the time to read this and then take some sort of action against it.
Thanks,Christina
If you haven't read about the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of2008 (HR 4040), you need to. This will affect EVERY item you buy for your children or grandchildren. Clothing, bedding, feeding utensils, wipes,cloth diapers, disposables, toys and on and on.
Starting in Feb 2009, every item made for a child under the age of 12 must be tested AFTER MANUFACTURE (not testing the components) to ensure it complies with the flammability, lead and phthalate limits set in this law.
The law specifies that testing must be done at the SKU level (which means atthe SIZE level--so if you have a rack of blue shirts at Walmart, EACH size of that shirt must have 1 unit tested to ensure it complies).
And when the lot changes (new bolt of fabric, new batch of snaps, new batch of zippers,etc) it must go through testing AGAIN.
The tests are estimated to costbetween $180-$4000 EACH, and must be done at CPSC approved labs. Any inventory on the shelf on Feb 9 that does not have a compliance certificate stating it meets the requirements will be considered "banned hazardous material" on Feb 10, and will not be able to be legally sold in this country.
Obviously, this will be the END of the hand-crafted, one of a kind industry in our country, as there is no way someone with a small cottage business can afford the testing on small batches like they make.
This will also affect Goodwill, thrift and resale shops, ebaying your child's used items and even garage sales. The grandma knitting baby blankets for the church bazaar will be a felon.
Fines are $100,000 per violation, with felony jail time a real possibility.EVERYTHING you buy will be more expensive, and your options will be severely restricted.
I just read (may be hearsay, it wasn't from Fuzzi Bunz) that they will be reducing their selection to one color per size to comply with the new CPSI Alegislation. (they currently have 15 colors and 6 sizes. That's a cost fortesting for EACH lot, cost range 16,200-360,000.
Fabrite fabrics come on bolts of 50 yards, and you can get about 5-6 large diapers per yard.)
Also, Haba and Selecta (European toy manufacturers who make toys to a more exacting standard than the CPSIA requires) are pulling out of the US marketas of the end of 2008 due to the cost of the end unit testing requirement.
Their wood toys are made with wood and finished with beeswax. NO possibility of lead issues or phthalates, but doesn't matter, each sku must still be tested.
Thank you Washington for eliminating the option for consumers to choose something other than plastic MIC for our children.
It is really important that everyone contact their reps to protest this bill as written. Some links if you feel like learning more: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
(scroll down to the video testimony linksof Rick Woldberg and watch--it is really good).
http://www.thesmartmama.com/bg/index.phpoption=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=23http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html#102pppa (the cpsc faq page)
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consequences-consumer-pr-3056/
(Etsyadmin's letter about this)
If you are stymied about what to say, or short on time, use this: http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476
(there issome required text and then an editable portion for you to customize it, aswell as drop down boxes at the bottom to fill in who it needs to go to andfind the right addresses for you).
It is tempting to just stick our heads in the sand and think, "it can't REALLY be that bad, can it?" But it is. I've been reading a LOT about this in the past week. I've read opinions from lawyers, and others involved in the children's markets both big and small. It is HUGE. And Feb 10 is not being called National Bankruptcy day for nothing. Expect the next industry group to be in front of congress asking for a bailout to be the big boxretailers. But there will be no bailout for the thousands of home-crafters. Take the few minutes to write or call your reps, and spread the info on any other groups you are on to have them do the same. (You can copy this post if you like). The grassroots effort IS beginning to spread and build steam.We need to FLOOD Washington with protests about this legislation as it is currently written.The intent is good--to protect our children from harmful substances in toys. The implementation is HORRIBLE. The fact is, the toys that werere called in 2007 did not meet the laws on the books at THAT time. More legislation is never the solution to keep the bad guys from breaking the law. It only impacts the honest. Lawbreakers will still try to get around it.Thank you for reading, and taking action.
