I'm nearing the end of my second year in business, thankful for my wonderful customers and retail shops who have made 2008 such a delightful success. At the same time, I fear the ringing in of the new year because of legislation signed into law that goes into effect on February 10, 2009 - the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This issue is dear to my heart as a mother and maker of products for children, but also how it affects all who make, sell, or buy products for children in the U.S.

The US Congress passed the CPSIA and on August 14th, President Bush signed the Act into law. The Act goes into effect on February 10, 2009 and puts much stricter safety regulations on products intended for the use of children ages 12 and under. While the intentions behind the law are unquestionably good, there are major problems with how the law is currently written. No one disagrees that we need to have measures in place to insure the safety of our children. The CPSIA imposes strict new regulations on testing for lead and phthalates, both of which are horrible substances that certainly should not be in products intended for children, or anyone.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their molds to include batch labels. For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers, however, the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of up to $4,000 per toy, will likely drive them out of business. And the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007. Toy makers won't be the only ones impacted by the CPSIA, the thousands of US businesses who offer clothing, jewelry and other gifts for children --in essence-- the entire children's industry will be as well.

The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of toys that have earned and kept the public's trust. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade toys will no longer be legal in the US.

Thriving small businesses are crucial to the financial health of our nation. Let's amend the CPSIA so that all businesses - large and small - are able to comply and survive! I ask and urge you to please click the image above to read more and learn how you can help.

Etsy also wrote an open letter regarding the CPSIA, which I think captures the passion and urgency for home-based, handmade crafters like myself:
http://www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/handmade-childrens-items-unintended-consquences-consumer-pr-3056/

If you would like to read the actual law, it can be found here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf

The FAQ from the CPSC is located here:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html

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