Hi everyone,
By now, many of you have read or heard discussions regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which is scheduled to take effect on February 10, 2009 (this link will take you directly to the government’s informational page). I’ll quote from Jen Taggert’s blog, The Smart Mama, as she sets up the background very succinctly:
On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). It was drafted as a toy safety law in response, at least in part, to the numerous recalls in 2007 for lead in children’s toys and jewelry. It was also drafted in response to the tragic death of a 4 year old after ingesting a charm that was almost pure lead.
It was designed to be a toy safety law, but its reach is much, much broader. And, like all broadly written, reactionary laws, it has very significant, it appears largely unforeseen consequences. Like perhaps putting out of business thousands of small manufacturers of children’s products, including some of my favorites – the small manufacturers of reusable cloth diapers, natural wood toys, handcrafted costumes, and innovative children’s products.
I want to address two specific points with regards to this legislation: 1) how will this specifically affect what you sell on HC / will HC be making any changes in reaction to this law? and 2) what actions can you personally take to keep this law does not negatively affecting your business?
So, point 1:Â how will this specifically affect what you sell on HC / will HC be making any changes in reaction to this law? In short, HC will not be taking any action at this time. The law is not clearly written, and it would be premature to do anything differently for now. If you, as a seller, wish to make changes to the items you offer, that is, of course, your choice. Just bear in mind that there is a lot of misinformation and rumor in the internet community and your best bet is to refer directly to the government’s site for answers. In addition, it seems there is still time to amend the law (more on this in point 2). Finally, a CPSC spokesperson has been quoted as saying, “There are exceptions to the testing rule for crafters making only one unique copy of each item.” (see this article). Unfortunately, this statement has been retracted. There are currently no exclusions written into the law for one-of-a-kind items.
On to point 2:Â what actions can you personally take to ensure that this law does not negatively affect your business? Three things:
- By Jan 30, 2009, follow the directions on this document to suggest changes to the law, for example:
- Exempt products made from materials that are very unlikely to contain lead – fabric, paper, wood, etc.
- Exempt categories of items such as books, unadorned textiles, or handmade items made in the USA and Canada.
- Exempt products from Canada or the EU that are already certified under standards that meet or exceed the CPSC standard.
- Write to your Congressperson, notifying them of your concerns regarding this law. This site has excellent suggestions for the content of your communication.
- Starting tomorrow, vote for this issue on change.org to bring it to the attention of the new administration as soon as possible.
There’s no doubt that this law is a cause for concern. However, rather than panic, the best thing to do is to take action to influence the legislation and ensure that it fulfills its intentions while allowing our businesses to continue. Please consider taking the actions outlined above to protect our handmade community.
Thanks!
Karen, this is very well said. Thank you!
Thank you for this, it will help me decide what to do next in this strange situation we have all found ourselves in. Again thank you.
Karen, is there anything you are doing on behalf of HC? It seems to me that about 90% of your stores on HC will have to close up shop in about 30 days. Is this not your understanding? I see it VERY unlikely that the law will change in the next 30 days.
There has got to be some kind of loop hole or something for WAHM’s. It was my understanding that this would affect mass manufacturers and not small wahm business’s.
As the previous person mentioned, do you have a back up plan Karen? or are you just going to wait it out and see what happens? If I have to close my shop, then I would like to sell off everything on discount now before its too late.
Thank you so much for a very concise directive on how to handle this. I’ve been flailing about and this post provides much needed, efficient directions!
I feel similar that alarm and panic are not the best way to go about this. I feel that there will have to be changes to the law in order to support buisiness in the US. I also think it is a wake up call to all of us and our tight knit community of WAHM’s and devoted customers that we need to be proactive and politically charged at time to protect our rights.
Thanks Karen for the HC update on this topic.
Thank you very much for posting this Karen. I was becoming alarmed at the number of wonderful WAHMs that were already about to throw in the towel without waiting to see what this legislation would bring. And I particularly appreciate your posting of the actions that we can take to insure that this law is for protecting children, and to prevent it from putting small artisans out of business.
Thank you very much!
Thank you so much for this information. I am brand new to the HC community, so I felt very lost as well upon hearing of the new law. I agree with some of the other posts that you advice is well stated! Thanks again for the clear direction.
Hello All,
My wife and daughter have small businesses of their own selling hand crafted children’s items here and elsewhere on the web. Because of this law I have had to do a lot of research of my own to assess the level of risk involved to keep their businesses open past the February 10, 2009 deadline. To do this I have read many online articles from newspapers including the one mentioned here at http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/business/local/article/E-TOYS26_20081225-212814/162286/ . The actual law found at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_public_laws&docid=f:publ314.110.pdf . Next take a look at the CPSC’s webpage on the CPSIA law that will show the approved and pending amendments at http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML . Also look on Bloomberg where they mention an amendment that exempts “wool, cotton, silk, gemstones and pearls†found at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a0Xr2Iw1Vi_8&refer=us .
Questions they have asked the past month are.
1. We are very small businesses. Are we exempt from this law?
No. The only references to small businesses I can find is in the penalty phase. On pages 44 and 45 this law states that the Consumer Products Safety Act’s penalty section (20) is to be amended to include “including how to mitigate undue adverse economic impacts on small businesses, the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation”. This does not exclude any crafter from the law based on their business size. It just talks about the size of the penalty, without giving you any idea what the government considers “undue adverse economic impacts” to be. But the law still applies.
2. This excludes all fabrics and ribbons… Right?
No. The only fabrics that are excluded are wool, cotton, and silk per the article noted above. One important note, as of writing this the CPSIA webpage does not reflect that this has passed.
3. We don’t make the fabric or ribbons. Doesn’t the company that makes the fabrics we use have to do the testing before they can sell it to us?
No. When the manufacturer makes the fabric, it is not made exclusively for children. When you make a child’s product out of someone else’s fabric, now the responsibility to have it tested is on you. The law as written states on page 8 “every manufacturer of a product which is subject to a consumer product safety rule under this Act or similar rule, ban, standard, or regulation under any other Act enforced by the Commission and which is imported for consumption or warehousing or distributed in commerce (and the private labeler of such product if such product bears a private label) shall issue a certificateâ€Â
4. How can we be sure that the stuff we make is covered by this law?
This document is very clear. Products included are cribs(pg 15), durable infant products(full list on pg 17), and toys & games(pg 17). Reading those pages I thought that we were in the clear with the exception of the shopping cart infant covers that we are not making any more. But wait, there’s more! Read down to page 60. This is where they define or redefine the words “children’s product”.
‘‘(16) CHILDREN’S PRODUCT.â€â€The term ‘children’s product’ means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. In determining whether a consumer product is primarily intended for a child 12 years of age or younger, the following factors shall be considered:
‘‘(A) A statement by a manufacturer about the intended use of such product, including a label on such product if such statement is reasonable.
‘‘(B) Whether the product is represented in its packaging, display, promotion, or advertising as appropriate for use by children 12 years of age or younger.
‘‘(C) Whether the product is commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.
‘‘(D) The Age Determination Guidelines issued by the Commission staff in September 2002, and any successor to such guidelines.”
Now go back up to page 1 and read the sentence under the words “An Act”. You’ll see that the law is written to include anything that is defined as a “children’s product”.
This law now wraps around and includes everything I can think of that is made for a child.
The question I have is in the Times Dispatch article above. The only loophole that could help my wife would be in the article where Julie Vallese of the CPSC is quoted “There are exceptions to the testing rule for crafters making only one unique copy of each itemâ€Â. I can’t find that exemption anywhere in the law. I have searched the entire document for the words EXCLUSIONS, EXCLUSION, EXCEPTIONS, and EXCEPTIONS. The word EXCLUSION is used once in the document. It’s on page 4 and pertains to component parts inside a product that will be inaccessible by the child. The word EXCEPTION is used twice in the document on pages 4 & 6. I can’t find anything here about unique or one of a kind items. Hopefully someone else can find what I am missing. If you find it, PLEASE POST IT HERE! The words EXCLUSIONS, EXCEPTIONS, and UNIQUE are never used anywhere in the document.
The answer to my question may be answered by the fact that Julie Vallese of the CPSC resigned yesterday 1/7/2009. http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09085.html .
Please notice that every person that posts on this blog as well as many forums seems to have their own idea what this law will mean to their business. I highly recommend that you take everything you read here and elsewhere with a grain of salt. This includes my post that you are reading now. I have provided the links to the websites to review the law and the amendments on the table now and in the future. I also recommend that you read this law in its entirety along with the amendments. I did. And yes, it is very boring. But this is the best way to truly understand the law that you are required to comply with.
Now that I have reread the Penalties section on page 44 several times, my advice to my wife and daughter at the time of writing this is to make their children’s products using only cotton, wool, and silk or find something else to make. I truly believe that the law will be amended somewhere in the future to exclude small businesses found here and elsewhere. I also realize that a few crafters could be prosecuted before the law is amended. I’m not saying that it will happen, just that it is possible with this law. With the size of the penalties, I don’t think it is worth the risk for us personally until the law is changed.
I don’t think there are as many as you might think that have to close completely…I was selling mainly childrens items, with the new legislation, until something is changed I am going to offer all natural cotton/wool items only for children (because cotton, wool, and silk have been exempted) and I am just going to offer more for mama’s in the mean time. I know of a few other artisans that are doing the same thing, not closing up shop entirely, just switching their focus for a bit…I also think that it is a little early to completely close, even if something doesn’t happen in the next 30 days, it might in the next year, so even though it stinks to sit on inventory for awhile, I think there will be many revisions before all is said and done with this law. Thanks for a very well written informative post Karen! 😀
Yes, those things are exempt until made. So we will still have to find out what we can do WITH them. Once the item is sewn and snapped, does it have to be tested for bc of the snaps and thread? I still am left with many questions after much research.
It’s all very scary though.
I’ve still not read how/if it affects those of us selling from Canada
It affects you the same thus german toy maker is no longer going to sell here. It affects him in a way he cannot afford even though he already follows strict european guidelines.
Thanks to you Karen and everyone else that posted here. I think I will try to clear my in stock diapers and things on a big sale but adjust my other items to be made from natural materials. I spoke to a retailer the other day where I live that carries lots of local WAHM’s childrens products. She told me that items made for moms and dads to use on kids were exempt (like diaper bags) but I am not sure where she got her info from and what else it includes. I am confident that President Obama as our new leader will not let this law force so many small businesses to close when he is trying to kickstart he economy and make more jobs. I think everyone should go to the sites Karen mentioned and rally together to get this law adjusted so that we will have high safety standards for our children’s products and also allow the small businesses to continue making their wonderful products! Good luck to all… 🙂
Zoeys papa, thank you for all of the interesting information you shared. If you have not already done so, please sign some of the petitions. I believe it would be in our best interest to shoot for small homecrafted small business exemtion. The tourist places that are small business carry lots of items made in china, tiawan, Japan etc that are mass produced and do have lead in them. Asking for exemption for the group of sellers leaves us a broader variety of items to sell (if changed) than specific items.
Again, thank you.
I was just wondering does anyone have an update on this?
i was beginning to feel i may well be the only woman / man who thought about this, at the very least at this point i understand i’m not extreme 🙂 i’ll be sure to look at a number of several other threads just after i get my morning caffeine in me, it is really tough to read with out my coffee, I was really late last night practicing facebook poker and after downing a few brewskies i ended up melting away all my facebook poker chips adios for now 🙂
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