# CPSIA law Children products



## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

If you make or sell handmade children (12 and under) related products this new law affects you.

FYI

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5943007
"CPSIA is legislation that is passed and will go into effect in February - some is in effect now, that will STOP all handcraft of any item made that "could be used" by any child under the age of 12 unless those items are tested - some individually at approximately $500 each test per item. Also any manufactured item regardless of the size of the business. Can you afford to test all of your materials and your items - and each item could need testing.
"
other threads with more info and links to Consumer Products site ...

http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5939104

http://www.etsy.com/forums_search.ph...ch_query=CPSIA

Crafters are uniting to change this law. Petitions, letters and phoning.


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## MorrisonCorner (Jul 27, 2004)

Additional Info from another site:

Urgent News Regarding Toy Safety Law

I know this is a terrible time to be receiving emails that require attention. I also know our last newsletter was sent out just last week. However, this is very time sensitive and the Children's Products industry (clothing, toys, gifts, etc) needs your help. As many of you may have heard, the company Selecta has decided to pull out of the USA market effective Dec. 31st 2008. We need your help to make sure other quality companies are not forced to make similar decisions.

If you didn't receive or read my previous email, I will sum it up very briefly. (If you already know the issues and already concerned please jump over these points right to the URGENT action that is needed). While we all applauded efforts by the federal government to tighten the safety standards for toys, we all got much more than we bargained for. The law that was passed extends to all products directed to children 12 years of age and younger, and includes such things as clothing & toys and much more, with very few exceptions or exemptions. That wouldn't be so bad, but there are a few requirements that, if left as is, will force most small businesses (and many medium & large sized businesses) out of business....including retailers, and work at home moms. 

1. Existing Inventory: The law states that any affected product that does not meet the new standard (with the exception of phthalates) cannot be sold from the shelves after February 10th. The problem is that the law includes many new items that have not been under a previous regulation, and have not been tested. To test these items now, on the retail or wholesale level is prohibitively expensive, and/or simply not possible. So it is very difficult to confirm compliance (although most items in most companies would be compliant), and at the same time, penalties for selling anything that doesn't meet the standard are very stiff. The options for anyone with inventory are not pleasant.

2. 3rd Party Testing by SKU: The law will require 3rd party testing in the future for each sku (or style). The large pair of jeans have to be tested separately from the medium size of jeans...even though all materials are the same. This makes testing prohibitively (impossibly) expensive. There are other ways to form a testing regimen and be just as satisfied with the results.

3. Markings: All products manufactured after August 12th, 2009 must have markings on the package and permanent markings on the product indicating where, by whom, and when the product was made. Large corporations can afford purchasing multiple dies to do this. Small companies cannot. European companies with limited sales to the USA likewise cannot.

4. Complexity: The law is extremely complex. Needlessly so. It is requiring companies to hire lawyers just to get a grasp of what is required of them. Also, the requirement of including certificates of compliance of each product shipped, with each product is overly burdensome. Electronic certificates has been approved, and will help, but even then there is a substantial cost to the additional administration---which does very little, if anything, to improve the safety of our toys.

5. Frequency of Testing: I am still trying to get a clear grasp of this. However, it is very possible that each batch must be tested/certified. This is fine for large companies running 10,000 or 100,000 pieces per batch. For small manufacturers, with small runs, it multiplies the enormous cost from point #2, even higher.

What this means is small, innovative companies that typically make niche products, will be forced out of business, or forced to narrow their product range and sell to the mass market. Product availability and selection will diminish. We will be primarily left with imported plastic toys from China. Yes, quite ironic isn't it.

URGENT Action:
The Subcommitte that put this law together is meeting to review its implementation on Wednesday. We need to send a message to them to revise the law or its implementation in ways that will maintain the integrity of the safety standards, but will not decimate the children's products market. Here are the details of the meeting:

The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled "Implementation of the CPSIA: Urgent Questions about Application Dates, Testing and Certification, and Protecting Children." This is an oversight hearing examining implementation of Public Law 110-314 (H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)). Witnesses will be by invitation only.
The staff briefing for this hearing will be held on Monday, December 8, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. in room 2322 Rayburn House Office Building.

Here is a link to the list of Committee Members. Please contact your Representative of Congress. If any one of these Representatives on the Subcommittee is YOUR representative, PLEASE be sure to call & email them to voice your concerns about the provisions in the law as they affect you and the children's products industry in general. Please do this today and Monday. Here is the contact information at the CPSC...please contact them with your concerns too. 

Here is a link to some suggestions for talking to our representatives from WAHM Solutions.

What else can you do? Pass this on in your e-newsletters, in your stores, among your friends. There is much disinformation in the market, and it is up to us to warn consumers and colleagues of the pending disappearance of the natural & specialty toys we have come to rely on in the recent years. Sign petitions, and pass the link on to friends.

This is a critical time to raise our voices and be heard. Please do not say it can wait until next week, or after Christmas. Important issues that affect us will be discussed in a public way next week...NOT after Christmas. 

What else can you do? Join the Handmade Toy Alliance, join the online community cpsia-central and become informed & involved. Contact the media, discuss this in forums and in your own online communities. It isn't just our businesses that are at risk, it is the very nature of the toys & products our children & grandchildren will have access to in the future.

Please pass this on!


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

I've read so much but I think that meeting has been cancelled.

I'm curious how this will affect charitable donations to babies and children? Will hospitals
risk accepting un-certified items for use? Might make them liable to test before use!


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## PonderosaQ (Jan 12, 2004)

I'm wondering about charitable donations as well. I make and donate lots of hats and scarves.

PQ


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

I just read today that you can't sell or offer items that don't meet the new law.

I still think they'll be adding more amendments as the public asks why the stores have nothing for children in stock come 2-10-09. No grandfather clauses on current items. Boy, the landfills will bust.


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

December 10, 2008 
The following is an open letter regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). This Act, which will go into effect on February 10th, 2009, puts forth much more stringent safety measures for products intended for children under the age of 12. 

Under the very important auspices of child safety, the Act may have grave unintended consequences: fewer choices for families who are looking for handcrafted alternatives. Many Etsy artists and craftspeople have expressed fears that they won't be able stay in business due to the burdensome cost of testing and certification pursuant to the proposed legislation. 

As a venue for handcrafted and vintage items from small entrepreneurs, Etsy has invited the Ombudsman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to join us in a webchat in our Virtual Lab. Etsy would very much appreciate the opportunity to provide a forum for discussing the concerns of artisans who make toys and children's products as well as their customers who support handmade products.

We urge members of the Etsy community and anyone concerned with both child safety and conscientious consumption to contact their governmental representatives; ask them to consider how the Act will impact independent craftspeople.

The office of the CPSC ombudsman: 888-531-9070.
Visit the Handmade Toy Alliance for information about writing your representatives.

Over 200,000 artists, crafters, and vintage collectors sell their items on Etsy.com. Many of these artisans make toys and other items for children. Made with love, care, the human touch and â often -- all natural materials, these items bring the consumer marketplace back to a personal level where customers can chat with toy-makers and even create custom items for specific needs. Etsy members are part of a larger movement that seeks to creatively provide people across the globe with alternatives to mass-produced goods. 

Many Etsy sellers are work-at-home-moms and dads. Among them are crafters with the skill and heart to preserve traditions of toy-making or to innovate their own methods of making children's items with a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) hands-on philosophy. You can meet an Etsy toy maker and seller by watching this five minute video portrait (all of our videos are published under open Creative Commons, so please feel free to repost). Amber Dusick aka woodmouse.etsy.com and Los Angeles-based toy-maker/work-at-home-mama, is an artist who would be impacted by this proposed legislation if it is enacted. Amber uses sustainably harvested woods, non toxic paints and beeswax along with her wood burning tool to create simple, natural wooden toys. Her imagery is reminiscent of a child's crayon drawing come to life in wood. 

Amber, like other Etsy toy makers and sellers, is fearful that as a sole proprietor she will not be able to afford the stricter regulations of the Act; the cost of testing and certification is likely beyond her means. She told Etsy, âI'd be more than happy to have each of my toys tested, if it wasn't so cost prohibitive. It is the COST involved in testing that will shut us down, it isn't that anyone refuses to have their work tested."

The Small Business Association defines "small business" as under 500 employees. Most of our Etsy members are either sole proprietors or maybe a family or studio of friends working together. Many craftspeople on Etsy have told us that they could be put out of business if forced to comply with the proposed legislation. This is the painful irony bound up in the CPSIA.

Etsy wanted to reach out with this open letter to see what can be done to ensure that small businesses and micro enterprises are being taken into account with this legislation. Our members would like to better understand how the CPSIA took into account these smaller businesses operating with fewer resources for testing and compliance. We believe Etsy artisans are pro-testing and pro-safety; the problem is the prohibitive certification costs relative to their small businesses' incomes. Our community is concerned that this legislature disregards small businesses in its attempts to regulate large corporate entities.

The U.S. House and Senate passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (the CPSIA), and on August 14, 2008, President Bush signed the Act into law. Further information on the Act is available at the CPSC website at http://www.cpsc.gov/ and helpful FAQs are located http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.pdf.

Please leave your comments in the forum thread linked in our blog post. Thank you!


Sincerely, 
Etsy


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

UPDATE: This morning we spoke with the Deputy Director at the CPSC and he expressed the CPSC's desire to communicate with the crafter community, whether in a Virtual Lab, podcast, or blog post. However, there's work that needs to be done before that can happen. He will be keeping us in the loop, specifically regarding an open call for comments coming soon. In the meantime, if you have questions, send them to [email protected]. Please stay tuned â we will share any info as it comes in.


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## shepmom (May 29, 2003)

The update was posted by Etsy staff.


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