Here is a copy of an email I sent this morning to our state level senator. All of this info was pulled from the Etsy forums, most of the links posted by jewelrydesignsbyME (
http://www.jewelrydesignsbyME.etsy.com).
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Dear Senator Griesheimer,
I am contacting you to draw your attention to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) that Congress passed last August.
Inadvertently, this law was written too broadly and affects not only imported children's toys, but also handmade items, electronics and CDs, clothing, and accessories, as well as children's books and school textbooks that are made in the USA.
As the law currently stands, the libraries and schools would need to test all current inventory of books in the library and all textbooks.
This is a statement from the American Library Association:
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322 and an article from Publisher's Weekly:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6627969.html?nid=2286&source=link&rid=907421483.As for the handmade items, crafters and small business owners would be required to test their finished products, even though the products have been made with already tested and safe materials.
The cost of the testing would make it no longer feasible to even sell an item, as so few are made, many being one-of-a-kind items. My grandmother would no longer be able to legally donate her handmade quilts to the hospital, and I would no longer be able to legally sell my handmade products for children.
I created a line of nursery decor and children's items to supplement my family's income. The materials that I use have already been tested for lead and are lead free. I would not be able to legally sell the children's items, such as hair barrette holders, growth charts, and hair barrettes, without the costly testing if the CPSIA law stands as it is currently written. A hair barrettte would no longer cost $4.99, but I would have to sell it for nearly $404.99 just to cover my costs.
The CPSIA would effectively sink the economy even lower than its current situations, and no stimulus checks would help on this end. You can't buy something if it's not even available.
Thankfully, the CPSC has exempted resale and thrift shops from having to test their inventory for lead. However, the exemption is still ambiguous and still puts the resale shops liable if they even unknowingly sell an item that does not fall within the safe lead limit.
Other retailers, though, would have to pull all of their current children's inventory as of February 10th if the item has not been previously tested, certified, and labeled. Think of Altemueller Jewelry in Washington removing their lines of First Communion and Confirmation items, or of River Reeds in Union removing their handpainted children's furniture and accessories. These items, not able to be legally sold, would not even be able to be legally donated to Goodwill, but would have to be placed in our landfills.
Following are several links with more information on the CSPIA: - The original bill proposal:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpsia.pdf- The general CPSIA website:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html- Standard Operating Procedure for Determining Total Lead:
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/CPSC-CH-E1001-08.pdf- Original CPSIA FAQs with the definitions of what is considered to be a child's product:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html#educational- Most recent updates to FAQs:
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/newfaqs.pdf- How CSPIA effects existing inventory & by logical extension vintage, resale, & recycling of children's items:
http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/317.pdf &
http://cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/322.pdf- An activism site trying to get Obama's ear on Inauguration Day on what their poll says are the top 10 issues right now:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia. Second round ends for voting on Jan 15th. - A petition started by
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/ is available at:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/- NAM's petition to the CPSIA to reconsider the wording and materials covered by the law:
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/PDFs/Safety/CPSCPetition1208.pdf - And more blogs with continously updated information:
http://cpsia-central.ning.com/http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
