Letter from CPSC about small, home-based businesses - worth reading!

[#1]

This is a link from Commissioner Moore about the CPSIA, the stay of execution, and their plans for small, home-based businesses. This is worth reading for all of us to see how the Commission is reacting to our feedback and what we should plan for in the future.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115moore.pdf

[SEWArtisticDESIGNS]

Thanks for posting this!

[Former_Member]

Yay!
It makes sense to me that if I use a zipper in my product, the zipper should already meet standards when I purchase it. I should be able to certify the source and not be required to retest.I am more hopeful,, and watching....

S.
:D

[Former_Member]

Wonderful information. Thanks so much for sharing!

[jstinson]

Thanks for the good news!

[bubbletime]

marking

[Former_Member]

Your info is much appreciated! Thank you for helping us stay informed!

[Former_Member]

Thank you for posting that wonderful information... I am thinking this will end up on a positive note in the coming months. I really do have to applaud Nancy Nord for her willingness to defend our industry and risk her job to do the right thing. It's not the end of the road by any means, but Moore's letter really did affirm that we are being heard and that we are quite powerful in our message!

I'm so glad to see Minimonster out of his restraints!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for posting this! I'm breathing a sigh of relief for now, but like many others will be asking my suppliers for specific info on lead and pthalates. And I'm certainly going to keep this issue on my radar. It isn't over yet!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for sharing! :)

[Former_Member]

marking will come back and read. Thanks

[Former_Member]

for the first time in a week... stacey is SPEECHLESS... im just reading and like... yeh. see what happens when i leave.

lol

[TheTinyGarden]

I am very happy to see them throwing around the idea of putting the testing upon supply manufacturers. This is how it should have been from the beginning. We can only hope that they actually run with the idea.

[germandolls]

thanks for helping me find the important information!

[Former_Member]

Gosh, so much negativity! Regardless of what the reasoning is behind it, this stay has saved my business for at least the next year. I'm happy. And positive thinking never hurt anyone!
.................................
I am happy , too. This will get fixed and now they have time.

[Former_Member]

Ms. Nord is very brave indeed, and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. That will certainly be mentioned in my new wave of phone calls, emails, and letters.

Courage in Washington should always be recognized.

[Former_Member]

I hope Nord stays around, as she seems to be one of the few powerful ones with any common sense and reasonability!

[happywhosits]

While we may have gotten a stay of execution, we need to keep up our barrage to Congress. As Nancy Nord has stated and some members of Congress have come to realize, the law must be changed in respect to component testing and retroactive application of the law. The CPSA may be able to address the component piece, but Congress has to address the retroactivity.

Keep writing to your Congressman and to the media. Keep yourselves informed of pending legislation and continue to make your voices heard!

Eileen...

[Former_Member]

Hey, can we send Nancy Nord flowers or something? It took some big brass ones to do what she and the CPSC did.

As for the tone of the letters, I took it as he writer remembering that he's addressing not only people like us who weren't consulted and were going to be devastated by this law as a sort of apology, but also addressing those who were originally pushing for the law. He makes it pretty clear that lawmakers were caught off-guard by the far-reaching impact this law would have.

He's right, too, that many home crafters wouldn't have thought so much about the safety of their materials. Reading thru the threads, it seems that many who did use the XRF guns on their products were surprised at what did turn out to contain lead; I know I for one won't be using any of the older pearly buttons and beads I've picked up at various yard sales for anything I sell. I also learned a lot of lead paint and metal fasteners and I know that making sure they're certified will be important tome, and I also now know how to find an MSDS for pretty much anything!

I don't think it'll be the same law when it does go into effect. I think we'll be looking at component certification, which I don't really see as a bad thing at all.

So overall, I'm pleased: We learned a ot about product safety and government, and the lawmakers FOR SURE learned A LOT about their constituents and their persistence.

[Former_Member]

Wow! Excellent letter. It's obvious the CPSC heard you guys. Good work! And congratulations.

[Former_Member]

I really like the letter from Nord, and I hope Pelosi doesn't fire her for it or cause her to "resign".

The letter from Moore raises some valid points. I think it's slightly condescending, I do. But, he makes a point that many crafters were unaware that we HAD to already follow guidelines in place and also since they haven't noticed any problems with our items then obviously it's OUR items that are safe.

[Former_Member]

finally something I can read and not have to have interpreted! DEFINATELY releived but agree I will and already have make sure I'm puchasing from a supplier that has tested.. I have all thet documentation already printed up and backed up on my computer.. ALso printed out thses letters and put them in files!!
NOW off to CREATE!! WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[bobbinalong]

I have some doubts about this. Not to be a grim grannie, just some doubts.

Are these letters from these two individuals a response to Congress as to why Congress is getting so many letters, emails, etc.? Does it then take Congress to make the final decision for this to actually happen, this "stay" to be finalized.

I am disappointed about donating items to charities. We don't know what the weather in this country will be like for the balance of 2009. If it is anytbing like January has been for much of the country, it could mean problems. Why couldn't we donate to the Red Cross, or to other charities where there is a critical need of kids' items? Impoverished areas?

I notice that in these letters they don't restrain from asking for money or more staffing. Is this just what this is? A ploy to get what THEY want? There doesn't seem to be any consideration for the handmade crafters who produced safe toys up to this point. Just more of "you do what I say". Is it a way for the CPSC to wiggle out of an uncomfortable under-staffing, short-on-cash situation? And to comply to Congress's questions?

I don't really feel the pieces of the puzzle fit just yet. Too many unanswered questions. And before we regroup to continue to fight this thing, we need some bigger answers than are provided in these two communications.

I had wanted the postponement. I felt it was really necessary. But if it were a true postponement, why not for charities, too. I see dollar signs dancing all around the CPSC.

[Former_Member]

I just want to give kudos to all the caring crafters right here. :)

Maybe some crafters were not aware of some of the laws, but I've seen tons of examples right here on Etsy where the small parts law was directly complied with and referred to in the product description - things like "not intended for small children", "do to small parts, not intended for children under 3 or children who still put things in their mouths", etc. And I hand sew my faces because I didn't want to worry about the small parts law. As a business woman I did look up the requirements for manufacturing children's products, and I think a lot of other people here on Etsy did as well.

I think we have been, and will remain, a very caring group of small businesses.

[Former_Member]

A note about Nancy Nord --

She is a Republican appointee. When there is a change in party in the White House, the incoming president appoints his people to all the top slots in the various agencies.

The day all those appointees start work, one of the first things they fill out is their resignation. Funny, huh? They serve "At the pleasure of the President" and when he "accepts" their resignation, they leave. (He does so by signing it at the bottom -- they just keep them on file for when it is politically expedient for that person to move on.)

Nancy is "acting" chair of the Commission right now because her replacement hasn't been selected yet. (They have to be appointed and sometimes confirmed -- I don't know if that position is one that requires confirmation or not.) She is staying on to smoothly continue the work of her agency, but her plans to leave were decided back on Nov. 4th. It is highly unusual for one party's appointment to stay on in another party's administration.

That letter from the so-called consumer groups urging President Obama to fill the CPSC slots with their approved choices is something that we need to watch.

I hope everyone has pulled from this experience the need for us all to be citizen activists. If we don't pay attention to what's going on, if we abdicate our citizenship through apathy, we can end up with a plate of doggie doo-doo to deal with.

This is only the beginning, but we've made a good start. Keep it going!

[thejunebride]

what a read! i need time to process... but at the very least we've got a year to figure it out. thanks for posting that!