On Friday, January 31, 2009, Congress placed a "stay" of enforcement on the CPSIA Law which would of gone into effect on February 10, 2009. This means that the CPSIA required "third party" testing for all children's products will not have to take place. This does not, however, mean the existing laws requirements for lead and other chemicals can be ignored. We must still adhere to the "reasonable testing" portion of this law. To my business, this just means I am now turning to my suppliers of fabric, stuffing, thread and ribbon and asking them if they have written certification that their products are free of lead and other chemicals that the U.S. Government is regulating. So far, I have had very good luck with my suppliers. They can assure ME in writing that their products are safe and that allows ME to assure YOU that my finished toys are safe for your baby!
One of the biggest victories in this entire thing is the fact that the "big toy companies" (who were very, very involved in writing this law) are very upset right now! They had fully intended for this law to put the "little guys" out of business, thus allowing them to monopolize the market. Sad to say this would of taken your "choices" as a parent away from you. Because, the only ones that could afford the third party testing would of been the huge manufacturers.....so sorry guys!!
Bottom line, my toys are safer now than before. Is it because my suppliers have done something different to the manufacturing process of their goods? No, my toys are safer now because I now know, for sure, that the supplies I am using are safe.....and I have that in writing from them! Nothing has changed except my peace of mind, and YOURS.
Thank you for supporting me through this. If you wrote to someone to protest this law, thank you, if you listened to me whine about it for months, I REALLY thank you, and if you kept my spirits up when I was down, bless you......remember, there is always a "rainbow" in every storm!
5 comments:
Melana...so glad the stay is in place...shops like yours deserve to be open and the children have a right to your beautiful creations! LOL...what would we do without Tilly!! God Bless you and good luck with your shop...can not wait to see your next creations!
great post ozark - i too along with most want to know that what i make is safe for children - my sister & i did that almost 3+ years ago now in regards to our premium leathers. when we sought out tanneries to purchase from we asked extensive questions about the processing they used and made sure that they met government standards for safety. it truly should be a matter of conscience for each one of us to know that what we are creating is safe for children.
I couldn't have said it better myself - what great news for small manufacturers. We still need to make sure that our goods are safe for children and all our customers, but the onerous testing requirements in the CPSIA as originally written are not feasible for small producers. What would add less than half a cent per unit for Mattel or Fischer Price would add hundreds per unit for us - and destroy our one of a kind products! The pure ludicrousness of not being able to accept the certified testing done by our suppliers had a funny smell from the start. Now let's get cracking on getting reasonable testing standards in place!
Glad to hear that the small businesses are safe!!! I was getting sad thinking about all of the wonderful handmade items being halted. Glad to see everyone gets to stay!
Love the picture too!
Melana, great post, love that shops like yours and the rest of us will be able to breathe a bit easier now. Your Tilly has been sew awesome in our latest charity...we are all sew proud of you!! Keep up the wonderful work!
Blessings~
Cindy
PS~~ Rainbows are wonderful signs of God's presence!
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