January 5th, 2009
Human sacrifice! dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria.
I’m still refusing to panic – mainly because I don’t have the energy for panic right now – but I’m more worried than I was back in December. A week ago. I’ve read the CPSIA act in more detail, and my goodness there is absolutely no way this should be allowed to happen the way it’s currently written. I agree with the idea behind the legislation. Safe + children’s stuff = good. But the way they’re putting it into action is insane. The deadline for compliance is a month away and businesses affected still can’t get clear, real answers on what we are supposed to do. Lots of small businesses are shutting down already, and more will follow over the next few weeks.
Every granny supporting herself by knitting baby socks for craft shows is about to become a criminal. Used bookstores will no longer be allowed to resell children’s books, and those kid-to-kid resale shops will all disappear. Selling used toys at a garage sale, using freecycle, selling vintage toys on ebay to grownup collectors — illegal. Even donations to Goodwill are going to be disallowed; every person in America is now supposed to take used clothing, shoes, toys, bedding and accessories TO THE DUMP unless they have proof that every component in the item was tested and certified lead-free. Even setting it out by the road for someone else to pick up is about to become a jailable federal offense. So sell it overseas! Except that we aren’t allowed to export untested goods either, even if those goods originally came from the country we are exporting them to.
So if you make or sell children’s goods, what are you going to do with all of your inventory starting February 10th? If you’re a parent, what are you going to do with all of the books, toys, clothing and stuff that your child outgrows that you don’t have certification for?
Top ten uses for children’s products banned under the CPSIA:
- 10. Put used children’s coats, bedding, plush toys into your walls for insulation.
- 9. Grind up to use as filler in pet foods. Consumer groups warn that this may make it illegal for families with children to purchase or adopt pets, but if that’s what it takes to protect our children then so be it.
- 8. Shred plastic products and use them to make safer surfaces for playgrounds – no wait. Shit. Shred to make packing material for shipments of biohazardous waste.
- 7. Retrofit toys with boobs and penises, repackage as adult products.
- 6. Anonymously send uncertified toys to members of congress as an act of incredibly adorable domestic terrorism.
- 5. Drop it all in a single spot in the ocean to form an island. Build house on the island, declare self a country where laws won’t be all stupid and shit.
- 4. Bury them in an enormous time capsule for lucky children to discover several centuries from now.
- 3. Stack it up around the perimeter of the United States - finally! We have achieved isolation! No one will dare touch our Great Wall of Uncertified Goods.
- 2. Use it for bait in sting operations to catch parents who are trying to purchase second-hand toys and goods or who have gone underground to find handmade things for their kids.
- 1. Burn it to eliminate the need for fossil fuels, securing Bush’s place in history as the most secretly brilliant president of our nation.
Over on change.org this issue is in the final round of possible things that may be presented to Obama on January 20th, like he won’t have anything else on his mind that day. Seriously, they couldn’t get an appointment for January 21? You can help by voting to keep the issue on the list of ten things they talk to him about.
Which brings me to this week’s giveaway! It is super cool. It is a Nerdy Baby gift set which includes a beautiful plush microscope, designed by me and hand knit by the award-winning super successful and nice Miss yummypancake herself.
This collection of Nerdy Baby stuff is perfect for baby’s introduction to nerddom, or for your geeky lab mate or for yourself because it is seriously that cool. The microscopes are so coveted in my house that I won’t let my children touch them — which is probably just as well because I can’t afford to have them tested for lead. They’re made from safe materials, handknit here in the USandA, but you never know.
To win, you gotta do a little legwork. Your job today is to do SOMETHING to raise awareness of the freaky unintended consequences of the Child Protection Safety Improvement Act. You can do this in many ways:
- Click on this link http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia
sign in, and click the blue VOTE button on the left — Don’t worry about being a jerk because it’s up against human trafficking and darfur and stuff. You get ten votes to use for different issues. - OR Blog about this issue
- OR Email a bunch of people and tell them why this sucks
- OR Make a sandwich board sign and stand out on the side of the road during your lunch hour
- OR Contact your representatives and ask what they are doing to fix this
- OR Contact your local television station and ask when they plan on reporting how this is going to impact consumers
- OR something. Anything. Tell the person in the cube next to you, tell the other moms at your playgroup today, ask store owners what they plan to do…
Then come back and post a comment about what you did. Winner will be chosen randomly, but I will love each one of you for whatever small thing you do.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:21 am
Okay, I haven’t activated myself (*sigh* forgive the pun) yet, having only just read this, but I had to tell you that #3? Made me shriek with laughter — and that’s no mean feat, seeing as I’m premenstrual and in a bear of a mood. Bless.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
I actually posted about this two weeks ago, and two followups (three with a post about this ; I don’t have a lot of readers, but I like to kvetch)
http://attriel.psychotomy.net/wp/?tag=cpsia
Included in the second post is the response I got from one of the congress critters. Form-letter, and I’m up in the air whether anyone actually read the email I sent or not, but it’s actually possible from the response that they read at least far enough to figure out if I was for or ag’in’ it.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I clicked on the vote button!
January 5th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Posted the link to your previous post (the one with more details) to my Facebook status! Will email it around, too…
January 5th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I am not kidding, Tiffany, but you must have crashed the Change.org website. I have been trying, without luck, to create an account and VOTE, goddamnit, for ten minutes and continue to encounter server error notices! I’m not sure if my account has been activated or not, but I will try back in a bit to VOTE. (Can I use all ten of my votes for this?)
January 5th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
“Oops! A server error has occured.
Oops! You’ve encountered a minor issue we must have overlooked. We’ll get on it right away.
In the meantime, could we interest you in returning to our lovely homepage?”
Tried to vote (was even willing to use our old USA home address if voting from outside the country would not be allowed), but encountered above error. Think they know my computer is sitting on the wrong side of the ocean? I’ll try again later, but in the meantime: Putting on my coat to go into the garage to make a roadsign instead… Or wait, it’s freezing in there (really, it is… I left a full waterbucket in there after mopping our floors yesterday, and the mop is frozen solid)… Er… I’ll e-mail a link to your blog to as many people I know in the USA and will make a “drive safely – children at play” sign come spring… It’s not the help you were looking for, but still… Traffic kills children faster than lead does (unless said lead is dropped on their cute little heads).
I handmake/-paint wooden decorative things for new parents. They will probably be touched and maybe even partly eaten by their new babies, since most of the items will be hung in nurseries. I use lead free paint, of course. Boy, am I glad I live in Europe right now… I am all for lead-free toys, being a fairly new parent myself, but this law is “a bit over the top”!!
January 5th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Sounds like change.org is having issues. Give them a bit to kick their server. Thank you everyone, really.
Mijke – I wonder if the paint they use on automobiles contains lead? Think about it — not only does being hit by a car break your bones and cause massive internal trauma, but exposes you to uncertified and therefore unsafe maybe lead-containing paint.
January 5th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
I have voted, taken business surveys, blogged on my Xanga blog, told everyone that would give me their attention for 5 minutes, contacted my representatives, read until my head reels, emailed everyone I know about this issue.
You see, I was all set to launch my own internet business (I had set up website, ecommerce, etc.) selling 100% organic cotton baby clothes, decorated by myself, in my non-smoking, non lead or phthalate polluted home, with my original art, with totally safe fabric paint, applied with high quality artist brushes, and heat set on my my new ironing board with my new iron….when….I read CPSIA and decided I needed my house, car, and other worldy possessions and did not want to have to pay fines for noncompliance with the law.
So, I am with you on this one. I cannot help but believe that surely some representative with some comprehension of what this will mean to the artisans in their state and other states will snap and rally to the cause. Bottom line this is going to be a financial disaster (see National Bankruptcy Day) for large and small companies alike and with the economy in the crapper already this would just be another nail in the coffin.
My entire inventory will be worn by my new grandchild despite the illegal nature of all those items.
But I would love a microscope!
January 5th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I voted on Change.org. It’s at #7 right now–fingers crossed that it stays high.
This is such a mess. The intention behind CPSIA was good but they pushed it through way, way too fast for something so complex.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Voted on change.org
Wrote my Congressperson (not that I really think he cares)
Raged against the dying crafts
Kvetched to my mother, who kvetched to all the ladies she works with at the Alabama Society of CPAs
Called my sister to tell her to talk to her mommies group in Boston
Watched Ghostbusters in an act of solidarity. OK, not yet, but I totally will.
Lord, this law is total crap.
January 5th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Bonus points for watching Ghostbusters.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Just sent a comment to the CPSC. Also signed online petition, and will *call* (I know, who does that?!) my representatives as soon as my napping boob-monkey wakes up.
P.S. I think the nerdy baby gift set would be an amazing way to fully indoctrinate the boob-monkey in the realm of science. I, her entomologist mama, and her botanist papa would be forever grateful for your help. :-)
(too much sucking up? Sorry. I started salivating when you mentioned the microscope.)
January 5th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
You’ve officially got me…officially freaked the hell out. I was already forming an email to my mom friends before I saw the link or got to your give away.
Small business and poor families are going to be screwed up and down. My family relies on kid-to-kid shops and hand me downs. I’m saving my kids’ clothes for my friends’ future babies. Apparently that makes us all criminals. And so much for garage sales next year.
Insanity. Pure Insanity. That’s all this is.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll be blogging about this as well and linking back to you as my source as I would never have had a clue about it if it weren’t for you.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Thank you all so much for talking about this issue. As one of many small consignment store owners ( we also operate a little thrift to benefit small, local nonprofits and the county social service program for free clothes and toys) this is such a gut wrenching place to be in for so many of us. Worse, little shops don’t even know about it, or are just finding out.
The idea that second-hand kid’s clothes and stuff will be considered ‘banned hazardous product’ seems so ludicrous to so many (even the media) it’s hard for our small group to get much attention – but with your help – we’re trying. Thank you. Feb10 is just too close for comfort.
http://savekidsresale.squarespace.com/
January 5th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Ooh! Done! Before I read this post even! I wrote my Senators and Representative and emailed some friends to do the same. Will head to change.org next thing.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
[...] not already Small businesses and parents should all be freaking out right now. Thanks to Electric Boogaloo I am now aware of a very “well-intentioned” but “head up their ass” plan [...]
January 5th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Change.org here I come. I use stumbleupon (a web-surfing addon for browsers that allows you to share websites with others) and so I found the open letter from etsy and thumbs up’d it and added more tags, a comment, and links to your posts on the subject. It will be passed on and viewed by many more people through stumbleupon.
January 5th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I have just voted and also posted the issue to my facebook account. As a crafter and a mom of twins who uses consignment and yard sales for a lot of her kids toys and clothes, I am really afraid of the consequences of this law. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
January 5th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Oh Bill Murray at his finest.
Factoid…one of my very good friend’s grandpa plays the cardinal in the end of that movie.
January 5th, 2009 at 8:31 pm
I joined two groups on Facebook about it AND I plan to come out of my blogging hiatus to blog a little about it. Hopefully today (if my crappy sleeping toddler will allow . . .)
I really hope something is done about this. I was hoping to start making little crafty toy-like things.
January 5th, 2009 at 8:48 pm
This is such a frightening thing. I hate the thought of throwing away all of Ana’s old toys just because I can’t give them away without paying to have them re-certified. That’s silly!
January 5th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
I’m sorry to be dense, but can someone point me to the part of the law that prevents donations, garage sales, etc.? I see lots of requirements for manufacturers, which of course hurt etsy sellers and similar folks. I see information obligations for retailers — those who obtained products for the purpose of sale to consumers — which would place a possibly-fatal burden on thrift stores and simlar businesses (but would not require testing). I see a few odd requirements that could catch the average Joe if he’s selling cribs or BBP-containing products. And I see a prohibition on selling products that don’t comply with the law, which apparently has the potential to make Average Joe responsible for some manufacturer not following the law. However, I do not see anything that makes it illegal for me to donate, nor anything that makes it illegal for me to sell my old toys so long as I know they are okay (e.g., if they’re labeled under the act and not recalled). I know a lot of smart people have looked at this, so what am I missing?
January 5th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
Twittered it, blogged it, voted–I am the same way-used to be slightly concerned but now really concerned. At the moment I am planning on removing all of kid stuff from my shop at the end of the month. So sad. I hope that this changes!!
Here’s my blog post:
http://vermillionrules.blogspot.com/2008/12/save-handmade.html
January 5th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
R – the law is worded to include anything manufactured prior to this law, and specifies that you also may not GIVE nontested items away to consumers (so family members are fine, just not the general public). If the toys you own are labeled with compliant certificates then yes, you should be able to donate or sell them. That means that anything you buy after this year, so long as you keep up with the certificates/packaging should be fine.
More here http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story
I will dig up the link to the CPSIA site where it explains the retroactive nature etc. I really don’t think that they intended to outlaw garage sales and thrift store sales, or sales of popular vintage toys on ebay. The impression I get is that they were trying to tidy up any possible loopholes that big offending companies might try to use – like oh we give away the toy and charge $50 for shipping! Or oh, we made all this stuff before the law so we don’t have to bother.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
Voted and will bring it up at my green mommies group this week and daughter’s preschool when it starts up again. The whole second-hand goods effect is mind-boggling. Also I looooove to buy handmade stuff.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
R! Here is where I’m seeing that this applies to older products as well
http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/FOIA/advisory/317.pdf
Which – honestly, what I find disturbing about these documents is that the commission is struggling to interpret Congress’ intent to the best of its ability based on what congress has done in the past. So to answer the question “Does this apply to products made before 2009?”
Well, we see that in this and this case Congress said they didn’t like to make laws retroactive. But usually when a law isn’t they spell that out. So this one is.
And usually that means you have a reasonable amount of time to work on the issue, but sometimes they decide not to offer that and so, yeah. Anyway good luck!
That’s how I read it anyway. My legalese is rusty since having kids.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:19 am
You had me at the first post. How completely crappy (first I typed carpy which is for some reason, totally funny to me) this is for artists (and kids) everywhere. This is what I’ve done: blogged, voted, close-talked/ranted to at least 11 people until they started to back up a little which in my world means “stop talking now”. Next step is I’m going to sharpie marker your excellent points all over my dazzling rack and just walk around. Might as well give ‘em something good to read as long as they’re looking, and oh – they are looking, my friend.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:50 am
Oh I probably shouldn’t comment twice so please disregard this one in your random choosing. BUT I feel compelled to clarify something I wrote before. I do not have a toddler who is crappy and sleeping but rather a lovely toddler who often sleeps rather crappily. There, I feel much better now.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I joined a Facebook group, and will send your post to friends. (But you don’t need to include me in the drawing – though the knitted microscope sounds amazing! – as I think you have others commenting who want it more.)
January 6th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Though I loathe to join things online like Change.org, I just did and voted and can’t understand why I can’t vote again and again with my remaining 9 votes. After all, I DO live in Florida!
When I first learned of this law I emailed all my friends, made my Dad send snail mail a copy of my email to all his friends. Wrote my Congressman and Senators, wrote my Dad’s Congresswoman and senators, and I bitch about it incessantly to my husband, who (I am sure) is very very tired of me by now.
Right now it’s at #9 on Change.org. Keep voting folks!
January 6th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I posted the links to your posts on my facebook account. I’m in the process of reading the legislation. Ick. But I want to understand it better. Also, calling people and causing much running amok because we will probably lose our local Once Upon A Child, and then we’ll have to start paying retail for our kid’s clothes. (Which I am totally against.) Also, am writing letters to my representatives. Thank’s for letting us know about this insanity.
January 6th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
[...] to trade freedom for safety and while I understand the importance of lead free products, legislation like this hurts many small business owners who will be unable to sell their products bec… Now, The Bruce may not be too sharp when it comes to math, but that seems like an awful lot of [...]
January 6th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
This legislation sucks ass. Just like a lot of well-intentioned legislation written by people who have no concept of what they’re talking about. Unfortunately, a scenario that’s not all that rare.
Your post is by far the most amusing I’ve read on the issue, though! I’ll be Tweeting, posting to Facebook, and signing the petition. How’s that for action!?
January 6th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
hee hee…i wish I could retrofit my soon-to-be banned bibs and blankets with boobs and penises and sell them to adults ;-) but sadly I don’t think it’ll work which means come Feb 10 my organic cotton blankets and bibs will become contraband. I am a very small company and I have no funds to pay for the $600 or so it’d take to test my bibs and blankets for lead and phthalates.
As a parent of two young boys I do understand the need to keep our children safe. My 4 years old still puts things in his mouth :-) But come on! Let’s be real! This law goes way too far all in an effort not to single out Chinese made products…it’s better to keep a “healthy” political relationship with China than it is to save American businesses and save American jobs. And in the end I don’t feel that my children are any safer…because remember, there were laws in effect before CPSIA and Mattel and other STILL didn’t abide by them. I don’t have any trust that they will now.
January 6th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Thank you for making me laugh in a time of enormous worry. I don’t know how much of a joke you meant this
6. Anonymously send uncertified toys to members of congress as an act of incredibly adorable domestic terrorism.
to be, but many many of us have actually done this, sent items to Rep. Bobby Rush, who sponsered the bill and heads the commerce subcommitte. If you want to join the party you can read all about it here:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5949146&page=1
The more the merrier!
January 6th, 2009 at 10:26 pm
OMG – thank you so much for the much needed laugh and would you mind if I link back to you on my blog? My readers would love to see this. I’m concerned…but I’m trying to be concerned in a serene sort of way. I blog, I twitter, I facebook, I write letters, I call attorneys, I whine a lot (mostly to my five year old who is very interested in learning more about the CPSIA) and I optimistically continue to make new product for my Etsy children’s shop every day…
January 6th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I voted and gave it a Tweet on Twitter! Thinking of makein a button for my blog!
Happy New Year and Artful Blessings,
Kathryn
January 6th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
Kristi – absolutely, link, quote, etc! And ha, my five year old knows more about the CPSIA than I care to admit.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
This is truly hilarious. Thank you.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
thanks! consider yourself linked & quoted…
January 6th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Tiffany you rock!
January 7th, 2009 at 5:18 am
I am going to live dangerously, go to a church bazaar, buy some afghans, hand made dollies, some of those freaky looking dollies/barbies wearing handmade doilies, and some hand knit baby socks in various 70s colors (avocado, sunflower gold, brick red….you know….from the skeins of yarn grandma picked up at Woolworth’s BEFORE they exceeded the 5 and dime products.
I will:
1. put them in a pile and proceed to roll all over them….so that I may absorb all the lead-y goodness.
2. sell half of them on the black market. capitalize on the prohibition.
3. go on an investigative mission. I have a theory. I have seen cartoons….and cartoons don’t lie. There is some grinch-like megalomaniacish corporate person behind it all. I will assemble a dance team….kinda like the one on Breakin’ 2 Electric Boogaloo….dance the forbidden dance….and completely change his mind about this stooopidity.
pssst….I am pop lockin’ as we speak. My skreet name is Vitamin B.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:31 am
In reading the comments I saw that there are Facebook groups. I just signed on to both of those.
January 7th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Sweet. My status on facebook is now a link to this page. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with all my post Feb 10 hazardous material that I sell in my store.
A friend of mine emailed her congress rep (michigan) and got a form letter back thanking her for her concern over the auto industry. Sweet.
January 7th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Thank you so much for the much needed laugh, I have spent so much of my time lately researching, talking, emailing, writing, calling and thinking about this terribly thought out,wait a minute who am I kidding, not thought out at all, Law. I am digging #5 right about now! This law will have such a domino effect for so many families, it really just makes me so angry that our supposed “Law Makers” have taken such little care for Americans when both writing and voting for this law. This law has very good intentions but it just goes to show how little thought they give things. If even the slightest thought was given to ALL its rammifications, we would probably not be having these discussions.
Thank you to all who have acted. Please keep talking about this, email your family and friends, your representatives, your news agencies.
January 7th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I clicked the link and voted. Oh yeah, I actually went to Etsy and bought some of the toys that won’t be there if this thing doesn’t get fixed. Helping out the small businesses!!
January 8th, 2009 at 1:00 am
I came I read, I clicked on the link, I voted and I commented!
I can’t believe this really has to do with benefiting children… NOT from the same crowd that couldn’t pass the SCHIP bill through Congress!
January 8th, 2009 at 5:11 am
Because it is clearly all about me, how in the hell am I supposed to keep clothes on my children without thrift stores, for fuck’s sake?
I mean, fine, toys, I’ll just give them sticks and let them play in the cat’s box–I’ve heard that’s a very popular activity for Kids These Days, but if I have to start paying full retail for clothing, I think I’m going to have to move to a warmer part of the country because NUDISM, HERE WE COME.
Seriously.
January 14th, 2009 at 1:40 am
When the EPA announced the Leaking Underground Storage Testing initiative (LUST) everybody said yipee since we all knew that gasoline in the water is a bad thing.
Shortly after that every single gas station in the USA was required to drill a “test well” in several spots until traces of gasoline were found. Then they were out of business.
Suddenly there were no more independent gas stations to be found. Along with them the neighborhood repair guy had no shop to work in anymore so he retired or went to Guatemala or something.
I was at a hotel bar in Oklahoma where there was an EPA compliance training seminar being held. A big guy with a fat cigar assured everyone around that anywhere there is underground storage of fuel there is Leaking Underground Storage. Hmmm.
A logical progression would follow that medium sized toy makers will have a tough go of compliance. Micro sized makers may be exempted by “case law” after a few cases are brought forth, maybe not.
Huge assed toy makers (the cause of the problem anyway) will have ro hire designated examiners and certified labs operated by industry trade associations just like the FAA and EPA require, and thus will be just fine.
I’ll bet there are seminars popping up already.