I want to draw your attention to an interesting problem created by the CPSC – manufacturers of products for children may go out of business due to inability to afford to comply with a new law set to go into effect in February. It’s essentially the government’s response to the consumer outcry over lead found in children’s toys over the last few years. While I certainly support the effort to eliminate lead from children’s toys, these new regulations will really eliminate the smaller manufacturers, leaving consumers with only the large manufacturers and importers.
While I’m still trying to figure out whether I am affected, and to what extent, it does seem clear that those who make toys for children will have to adhere to some pretty stiff testing requirements. The required testing is pretty expensive, and not ultimately worth it for many home-based or even small factory-based businesses.
Fashion Incubator has a blog post that explains this in more detail and the Handmade Toy Alliance has good info, as well. And also National Bankruptcy Day. Those sites all also have links to the actual legislation for your perusal.
And, ps, this is why I think less government involvement in industry is a good thing. And an example of why government-run or provided health care scares the crap out of me. I love the US. But I think that the US government, as a unit, is unable to do anything right.
Filed under: Information
While I’m still trying to figure out whether I am affected, and to what extent,
Oh you’re affected. Perhaps better described as hosed. I don’t know of the smallest etsy seller to large corp that isn’t. Etsy has already said that according to their user agreement that goods be legal and sale able, that all the Etsy sellers will have to comply or pull their products. I imagine there will be a lot of former Etsy sellers who will be reporting non-compliant sellers.
It’s not even the costs; it’s the conditions. Most of the big companies (and even tiny companies I know) are already testing. The issue is is MUST be a CPSC certified lab of which there are far too few and too little time in which to RE-test everything before Feb 10th. Plus, we have to do sku level UNIT testing, not component testing. Just since Nov, the prices of testing have skyrocketed 5x-20x. And why not? Overnight there’s a multi-thousand fold increase in demand for services, too few labs and no competition.
Well, I’m awaiting guidance from my attorney. I’ve heard conflicting information, most of it from CPSC itself, about whether cloth diapers and baby carriers are, in fact, covered.
I’m really not too worried about my Etsy sales. Most of what I sell on Etsy is not related to children.
I’ve heard conflicting information, most of it from CPSC itself, about whether cloth diapers and baby carriers are, in fact, covered.
Why would clothing that touches a child’s body (like shirts) that don’t get as wet as diapers do and thus greater opportunities to transfer lead unto skin, not be included? Besides, as I argued here, (http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/cpsia-splintering-the-cause-serves-no-one/) we are all much better off with broad rather than narrow exclusions. Splintering serves no one.
If you’re looking for the specific verbiage that indicates slings are also included, see section 104 (f)(2)(H). That falls on p.16 of the 62 pg long pdf.
I agree that most of your etsy stuff, not being intended for children, isn’t affected. However the pants and shoes would be. I don’t know what your shoes are made of (the soles) but these may be required to be tested for phthalates as well and not just lead.
Sorry, my intention here is not to engage in ongoing debate with you about this. Why would diapers not be covered? I have no idea. They are specifically excluded from some other regulations that are intended for clothing. I don’t know why. The government often makes no sense.
shoes are all fabric.
from the faq:
Are baby slings covered by section 104?
No. Although Congress specified that infant carriers are covered as durable children’s products under section 104, the staff believes that baby slings are not covered but are non-durable cloth products. (Also see the above answer.)
ps i am not trying to “splinter” but if some major part of my business is not affected by this, then yay for me. I can stay open and my family can eat!