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Why dont you care? Like the economy wasnt bad enough?
- Dec 13, 2008 at 1:31 PM
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- Comments (8) Total Views (192) Everyone can see this journal post.
I don't know what it is.. but its really clear to me that a huge number of people don't care about the CPSIA guidelines which have ALREADY been passed into law (Bush signed it ladies, its law) and are taking affect Feb 10th, 2009.
I'm asking for your help.. please help me and others who are working SO hard... get the word out on this. Nobody is trying to say it is not important to test our childrens toys for lead, but lets be responsible and fair about how we do it. This law requires that we test completed items for lead on ANY item for children under the age of 12... even hairbows... even hand-sewn blankets.. even teddy bears... can you imagine how much the price of a blanket would go up if every single one must be tested, because technically if you are hand-making something you are using different components every time
I previously wrote a blog about it, but on the whole it didn't garner much attention.. so let me try again. In the simplest way I can.. I am going to outline how it will affect several fictional people, so that maybe you all get why this is a big deal, and why you should care. It doesn't matter if you are a childrens item manufacturer (crafter) or not. If you are a consumer, it affects you. If you are a mother, it affects you. It affects everyone.
Story: Hilda and her hand painted jewelry boxes. Hilda is an artisan, she makes jewelry boxes out of old cigar boxes. She hand paints and hand embellishes every box, they are gorgeous works of art.. some of them she even inlays pieces of wood or shell she hand carves and polishes. Hilda makes jewelry boxes for children under the age of 12, but most often her jewelry boxes are purchased by mothers for their young girls, so even if it isnt "made" for a child under the age of 12, it will often GO to a child under the age of 12. Because of how the law is written, all of Hildas jewelry boxes must be tested for lead, even though all of her components (her paints, natural shell, natural toxin free woods, the cigar boxes which are made here in the US) are already tested for those substances and are deemed safe.
All finished items must be tested in batches but since each of Hilda's creations are unique and no two are the same, she would have to test EACH box and pass those test costs onto you, the consumer. Hilda cant afford it and will be going out of business unless they re-write the law.
Story: Sarah and her lack of funds... Sarah is about to become a mom for the first time, but she cant afford a crib or highchair.. or even clothes. Friends and family help out a little but she finds herself heading to second hand and childrens consignment stores to buy most of the items she needs, which would be OK except they have all gone out of business. Nothing for use by a child under the age of 12 which does not have a lead certification may be sold, so Sarah cant find a used crib or used highchair or even clothes. She technically cant even have her sisters old crib, because it is illegal to give away a crib which has not been tested, under the CPSIA. What is Sarah supposed to do now?
Story: Calli and her consignment store. It has always been Calli's dream to own a baby boutique.. so she opens one up in her little town, right on main street. They sell new and used baby items, only gently worn in the "used" section.. she keeps costs low for the customer and people come back again and again.. business is going great until the CPSIA is enacted.. now she must get every item in the place certified for lead, well considering that cost is estimated to range from $100-400 per item, thats obviously not an option. And not just the used items must be tested.. EVERYTHING must be tested, because manufacturers testing results dont count.. retailers must provide certifications too. After 10 years in business Calli must close up shop. She has to lay off her 8 employees, and she has to figure out what to do with all her stock that she cannot legally sell, or give away! Likely, she would throw it away. Hello, landfill!
Story: Amanda and her daycare. Amanda has owned her daycare for 24 years. Stocked to the gills with toys, blankets, bibs, cribs, crayons, pens, paper, spare clothes... anything a great daycare needs. Amanda's daycare is the best in the county, there is a year long waiting list to get your kid in there.. but even Amanda is in danger because of this law. Amanda is required to have all cribs, highchairs, baby gates, toys, blankets, bib, feeding utensil, art supply.. EVERYTHING which is to be used or used around any child under the age of 12 tested. How exactly is she supposed to do that? Just close down for a few months while she sends everything in her business to be tested? Its not possible. Even if she could afford it, there arent enough testing facilities to handle the load of items coming in. Amanda, too.. may have to close. Otherwise shes breaking the law. Thats not a lawsuit Amanda wants... she can even face jail-time. And to those who "home daycare" you are NOT exempt. If you ever receive funds for the care of someone elses child, your crib and other items must be tested too, or you face jail time, lawsuits, and fines.
Last story... All of you who like buying hand-made products. Well too bad! The government decided you cant.. so.. deal withit! Or... fight it! Write to your senator, governor, congress, the president, the president elect, your local news, whatever it takes! This is unfair and unjust. I am NOT a child and I have the right to decide what is best for my family. Handmade goods are best for MY family, and the government is not going to take away my right to make that choice. The government is not going to tell me whether or not its OK to buy used clothing or used toys. The government is not going to tell me whether or not I can give my crib away when my kids are done with it. It passes all the safety tests, and it is certified from the manufacturer to be lead free.. thats GOOD ENOUGH!
I am ALL for lead safety.. but American made products weren'tthe problem to begin with, and I am not going to let them tell me that using lead free components isnt good enough. Is there some little "lead elf" running around sprinkling lead on our finished products? Somewhere between sewing lead free fabric 1, to lead free fabric 2, lead magically materialized onto the product? No. This is ridiculous! It does affect you. It affects all of us. All I ask is they allow products made before Feb 10th to label themselves as "pre-CPSIA manufactured, not lead tested" and handmade products made AFTER to label themselves as "non-compliant with CPSIA not lead tested" (something to that affect) which allows CONSUMERS to make up their own minds. I am an adult, I can make my OWN decisions about what is or is not good for my family.. and even WITHOUT a lead test I trust a handmade bib more than a store bought one. It would take them MINUTES to write in this amendment.. but they need to know its necessary first. NOBODY is looking out for us but us.
Please.. try to care. The economy is suffering to begin with.. now this is the end of many businesses if they dont make some Ammendments to this law. How much worse can it get? Take ownership of your country. If you dont agree with what they are doing with this law, let it be known! It takes 5 minutes to send an email to your officials.. even shorter to call them. Copy and paste your email to your local news station and see if they will do a story on it. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, ladies. Be squeaky.
Comments:
We need to get this popular. Everyone wants lead out of kid's stuff, but NOT like this.
No kidding :) I cant believe more people dont care about this.. kinda blows my mind
Bump--again !!!
I posted this in your other thread:
I've been reading up on this for several days now trying to figure it all out. I found this in a thread, and it make a LOT of sense... Scarey, but probably true!
Well, it is obvious that the goal is not actually to make sure children's products are lead free. If they were that concerned, they would test the big guys who manufacture the fabric, plastic, whatever, to begin with.
I think the goal has something to do with wanting to stamp out the small guys. Not totally sure why, though greed has something to do with it. I may be wrong about this. But these were my thoughts as I read through this thread. |
No your not wrong about this!!! That has to be the reason. It looks to me like the economy is sinking so bad this is just another way to bail out the bigger companies such as pampers and huggies, more people are turning to cloth diapers and with the problems with toys they are seeing a rise in work at home biz. and big govt doesn't like small people making money and the chance that they aren't getting their share so they are going about it the back way and letting china off the hook and collapsing the wahm instead.
I'm sending your articles to my friends (another place besides my website and etsy, that I sell my bows at...) who own consignment stores.
This is sickening!!!
VERY WELL SAID..
UGH...JUST WHEN I FIGURED OUT A WAY TO MAKE EXTRA MONEY NOW I CANT.
The part about second hand items is a bit off. According to the act (which I read), the act applies to products made after the act takes effect. So second hand items made prior to then are still fine to sell.... and anything made after the act must be tested. It's still a bummer about handmades.... I was an etsy seller once upon a time myself.
Read my journal for more info about second hands- http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/1344659/Please_read_and_vote_popular_PEOPLE_NEED_TO_KNOW_THE_TRUTH_AND_STOP_BELIEVING_EVERYTHING_THEY_GET_IN_AN_EMAIL_FORWARD
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my other post - http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read/1320853/H_R_4040_the_CPSIA_truth_and_fiction
- LuminousMom
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