CPSIA - Action Needed NOW

A new law is about to destroy all small businesses that sell handmade items to children under 12. It goes into effect February 10th, so action is needed ASAP.

Please sign this Petition
And this petition.

And please, please, write and call your Senators and Reps. I have contacted mine and heard nothing, because of course this is a terrible time to try and get any action from government. They are in transition, and busy with the desperate economy. However, if they don't do something now, the situation will get much, much worse.

There's a reason they are calling this National Bankruptcy Day.

I want safety for all children, but there is so much wrong with this law! For starters, it requires lead and pthalate testing of ALL items intended for children under twelve -- even if that item is made of materials inherently free of lead or pthalates. Organic cotton diaper users, get ready to pay for useless testing, or face huge fines and possible jail time.

It also requires that each item of each line be tested individually, even if the components have already been tested. So if you use the same blue zipper in twenty different pillows, you have to test it twenty different times. And these tests are ridiculously expensive - up to $4,000 each.

I imagine this law had good intentions, hoping to save our children from the (relatively small amount of) dangerous toys and clothes from China, but I assure you, this law will have the opposite effect. The only retailer who will be able to afford these extreme tests will be Walmart. And we all know where they get their swag.

Please take action now, if you have any interest in handmade goods. Thank you.