Handcrafted Toys May Become ‘Banned Substances’

By Sandy Grau -

Congress passed a law in August 2008 called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act(CPSIA).  This law came about because of the numerous recalls of children’s toys in the past two years and specifically the issue of lead in the toys.  While I applaud the attempt at making children’s products safer, the law as stands, will actually remove many of the products that we have turned to in place of those made in China.

As of February 10th, ALL children’s products sold in the United States will need to be certified to be lead free and many products will need additional testing.  To be certified, the final product sold needs to have each component on it tested for lead.  This sounds wonderful when you think of all of the made in china children’s products that are out there and all of the children’s items that are mass produced (mostly imported).  HOWEVER, think of the handcrafted items sold within the US.  Think of any children’s item that is a ready made item that has been personalized with a child’s name (it would need to be retested because it is the final sold product that needs to be certified).  Think of the children’s items that are sold at craft shows, garage sales, ebay, consignment shops and fundraisers.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that as of February 10th, it will be illegal to sell any children’s products without certification, no matter when it was produced.  Collectible vintage toys and trains?  A “banned substance”.  You will not be able to donate items for charity because they are a “banned substance” since they are not certified.  This applies not only to toys, but all products such as books, shoes, clothing, school supplies, sporting equipment, jewelry, etc. that are possibly intended for children 12 and under.  Cooper’s baby swing that I planned to resell at the spring consignment sale?  It would be illegal to sell.

Rather than go on and on, I will direct you to several recent articles and posts that can explain better than I can.  My online friend Heather who does adorable children’s clothing has written a wonderful article explaining in English what is happening and how it affects her.  You can read it here:  http://www.boutiquecafe.com/home/2008/12/17/1943/

This has some easy access ways to contact your elected officials:  http://coolmompicks.com/savehandmade/

The handmade toy alliance has some good information: http://sites.google.com/site/handmadetoyalliance/

You can vote to have this idea addressed by President-elect Obama in January by going here:  http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

Another interesting page is a FAQ from Intertek, a testing lab, in regards to the CPSIA requirements.  It is interesting since it answers a lot of questions about the what and how of testing.  http://www.intertek-labtest.com/brochures/2137497

Thank you for reading this far.  I am not only concerned about how this applies to my own small business that will most likely shut its doors after 4 years of building it up, but the impact it will have on what I will have available to my children.  One of Lauren’s Christmas presents is a ribbon and tulle tutu that I got from Becky at http://simplysweettutus.com.  Something for Cooper is a set of felt and fleece finger puppets that I got from my friend Linda who only sells her items at local shows.  Both of these products would no longer be available because of the current CPSIA regulations and the excessive cost for testing of limited edition items.  What will be available are the plastic made in China products that are mass produced, but at higher prices.

Please feel free to contact me for more info or references.  I have not contacted labs yet to see what my cost would be for testing, but based on rough estimates from others who have, my annual cost for testing is much more than I even had in sales last year, so my handmade items will either go up significantly in price, or more likely, no longer be available.

As a mother, it is not that I want it to be OK for items to be sold that are unsafe, but I want the law reformed in a way that allows products that are inherently safe by the nature of the materials, or that if the materials are certified then the end product can be certified.  Either way, the issue needs to be readdressed.

Thank you for listening and hopefully acting on this, especially during this hectic time of year.
Sandy

P.S. – For those that want to check out my business to see what I have that will be affected, it’s Lucky Ducky Designs  http://lddbaby.com