Today, there is an organised 'Blog In' regarding the CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act). This American law is due to come into force on February 10th and will be devastating for all the small to medium American businesses who are involved in making children's products. The ruling came into being as a result of mass import of toys from China which contained dangerously high lead content. If the law comes into force, many of the sellers on the American website, Etsy, will have to shut up shop as a result.
The prohibitive costs of testing and certification will simply put them out of business. Even the manufacture of books will be affected by this bizarre ruling! I truly hope this ill-thought out law will be amended to accommodate the smaller businesses and my heart goes out to all the wonderful crafters/designers on Etsy who have been such an inspiration to me. Let's hope the powers-that-be see some sense and come to an agreement which will keep children's products safe but not penalise those least likely to produce unsafe products, many of whom are parents themselves!
The prohibitive costs of testing and certification will simply put them out of business. Even the manufacture of books will be affected by this bizarre ruling! I truly hope this ill-thought out law will be amended to accommodate the smaller businesses and my heart goes out to all the wonderful crafters/designers on Etsy who have been such an inspiration to me. Let's hope the powers-that-be see some sense and come to an agreement which will keep children's products safe but not penalise those least likely to produce unsafe products, many of whom are parents themselves!
If I were an American citizen, I would no longer be able to sell items such as these:
. . . made from 100% wool Harris Tweed, hand-embroidered features, soft polyester fibre stuffing (conforms to all safety standards), ribbon hand-stitched for extra security, no detachable parts. None of this would matter if I were an American citizen as, if the law goes through on February 10th, I would have to shut up shop. I really hope this all gets sorted out for all concerned. You can read more here.
Although I have not added my name to the list of bloggers involved in the 'Blog-In', I thought it was as good a time as any to bring the subject up!
I'm off to make a Harris Tweed dinosaur now (while I still can!) - Cheerio an Drasda!
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