Recently in CSPIA Category

I haven't mentioned the CSPIA in a while. This wasn't because I wasn't still fighting the good fight. It was mostly because I needed my blog to be one of the places that didn't talk about it since most the places where I spent most of my time were all about the CSPIA. Sometimes, you just need a place to recharge.

Today, on National Bankruptcy Day, I feel the need to chat about it a bit.

There has been a stay put on the CSPIA which many people have pretty much determined is just a stay for the CPSC to not have to enforce the law despite their press release.

Mostly because of the fine print which pretty much says you still have to test and that the state attorney generals can still enforce it. Granted, the press release states:

The Commission trusts that State Attorneys General will respect the Commission's judgment that it is necessary to stay certain testing and certification requirements and will focus their own enforcement efforts on other provisions of the law, e.g. the sale of recalled products.

There isn't trust that the state attorney generals won't take the fine print and run with it.

And, well, there's that whole having to test or destroy children's books printed before 1985. (Boy, that bit was definitely written by someone with the intellectual savvy of mayonnaise.)

Well, recently, the CSPIA actually released a rather easy to read set of guidlines explaining the definition of children's products, who should test, why, and what they are and aren't worried about.

You can find the PDF file on their site, but here's a direct link: CPSIA Guide

Do note their little "out" on the bottom of the title page. Either way, it does explain things.

Too bad they waited until the very last damn minute to post it. For many businesses, it's too late. And, the book thing still hasn't been resolved. (Lead in books? Are they kidding?)

Now, according to their little guide, their FAQ page, and an agent spoken to by an Etsy seller as posted by Knot By Gran'ma if your items are labeled "not intended for children under 12" then you're good. They will take your word for it. Now, granted, their FAQ has this little tidbit:

Does the CPSIA envision stuffed animals falling within the scope of the CPSIA’s lead limits or phthalate limits?

Most stuffed animals would be considered to be children’s products and presumably toys. A manufacturer would need to determine whether the design of the stuffed animals is such that it is subject to the lead paint limits, the lead content limits or the phthalate limits.

Now, that doesn't mean they automatically consider all stuffed animals toys, just most. And, that bit bout "A manufacturer would need to determine whether the design of the stuffed animals blah, blah, blah..." Well, considering their guide has this handy-dandy little table:

Table B ‐ These materials or components can be used (separately or in combination) and sold (provided they have not been treated or altered or undergone any processing that could result in the addition of lead):

•Precious gemstones: diamond, ruby, sapphire or emeralds
•Semiprecious stones provided that the mineral or material is not based on lead and is not associated with any mineral based on lead
•Natural or cultured pearls
•Wood
•Other natural materials including coral, amber, feathers, fur, and untreated leather
•Surgical steel
•Gold, of at least 10 karats
•Silver, at least 925/1000 pure
•Platinum, palladium, rhodium, osmium, iridium, and ruthenium
•Yarn, dyed or undyed
•Dyed or undyed textiles (cotton, wool, hemp, nylon, etc.), including children’s fabric products, such as baby blankets, and non‐metallic thread and trim. This does not include products that have rhinestones or other ornaments that may contain lead or that have fasteners with possible lead content (such as buttons, metal snaps, zippers or grommets).
•Children’s books printed after 1985 that are conventionally printed and intended to be read, as opposed to used for play
•Certain educational materials, such as chemistry sets

So, if you use any of these items, you're still golden, as long as you're careful about buttons and such.

What it comes down to is they are finally getting the hint and figuring out that, yes, this rule has to have exceptions. I expect there will be tons of revisions of this guide and that there will be much arguing about this law.

Now, the reason I'm posting this is to shine a light down the tunnel and to also make sure that there is no question about my items. First of all, I have emailed all the manufacturers of the yarns, filler, etc. I use to make my crocheted creatures, and they have all certified lead-free. On top of that, the CPSC itself says that textiles are not counted.

Granted, even if they hadn't said that, I wasn't going to stop making my creatures. Nothing I use has lead in it, and everything is as safe as I can make it. Hell, as proof, when I'm sewing dragon bits together, I often have to wet the end of the yarn to get it through the eye of the tapestry needle, and how do most people moisten the end of thread or yarn before poking it through a needle? They stick it in their mouth! As much as I have to do that, I ought to be suffering pretty heavily from lead poisoning if there were lead in the yarn. But, THERE IS NO LEAD IN YARN. And, I'll be damned if they're going to tell me I can't make my creatures because they had a knee jerk reaction to the horrors imported from China. Products manufactured in this country are already bound by laws to keep lead and other dangers out of a child's toy box. The CSPIA is not only redundant but aimed at the wrong people. Oh, sure, I'm all for product safety, especially for kids, but um, let's try to aim the laws at the source of the problems, namely Asian manufacturers. My creatures have no loose parts. They do not contain lead.

Now, they are toys. I'll freely admit that. Although, funnily enough, I've not sold a single dragon for a child. Every one that I've sold has gone to an adult who had no intention of sharing with any kid. (Does that make them adult toys?) But, I can't deny, especially after seeing how many people want to give them to their kids if they win one for the OWOH, that they are toys. Did I ever intend them for kids under 12? Honestly? No. I intended them for fantasy convention geeks and SCA folks and really did just have adults in mind. Probably because I'm mostly an adult kid myself. But, I absolutely believed that some people will want them for their kids. Now, I could easily turn them into art dolls and say they aren't for children, but I can't control it if a parent decides to give it to their child. Besides, as previously stated, it doesn't matter anyway, yarn is not included in the lead testing and all of my stuff was already tested by the manufacturer anyway. They are about as safe as any other stuffed creature made with love, care, and the intention to give adults a chance to be kids and kids to have something that isn't cold, mass-produced, and void of any personality at all.

So, I leave it up to the populace to decide. I will make my Wee Dragons and my Balls of Bun and probably whatever else comes to mind. If parents aren't satisfied that they aren't going to abjectly murder children, they don't have to buy them. As stated, I mainly had adults in mind anyway. But, according to the CSPIA and several senators' aides and that guide book, I don't have to stop making them.

Besides, it's absolutely against my very fiber to let them bully me. My paternal grandmother taught me to crochet when I was six. She would be very proud to see how I've progressed from potholders, and I doubt very seriously she would let me stop just because some government yahoo who knows nothing about handmade products wrote some sweeping legislation just to give himself a pat on the back. She was Cajun. Cajuns don't take too kindly to being bullied.

For Grandma!



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And, hey, if they want to push the issue and decide that, yes, everything must be tested and, yes, we are all potential baby killers, then fine, let them. When the same people who support it can't find the handmade stuff they want to buy in order to avoid Chinese imports, when they go looking for some collectible doll from their childhood only to be told it is in a landfill, when all the books they grew up with are gone, when they realize it's not a Good Thing to let the government raise their kids, we'll see how fast the law changes. And, still I will make Wee Dragons. Because Wee Dragons don't take kindly to being bullied either.

Besides, being a Crafting Outlaw has an appeal to it...

The CPSC has gotten the hint!

From the House Energy and Commerce Committee site:

January 21, 2009

WASHINGTON – U.S. Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and George Radanovich, R-Calif., today sent a letter to House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman asking him to convene a hearing to examine the problems in implementing the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

“The e-mails, letters and phone calls we have received from constituents about the unintended consequences of certain provisions and deadlines in the CPSC’s implementation plan now number in the thousands.,” the Republicans wrote. “Many involved in CPSIA’s creation were passionate to improve the safety of our children’s products, but surely no one expected or wanted to drive thousands of home-based and small businesses out of operation and turn thousands of Americans into surprise victims of a brutal recession.

“Mr. Chairman, we remain strong supporters of the intentions behind last Congress’s toy safety legislation, and what we now request is not an overhaul of that work, but a necessary fine-tuning to make certain that real toy safety is achieved without the serious unintended consequences that so many innocent people now face. The first step toward providing prudent and effective relief is for our committee to conduct a hearing so everyone involved can explore the facts for themselves, understand the urgency, and coalesce around a solution.”

Read the letter they sent here.

Woohoo! We're getting notice! Don't stop, though! Until we hear of a halt, a change, or a complete overhaul, don't stop! We can't give up too quickly!

Supposedly, President Obama (God, I love saying that.) issued orders to suspend all new regulations implemented by the previous administration until they can be reviewed. Now, there's debate on whether that includes the CPSIA. It technically is law, but it doesn't officially start to be enforced until Feb. 10. So, does that make it a new regulation or is it exempted from that order?

No one seems to know.

We can hope it is included. Whether it is or not, the fight goes on.



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On another note, he also vowed "transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." I hope so. I am so sick of all the behind closed doors of the previous administration. It definitely wasn't something that instilled trust in our government.

Art of Spirit Leatherworks on Etsy put out a call that it was probably time to have some civil disobedience:

I am wondering how the court system would respond to a gabillion handcrafters being hauled up on compliance charges? If we all stand our ground perhaps that will force the changes that were so obviously overlooked in this bill.

I say hell yeah! There has been a large contingent of people who have decided they will not stop selling. They will not give up their livelihoods for this stupid law. And, you know, for the first time in my life I realized I would happily go to jail for something. So, on Feb. 10, the date the law goes into effect, I am opening an Etsy shop. I am going to sell my Wee Dragons. The CPSIA be damned. It might fail; it might not; it might be a minor blip on the radar, but dammit, I'm not going to stop. I have been hoping for a while that I could sell my Wee Dragons, and Etsy is giving me a platform to do that and the government isn't going to stop me because of a stupid knee-jerk reaction.

I also encourage everyone to go out that day and buy things from those Etsy shops who refuse to bend to this ridiculous law.

If nothing else, we might need the money for bail.




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Man, I swear they don't know who they're messing with. Crafters don't play around. Someone else has started a CPSIA compliant treasury. You know, I think my nieces need some of those $3000 tutus...

Go! Sign!

Now!

Dammit!

Reform CPSIA

So, I'm running through articles and stuff about the CPSIA trying to give myself an injection of hope that the word is getting out there about how ridiculous it all is when I ran into the blog of Walter Olson, the guy who wrote the Forbes piece. He has a really good blog post about the CPSIA as well called "Kid's empty shelves." Anyway, when I was reading the comments I saw this one and nearly snorted my tea: Alan Kellogg:

"Today in response to complaints the CSPIA [sic] is damaging the market for children’s goods, the DoJ has announced that testing being too great a burden on the industry, all children’s products are being banned. Clothing, toys, even eating utensils are hereby outlawed. From now on children must go around naked, play with rocks and sticks, and eat with their hands. Bedding and soap being barred as well, dirty children sleeping naked on bare floors should become a common sight. Said one prominent environmental spokesman, “Water usage alone is going to see a huge decrease.” When asked their opinion most children would reply, “No more baths? Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Thank you, Alan, I needed the laugh. _______________________ The hubby and I were walking into Best Buy when we saw a guy with a kettle corn stand set up in the parking lot. Todd looked at me and said, "But has it been tested for lead?! You never know when I child might get a hold of kettle corn! Call the CPSC!" I love that man.

Yeah, when one of the biggest money magazines recognizes that the CPSIA is a bad idea, then it's a bad idea, people!

Scrap the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act



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Took a bit of time off the last couple of days. Kept connected. Did some emailing. Did some brainstorming. Took care of some home things. Realized that no matter what, they will not stop us. Also realized that if they didn't intend for this law to hurt the little guy as some people say, then why don't they actually say that? Is it so hard to clarify? Well, you know, it's easier to blame dissenters and "misinformation". Damn politicians.

Okay, I sent this up on Etsy and the Handmade Toy Alliance and I'm out to hit any place I can think of.

This is basically the letter I'm sending out:

Hello there!

Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of the CPSIA until today. I wish I had known months ago, but life was very much preventing me from keep up with things beyond my living room. Either way, I am signing petitions and writing people and doing anything I can. Tonight, though, I had an idea. It seems that many people are being met with the same reaction from our Congressional representatives. Just a blanket, "We understand, but you'll understand this is the right thing." They don't really answer questions because they really don't understand. These people don't craft. They don't make things for themselves. Their grandmothers might have, but they don't. All they see is an easy answer for a problem in front of them, nevermind that nothing is ever that easy. Nothing is that black and white.

What I'm thinking is that we need to start enlisting the aid of every crafter, reseller, homeschool supplier, toymaker, etc. we can find and have them send examples to our Congress people exactly what their blanket legislation is hurting. Imagine Congress, or even Mr. Obama (which it might be better to send it all to him), getting inundated with thousands of homemade toys, clothing, learning aids, Native American cultural pieces, and more with tags on them saying, "Thanks to the CPSIA, this handcrafted (insert item type) which was made with love and a determination to protect our children from dangerous toys and big business practices will be illegal after Feb 10. Thanks to the CPSIA, my (homebased/small/individually run/resell) business will be forced to go bankrupt."

It's hard to ignore thousands of toys. It's hard to just push us to the side when he can't see the floor of the oval office for all the handcrafted items staring at him asking what is he going to do next. And, it's bound to get some much needed public attention beyond the craft world. CNN was a start, but it can't stop there.

I don't know if this rings well with you guys, but I think it's what I plan on doing, and I'm going to try to enlist everyone I know. I thought of sending it to our local Congress people but receiving it in bulk in one place would be better. I'm going to try to find out where we can reach Obama, and if we have to wait until after next week, then so be it. The Oval Office it is. This law is the most ridiculous thing I've ever come across and I'll be damned if someone is going to force handcrafting into the underground over little-minded bureaucracy.


The more I think about it the more I think we should flood the oval office. It's doubtful our President-elect even knows about this considering he has little things like the economy and the war to worry about. Either way, it's time to get him to notice because this can be a major, major blow to the economy. And, that's what these people don't see. The economy can be saved by small businesses, and if you chunk a huge percentage of them into the crapper, do you know what that will do?

Come on guys! We can do this!

In Obama's words: Yes, we can!

I swear, I have the worst damn timing in the world. Seriously. I finally have the means to go into massage therapy. I go to school. I study hard. I pass. I get a job. I love my job. The economy bombs. So, I think, well, what else can I do that might keep me out of the hell that is the Cube Farm? I make dragons. I love making dragons. I love making toys in general. People have really been on a move to buy handmade items especially after these last couple of years with all the horrors they call toys coming out of Chinese manufacturers.

Yeah, well, the government is making a move, too, but while it might help protect children from the idiocies of big business, it looks to completely destroy small handcrafting businesses that aim at children, especially toys.

"New Law Could Wipe Out Handcrafted Toy Makers"

Now, I have seriously been out of the loop what with getting married and trying to keep my job going and all, so I'm sorry to say I have only learned of this. I know anyone who is anyone in handcrafting already knows about the CPSIA. If you don't, check out Etsy as they are definitely all over it. Also, here is a lovely site that is fighting the good fight: Handmade Toy Alliance. And, let us definitely not forget Buy Handmade. Visit these sites. Learn. Get angry.

I'm doing what I can, as I think everyone should, but after two weeks of little work and finding out that the toys I want to make to not only bring joy to people but supplement my seemingly failing income in this increasingly failing economy will be essentially illegal, I am seriously, utterly, depressed beyond belief.

I can't even label my items for 13 years and older because according to the idiots maintaining the CPSIA, all stuffed toys are made for people of all ages; therefore, they way they see it, anything that a kid might think is a toy can be considered a toy and must come under this ridiculous law.

I tell you, if they enforce this law, this country will see this recession reach proportions they never had nightmares about. Small businesses are what could save this economy, and they're looking to effectively ruin a good portion of them. Many are calling February 10 (the day the law goes into effect) as National Bankruptcy Day. According to this law, after Feb. 10, you can't even resell these items at garage sales. I mean, it's seriously insane.

Yeah, unless Mr. Obama changes this monstrosity, crafters are seriously screwed. Well, children are screwed since they won't be able to enjoy what crafters wish to make for them.

I guess I better take up something less cute, like maybe Mr. Happy the Crocheted Dildo.



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Look, I'm all for protecting kids, but this bubble wrapping the fucking planet has got to go. Yeah, the laws on this imports need to be more stringent, but this oversweeping lack of common sense has got to stop! I can tell you right now that most crafters will find a way around this. If a massive underground movement towards crafting doesn't start up, I'll be surprised.

SCAdians, do you have any idea how this is going to affect merchants who sell handmade toys, clothing, etc. for kids? It's going to be rather ugly, my friends.