I’ve been noticing this issue about handmade toys floating around the blogosphere and I finally figured out what it is: The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Apparently this bill was written with the issues about lead in toys from China in mind, but what it does is force anyone selling a toy to have it tested by a third-party testing company.
/sigh.
Sometimes I wish that our representatives would think things through. Does this bill specify toys made in other countries? No. Does it exclude hand-made toys little grandmas make and sell on Etsy? No. Does it exempt small businesses? No. So the issue is that, under this law, if either of my lovely sisters-in-law made and sold one of the many beautiful things they knit/sew to a consumer as a toy, they would be in danger of a lawsuit from the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
So, click on the teddy bear to write a letter to your congressperson. I didn’t like the “sample” letter they wrote, so mine is pasted below. And, I guess, make/buy/sell as many handmade toys as you can before the cutoff date, which is February 9, 2010, and let’s all groan together about ridiculous law-making. Click the link below to see the letter I sent.
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