CPSIA and the Handcrafted Community

I'd just like to give a shout out to all handmade artists and supporters... you guys rule! Especially our buyers; without you, we'd reall be up a creek. Actually, everyone in the handcrafted community is up a proverbial creek right now. I've posted on this before (more on my family blog than here) but I'd like to touch on the subject again. It's something that we're all quite familiar with now: the new regulations for the CPSIA. I don't even know where to begin. First (but not the most important) is that the new regulations are worded in a way that most normal people can't really understand. Too confusing. The real issue, though, is that the new standards being put on handmade items are outrageous. Anything intended for kids age 12 and under is now required to not only have a proper CPSIA label but a FTC-appropriate label as well. Most materials are to be tested for lead, phthalates and other things... these tests run $300-$400 at a minimum. That means that independent crafters and toy/clothing/accessory makers will have to shell out thousands of dollars to test a set of items that collectively will sell for a mere fraction of that cost. This has come about due in part to the lead-tainted paint on toys manufactured in China recently. What lawmakers and CPSIA leaders need to realize is that almost all items made in the US are perfectly safe. If manufacturers of the components can pass testing and have a valid Certificate of Compliance, then those things should not have to be tested again when they become part of a toy, accessory or article of clothing. I should mention that yarn and fabrics are expempt from having to be retested once they are used in a product, but that doesn't mean a thing for handcrafters, since many of us use embellishments, zippers, snaps, buttons, etc. This is killing off the handmade/handcrafted community. No independent creator can afford this kind of testing, forcing many to rethink their hobby or livelihood. For anyone who is involved with Etsy, you know what a hullaballoo this has caused. With the economy the way it is, the new CPSIA regulations will just make things worse. So many people have lost their jobs, and many depend on selling their creations to try to bring ends just a little closer to meeting. The CPSIA is crushing that option! It's unfair to sellers, and also to buyers. I encourage everyone to try to turn this around... if not because you care about the people who sell their wonderful handmade items, then for yourselves, because chances are, before too long your favorite handmade things will no longer be available. Help us save "handmade"... write your congress person, the CPSIA, anyone who will listen! Click on the "Save Handmade" button to help (no donations, just resources for changing the regulations).

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For myself, and on behalf of the thousands of handcrafters/artists, thank you for your support and loyalty! Let's get this changed!