Don’t you just love purchasing handmade goods, that on the by-and-large are naturally green and eco-friendly by the fact that they are created with love in peoples’ own homes and workshops? Especially those cute toys and custom accessories and apparel that can be found on such fun sites as Etsy.com and Hyenacart.com?
Well, as of February 10, 2009–less than a month away–nearly all such shops manufacturing hand-made toys will be forced by law to close their doors due to unreasonable third-party product testing mandates Congress passed this past August.
It is called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, and at its heart it has good intentions: to monitor mass-produced children’s products to ensure they do not contain lead or phthalates. However, with the broad definitions the law imposes on all children’s toys (defined by the CPSIA as any “consumer product designed or intended by the manufacturer for a child 12 years of age or younger for use by the child when the child plays”) and childcare articles (defined by the CPSIA as any “consumer product designed or intended by the manufacturer to facilitate sleep or the feeding of children age 3 and younger, or to help such children with sucking or teething), the Consumer Product Safety Commission is not only making mass-produced toys and childcare products safer, but essentially eliminating from existence the small-production, homemade child-focused goods, that have never contained such contaminants anyway.
You see, the third-party testing required for certification is very costly and there is simply no way that the small companies and homegrown manufacturers can reasonably budget to cover such an expense.
Hop on over to Endangered Whimsy and just have a look at a small fraction of the precious items we will be losing if this law is not severely amended. Better yet, take a few minutes to peruse your favorite Etsy and Hyenacart shops to see what you will be lamenting a mere few weeks from now if change does not take place.
I know that personally I am greatly grieved to know that I will not be able to purchase a stash of the beautiful Nanipoo Diapers after my baby arrives in May, or any of the adorable, hand-carved trucks from Grandpa John’s Wooden Toys for my 2 1/2 year-old son’s birthday in April.
By now I am sure you are thinking something along the lines of, “Wow! That really royally bites the big one, but what can I possibly do to make Congress amend a law?” Well, let me tell you!
The Handmade Toy Alliance website is chock full of quick and simple opportunities for you to take a stand against the CPSIA, not the least of which is voting to make this measure one of those brought directly before the President Elect when he takes office.
But hurry! Today is the last day to vote on the issues that will be presented Friday to President Obama!
You can also visit the Etsy Forums or Cool Mom Picks for a variety of other links on additional information and ways to help.
So, say “goodbye” to your beloved Waldorf Dolls and hand-sewn diapers, bid “farewell” to name embroidered bibs and cuddly, knit teddy bears, and call “so long” to amber teething necklaces and hand-carved rocking chairs…that is, unless you stand up and fight for the survival of tradition and artistry.
I promise, it won’t take you more than 5 minutes!
An original 5 Minutes for Going Green post. Follow the rest of MacKenzie’s musings on being a birth and postpartum doula while pregnant, totschooling her son and still finding time to knit, at Mama Kenz Studio.
Thanks for the links!