Handmade toy alliance still demands urgent action on CPSIA

Despite a reprieve, Handmade Toy Alliance president Dan Marshall warned that urgent action was still needed by Congress to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act requiring lead-testing of children's products. It becomes effective Feb. 10 2009.

In a press release by the Handmade Toy Alliance, its president Dan Marshall warned that urgent action is still needed by Congress to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act CPSIA lead-testing laws. see The new United States lead-testing law for all children's products -- toys, books, clothes, cuddlies, computers, computer games, bikes, sports equipment, teaching tools, playground equipment -- goes into effect on February 10. One-year stay granted: A one-year stay was granted last week to only a very limited group of hand-crafters -- and even they still have to provide lead-testing content compliance-certificates for certain parts such as zippers, for instance. The law is worded so vaguely that it still leaves thousands of retailers of children's products in limbo, Marshall warns. And many manufacturers still don't know exactly which products or product-parts should be tested, and which not - even the ink in children's books is said to be suspect. See details of the one-year stay here Children's products' manufacturers are highlighting the problems with the CPSIA http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.html at the upcoming Toy Fair at the Jacob Javits Centre in New York City from February 15 - 18 2009, he said. A public debate will even be held at Booth Nr 1249, run by Rob Wilson, owner of Challenge and Fun. Child-product manufacturers say that the law turns them into criminals, while they still don't know exactly which products should and should not be tested, because the law is still very vague. Many want congressional hearings held on the issue most urgently, and amendments made before it takes effect.See The Handmade Toy Alliance members say that even with the one-year extention granted to toy-manufacturers under the law's requirements for testing on lead-contents of children's products last week, they are still left in limbo. Marshall, who runs the Peapods Natural Toys & Baby Care company, the CPSC's one-year-stay of enforcement of several provisions of the CPSIA -- says that even after pressure by numerous members of Congress and a coalition of 67 business associations gave them a one-year stay, it still does not solve the problem. "Although the stay provides temporary relief for small businesses for some aspects of the new law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA will continue to cause severe problems for many," Marshall says. "Even with the stay, retailers and manufacturers will still face considerable challenges beginning on February 10, 2009." "It sends a message to Congress that 'work is still needed on technical amendments to the CPSIA to fix the law,' he noted, and he added that this was good news. "(But) not because it solves our problems, but because it gives us some breathing room to get our problems solved. (However) our work is far from done." He noted that specifically, Congress needs to take action this week to make the necessary statutory changes to halt the February 10 effective date to give the CPSC sufficient time to complete and issue comprehensive regulations on the many outstanding issues. This would give small businesses across the country the time to fully understand and comply with this complicated new product safety law. "We share the goal of consumer advocates to make sure only safe childrens products are sold," says Cecilia Leibovitz of CraftsburyKids.com."Yet we also need clear and consistent rules in place so sellers and makers of children's products can know how to comply with these important rules. "So far, that hasn't happened." The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 289 toy stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country, who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and children's goods in the USA. Since November of 2008, they have been working to bring awareness to the impact and unintended consequences of the CPSIA on small businesses throughout the country. (see their video above). We want to create unique, safe, handcrafted products... "We recognize that the stay does not exempt us from the 600ppm lead limits within the CPSIA" says Jill Chuckas, owner of CraftyBaby.com. "Nor do we want to be exempted. But it does recognize that all stakeholders need time to work together on common sense amendments and comprehensive guidance to allow our member businesses to keep doing what they love – creating beautiful, unique and safe hand crafted products for children." There is no reprieve, however, for small manufacturers who sell to larger retailers or catalogs, most of whom will continue to require full compliance with the CPSIA by February 10. The CPSC still has not clearly defined how manufacturers must comply with the law and many manufacturers are therefore finding it impossible to do so. Retailers will still be held liable if their merchandise exceeds the 600ppm lead-content limits. And, without testing the products, retailers will have no way to assure compliance -- they need to produce a compliance certificate, without which they will be held in contempt of the new law after Feb 10. At least one top German toymaker which is known for its high-quality, safe child-products, has already decided to drop the US market, saying the new American law is ridiculous. see Small parts hazards Also excluded from the stay is a new requirement for children's products to be tested by February 12 for small parts hazards, which will also carry significant compliance costs, especially for small manufacturers. Also $100 Laptops for kids also affected here Many stands run by the Handmade Toy Alliance members will feature their opposition to the CPSA at the upcoming Toy Fair held at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City from February 15 – 18, 2009. The booth run by Rob Wilson, owner of Challenge & Fun, says he's devoting his booth, Nr 1249, at the fair to a HTA and a CPSIA discussion forum. Members of the HTA will also be present to answer and discuss issues