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Yay!!!...new safety standards= no handmade toys

W

Wheezer

Diamond Member
Text

The issue:
In 2007, large toy manufacturers who outsource their production to China and other developing countries violated the public's trust. They were selling toys with dangerously high lead content, toys with unsafe small part, toys with improperly secured and easily swallowed small magnets, and toys made from chemicals that made kids sick. Almost every problem toy in 2007 was made in China.

The United States Congress rightly recognized that the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) lacked the authority and staffing to prevent dangerous toys from being imported into the US. So, they passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August, 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number.

All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational toy manufacturers to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each toy have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and update their molds to include batch labels.


For small American, Canadian, and European toymakers and manufacturers of children's products, however, the costs of mandatory testing will likely drive them out of business.

* A toymaker, for example, who makes wooden cars in his garage in Maine to supplement his income cannot afford the $300 - $4,000 fee per toy that testing labs are charging to assure compliance with the CPSIA.
* A work at home mom in Minnesota who makes cloth diapers to sell online must choose either to violate the law or cease operations.
* A small toy retailer in Vermont who imports wooden toys from Europe, which has long had stringent toy safety standards, must now pay for testing on every toy they import.
* And even the handful of larger toy makers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.


The CPSIA simply forgot to exclude the class of children's goods that have earned and kept the public's trust: Toys, clothes, and accessories made in the US, Canada, and Europe. The result, unless the law is modified, is that handmade children's products will no longer be legal in the US.

If this law had been applied to the food industry, every farmers market in the country would be forced to close while Kraft and Dole prospered.
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Unintended consequences, as usual. I don't understand why they didn't put in some sort of provision like they do for so many other regulations that make them not apply to certain categories of toymakers. It wouldn't be too hard to put in a provision making any manufacturer exempt from the certification requirement if they had fewer than xxx employees and less than xxx dollars in annual revenue. That way the small "mom and pop" toy makers would continue to have to abide by the law in terms of not using dangerous lead etc, but they wouldn't have to spend some crazy amount getting every little toy tested.
 
What are the requirements for 3rd party testing? Maybe there is a market for a company that does cheaper testing?
 
Lawmakers don't care. "We are protecting your children!" is a guaranteed vote getter so they rushed the law through as fast a possible. Now the "mom and pops" are going to have to whine as loud as the soccer moms did over the dangerous toys to get anything done. Good luck!
 
So what if I buy "certified lead free" parts that go into my products? What's the point of testing it for lead if I know that the stuff that went into it didn't contain any?

This sounds like one of those laws that everyone gets furiously worked up about, and then nothing ever comes of it.

Like the "18 year old verification" law that was supposed to kill online porn sites a few years back. Never saw anything come of that one.
 
All there needs to be is a clause that allows you to "self certify" by keeping track of the materials used. Anyone can say "I used this paint and this material, both of which contain no lead." and keep it on record, which could just mean keeping your receipts in a shoebox.
 
Originally posted by: vi edit
So what if I buy "certified lead free" parts that go into my products? What's the point of testing it for lead if I know that the stuff that went into it didn't contain any?

This sounds like one of those laws that everyone gets furiously worked up about, and then nothing ever comes of it.

Like the "18 year old verification" law that was supposed to kill online porn sites a few years back. Never saw anything come of that one.
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wrong. it is causing many problems. how the bill is written everthing has to be tested. though if you have it you don't have to send it out to be tested BUT if someone buys it and test it and it fails they can sue you.

so stores have to PULL stuff off the shelf. there are a few reports of small business just closeing. they can't afford a lawsuit or to test the stuff.

its also having side effects http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.co...s/?partner=rss&emc=rss is a great story of how childrens motorcycles are being pulled off because of it.

the effects of this bill are going to drive busienss (already has) out.


its rather scary. seems i see a new story about this nearly every day. I can't beleive its nto more of a story.
 
My grandfather has been making wooden trains in his shop for longer than I've been alive. Just wood and occasionally stain, no metals, no paints. This is ridiculous.
 
Originally posted by: MotF Bane
My grandfather has been making wooden trains in his shop for longer than I've been alive. Just wood and occasionally stain, no metals, no paints. This is ridiculous.
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and under this law he wouldnt be able to do that anymore.
 
A fellow on another forum is able to order parts for his motorcycle because the same part is also used on a child's model. So now he has a worthless bike.

Someone also said that library books have to be tested as well?
 
Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
A fellow on another forum is able to order parts for his motorcycle because the same part is also used on a child's model. So now he has a worthless bike.

Someone also said that library books have to be tested as well?
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when it was first writtne they were going to have to test every childs book. but they got a exemption. otherwise it would have shut down eveyr childs library.


as it is this has already done more harm then good
 
Isn't it wonderful that we have the government to look out for us like this? :roll:

I have already fired off several E-mails to my representatives about this new law and I would encourage everyone to do the same.

ZV
 
As much as I dislike the "unintended consequences" of this bill, it exists for a reason. Unethical manufacturers.

Yes, we can blame this on "Chinese manufacturing processes" as usual...for good reason, BUT, when it comes down to the final responsibility...that falls on the manufacturing company. Mattel, Hasbro, and all the others who contract their manufacturing to the Chinese companies. THEY have the ultimate responsibility for their product quality.

It sucks for the small "garage hobbyist" who builds toys in his spare time...BUT, how do you make an exception for them? What's to say that they don't end up with lead paints, even unintentionally?
 
Remember folks: Your freedoms will be whittled away to the tunes of "cost to society" and "think of the children." Two unimpeachable arguments that can be used to restrict just about everything.
 
Originally posted by: BoomerD
As much as I dislike the "unintended consequences" of this bill, it exists for a reason. Unethical manufacturers.

Yes, we can blame this on "Chinese manufacturing processes" as usual...for good reason, BUT, when it comes down to the final responsibility...that falls on the manufacturing company. Mattel, Hasbro, and all the others who contract their manufacturing to the Chinese companies. THEY have the ultimate responsibility for their product quality.

It sucks for the small "garage hobbyist" who builds toys in his spare time...BUT, how do you make an exception for them? What's to say that they don't end up with lead paints, even unintentionally?
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So we put them out of business? For the children!!! :disgust:
 
USA is so over. I am about 40 years too young and have to live though some of this shit.🙁
 
Originally posted by: BoomerD
As much as I dislike the "unintended consequences" of this bill, it exists for a reason. Unethical manufacturers.

Yes, we can blame this on "Chinese manufacturing processes" as usual...for good reason, BUT, when it comes down to the final responsibility...that falls on the manufacturing company. Mattel, Hasbro, and all the others who contract their manufacturing to the Chinese companies. THEY have the ultimate responsibility for their product quality.

It sucks for the small "garage hobbyist" who builds toys in his spare time...BUT, how do you make an exception for them? What's to say that they don't end up with lead paints, even unintentionally?
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so the answere is to put thousands of small business out of business? its not just garage hobbyist that are getting hit but small re-sale shops.
 
I actually work for a "third party product testing company" and I have to say our testing facility in the north Chicago suburbs is booming right now. We are getting on average 4 semi-trucks of toys for testing a day. We had to expand twice to meet the demand and space requirements of housing all these products. Needless to say our business is thriving in these tough economic times. But I do agree this is silly for American small businesses to be subject to the same testing standards as Chinese products.
 
I sell crafts on a popular craft site. I've noticed a lot of people changing "toys" to collectibles, and a bunch of stuff like that - children's clothes becoming "decorations", "wall hangings", etc. I make collectible dolls/costumes based on opera, dance etc and so far it hasn't been an issue, but who knows.

 
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