In July 2008 Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This law was created in response to dangerous levels of lead and phthalate (a chemical in plastic materials) found in toys and other children’s products. This law is scheduled to go into effect February 10, 2009.
This new law poses a big problem for handcrafted toy makers and those who handmade clothing because it requires expensive testing by rural business owners to prove their handmade toys are safe for children. Artisans must have their products certified by third party businesses that often charge $100.00 to several hundred dollars per test. And each part of a toy or piece of clothing - paint, buttons, a zipper - must be separately tested.
Retailers are also required to make sure everything they sell in their store is certified safe as of the February 10,2009 date. Anyone who violates this new law can be fined tens of thousands of dollars.
Right now, there is no distinction made between handmade artisans and large manufacturing firms, or mom and pop stores and chain stores. A second vote needed to finalize changes to the law that should help handcrafted and rural businesses will not take place until AFTER the law goes into effect. Until then, you can read more here.
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Whatever happened with this law? There was so much press about it in January, and now I’ve heard nothing. I’d be interested to read where the law stands.