Small Things Considered

CPSIA: PUT ON YOUR EDIBLE EASTER BONNET--I MEAN GRASS

2009-04-12T01:38:00.000-04:00

Certain words can never be ambiguous and should never be put in quotes, though mysteriously they often are: "edible," "safe," "delicious", "imported" and "meat" are a few.
As you can see and might expect, my grocery list is tied to human taste (which "should" be subjective) and human health and safety (which of course "should" not).

Today's example: Edible Easter Grass.

Because I am a sucker [insert first candy joke of the post] for a twist on an original purpose or ingredient, but far more importantly, because my mother trained me in utero not only to loathe or despise, but to vilify plastic Easter grass, "Edible Easter Grass; Imported From Germany; it's Grass-Tastic!" hit a number of critical levels for me--all purely aesthetic or curious and really not a bit environmental, truth be told.

Because I just can't stand the feel of plastic Easter grass, the cheap-staticky, thin plastic...and of course there are the echoes of my mother's latent fear of finding of it months and even possibly decades later in the personal landfill of our nubby tweed This End Up couch cushions, circa 1984.

So, I was delighted to find this "Edible" (and so the quotes begin) Easter grass, which comes in an array of truly non-offensive, lightly saturated colors which are neither nauseating neons nor non gacky pastels--simply a watery but true orange, a lovely green, a yellow which doesn't stimulate the bowels, a light red (do you know how many years I have looked for a "light red" lipstick?? "Oh, you mean pink?" Aaaaaaaaackhhh, nooooooo!!--I found it by the way, it's called blotting and wiping away most of what's already there).

Because of the recent CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act)/Lead Law debacle as it relates to The Happy Tomato , I am admittedly increasingly fascinated and also horrified by claims and by packaging--especially on products for "children" (everyone 13 and under, incidentally, according to the CPSC).

And I liked the packaging here--no licensed characters, just a couple of retro, non-anthropomorphic bunnies; stripes, that perennial favorite, connoting a classy timelessness; and the following verbiage: "Edible Easter Grass. Imported From Germany. It's Grass-Tastic!"..."Fills a Basket--and great for crafts too!" and... "with New & Improved Flavors!"
Okay, any time you see that, you see those words, you know that you are absolutely dealing with a failed attempt at improvement, and the seemingly careless use of the ampersand?--immediately tells you to put even less stock in the second descriptor than the first.

Speaking of packaging, I tasted it, and 1) it's not sweet (I was picturing strands of Peeps), and 2) it is exactly the stuff my edible packing peanuts are made of (when I can afford them): potato starch. What a sad waste of a carb or two today.

My daughter, upon tasting the edible grass this morning, looked cheated to the very core of her 5-year-old being:"UGH. It tastes like foam." Even the cat won't eat it.

I suppose thought surely "Imported from Germany" would mean tasteful, if understated, like shoes or a handbag, not taste like one--after all, there are higher "standards" for products in Europe.

Sigh, it is very pretty, and empirically harmless (except, it may contain wheat, and it does contain phenylketonurics which I suppose accounts for the curiously non-sweet, non-detectable Green Apple flavor), supplies 1% of the recommended daily value of fiber, and it doesn't bother me aesthetically--in fact, it has great drape.

Yes, as I consider the back of the package, it's funny to think that "servings per container" can be "1" considering the front also makes the claim that the content "fills a basket!" (and is "great for crafts too!")--I mean, what does it "do" in a three year-old's small intestine?

It would be great for crafts (if on the expensive side) to fill a gift bag, but...you know where I'm going with this, right?...if I start printing my designs on bamboo fabric, which is certainly arguably a foodstuff (for pandas, but there are more asinine loops and hoops in the CPSIA than this, and the is not YET written to specify "human" children ), could I then tag them with some nutritional label and get in under the umbrella of the FDA, bypassing this CPSIA mess altogether?

And then, this lead business wouldn't apply to me--or rather, I wouldn't have to test perfectly safe, non-lead-possible "ingredients" in my clothing line because the designs would be "edible"--whether anyone uses them that way or not?

I don't even want to think about edible underwear. Is Spencer's Gifts still in business?

Before I lapse into a bitterness which doesn't befit this holiday (Syph just brandished a green Peep at me and sing-songed "Wanna Peep, Mama?--They're DELICIOUS!" which should give you an idea, perspective-wise, of how bad the Edible Easter grass must be, for her to nose-wrinkle it), and before you say something along the lines of "But you were a Kindergarten teacher! You should have more tolerance and an innate love of 'kid-things," and not hyper-analyze everything--and what could scream carefree childhood more than Easter grass, plastic OR edible?" I say:
WRONG, WRONG, WRONG: being a Kindergarten teacher, a parent of small children, a designer of "childlike things" means I have even less tolerance for things masquerading as harmless.

Teaching 5 year-olds to read, being a mother and being preocccupied with safety in general means it is less likely that I will stand for for things which make claims they can't live up to.

For being talked down to, for inaccuracies, for the unforgivable cheapening of words. For simple, bad taste.

AMEND THE CPSIA rally: FEVER PITCH

2009-04-01T09:52:00.004-04:00

Even I can’t take the irony, the metaphor today, but here it is:
I can’t attend the Amend the CPSIA rally (amendthecpsia.com) today in DC (though I’m in absurdly close Baltimore) because my two preschoolers are burning up with recurring fever, which they actually picked up on a road-trip to sell my designs (where I saw, first-hand, the effects of this law on what I make for the present and future).

Even if I could get a babysitter, which would be paid for with money squirreled away from my sales (which, due to the economy and lead shot-shy buyers, has of course dwindled), I wouldn’t-couldn’t in good conscience hand my blistering, hacking children over to an unsuspecting babysitter—even if I could minimize with a wave of the magic Tylenol wand (which can temporarily bring down the highest of fevers, masking the most insidious infection), and an assurance “using my best [CPSC] judgment” that it’s “just a little fever.”

Why, that would be just like selling my design to you, knowing it could contain lead or phthalates!

Because I am a responsible, law-abiding mother of children AND designer of children’s clothing, I will provide you with the documentation no matter how costly or painful it is to me personally (and losing out on being there today is painful to me), to be SAFE.

I will give you a number if asked, even if I already know, as a mother, what is empirically cool or hot to the touch (I just made a frittata on my kid’s forehead--I don’t need a thermometer to tell me she has a fever, or that she doesn’t. But what I can’t tell you is a number. I need an expensive forehead-thingy and a lot of wrangling to do that “painlessly”) because that is the right and safe thing to do.

I hope last night was the beginning of the end of the bleary ones we’ve all experienced, and that the fever breaks today.

So we can stop ruing our congressmen—I mean, spouses--in the middle of the night, as they again sleep through the coughing and hacking, the burning child in the bed between us, the spray of periodic mucous, the rolling over in the morning to suggest: “Give him a popsicle and some Tylenol and a stay and a materials exemption, he’ll be FINE.”

Thank you to everyone who is there today, who put together this incredible effort. We’re all “tired” of fighting this underlying infection.

I don’t care if you’re tired. Put a quarter in the Tired Jar and get in here and help me.

IT'S NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY DAY: LET'S BAKE COOKIES!!!

2009-02-10T06:45:00.003-05:00

It's National Bankruptcy Day.
There've been no flashes of white light, no sonic bellows or glowering mushroom clouds announcing themselves in the distance, no dales or glens reported littered with empty Kool-Aid cups.

But I know, like you just know about a good melon (without testing it, of course), that the damage done with this law is pulling a fast one--or a slow one--and the CPSIA radiation sickness of defaulted loans, school supply scarcity and market mayhem will blister up in time. Unless you are a business with retroactively banned pthalates in inventory, in which case your skin promptly came away from your bones at 12:01 this morning when the law went into effect, and I am deeply, deeply sorry there is no stay for that.

May I suggest you don't waste time on the sugar-free Kool-Aid, if you be a-drinking today.

Sure, it's a Grave New World, but let's bake cookies!!!--Gingerbread, to be exact.

For heaven's sakes, I'm "just a mom"--I cook and I eat when I'm upset!--and part of what I'm upset about is the idea that I'm not supposed to be upset anymore...since the CPSC has said they will not come after my business "generally."

As in: "The Commission generally will not prosecute someone for making, selling or distributing items in these categories..." Yes, the CPSC issued guidance last Friday (their favorite nearly unavailable day to issue "guidance"), which indicates that the CPSC has no intention of pursuing businesses who make what I make: dangerous cotton t-shirts and dresses which appear to be exempted, though I still feel unclear on the printed part of my printed product, even with a General Certification of Conformity for my always lead-free, non-toxic ink, and the aluminum metal snaps on those bodysuits (never calling them Onesies out of great respect for Gerber and the rules) still pose a testing problem.

As it's been pointed out, by those far wiser than I, the CPSC is making claims they can't really follow through on--like some non-custodial grandparent promising they won't ground you for taking your parents' car out without permission, the CPSC really doesn't have these enforcement powers, no matter how much Congress claims they do. State by state (often "motivated" by special interest groups), Attorneys General may choose to prosecute businesses via the CPSIA, and all/any of this is subject to challenge in the courts, as we saw with the overturn of the retroactive pthalate ban last week.

"(Issue a) stay, stay, as fast as you can, you can't test me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!"

Let's get to those cookies, shall we?

The most ominous problem is that the press release from the CPSC is still just a press release--the LAW is still just as fatally flawed. But, unless you see that, you will feel all better after reading the CPSC guidance, and sleep peacefully.

After a so-so night, where, because I am "the eternal optimist," I watched the Presidential address with underdog-hope a CPSIA question would bubble up, with swiftness and irony in the last few minutes before National Bankruptcy Day, giving the new big guy the opportunity to reveal his complete grasp on, and public solution to, THE PROBLEM (flipping back & forth to the Westminster Dog Show, which seemed to answer more questions than it posed, and gave me queer comfort, even as a non-dog person). Then I numbed my mind with homemade ice-cream, watched the clock tick over officially to today, took the usual tablet of "smack-smack-why don't they see this?!", and fell into perfectly normal, fitful sleep.
Then I woke up abruptly, with the following visual (finally, the cookies!!):

The Gingerbread Man, crossing the river to "safety"on the fox's back.

-Business--particularly small and handmade business--is The Gingerbread Man. Not thinking too much/being unable to think about what lies ahead, only putting critical distance between himself and that darn oven. Certainly not to how to re-order and replace his silver-sugar dragee buttons when they wear, now made of questionable metallic sugar.
-The CPSC is The Fox, promising The Gingerbread Man safe passage over the river, from all the angry townspeople (special interest groups) and forest animals he's riled up.
-The CPSIA is The River.

This is how it goes, right?:

GINGERBREAD MAN, eyeing the river: "Oh dammit, how am I going to get across THAT?!"

FOX: It's okay, I will carry you across safely on my back.

GINGERBREAD MAN: Are you kidding me?! You're a fox, I know your tricks.

FOX: Seriously, the water is really low right now, "generally"--but you can still ride on my back, if you want.

GINGERBREAD MAN: You're just going to eat me. I know it--and I don't have to test for that.

FOX: Look, will you stop getting all hysterical? I promised I won't eat you. I'm not interested in you anyway--shortbread is richer. I won't eat you.

GINGERBREAD MAN (getting on, miserably): This will never work. I still don't trust you.

FOX (smiling wearily, swimming): I know, but neither of us have any other options in this story.
(SURPRISE CAMEO!!) THE ALLIGATOR GENERAL, ridden by Angry Townfolk, swims rapidly across the river, snapping up The FOX and THE GINGERBREAD MAN in a single bite: "(belch) They made that really easy for us, huh?"

THE END.

Today is really very confusing to me--it's here, National Bankruptcy Day. I feel sick, confused and...a well-spring of nothing. It feels festive, but wrong, like a funeral. I don't know whether to bake a cake or drown my sorrows in Kool-Aid, proverbial or otherwise.

I think I will make gingerbread men with my kids, with the real butter of liberation (or resignation, depending on how optimistic you're feeling) and continue to fill my orders for perfectly safe, lead-free shirts. Maybe I'll tuck a cookie in every order. Maybe I will eat them all, and not make another damned thing today.

delightful photo copyright: Jen Rollo

THE PHOENIX HAS LANDED, BUT MUM'S STILL THE WORD

2009-02-06T10:25:00.000-05:00

First, on a completely superficial girly-fun note which belies the seemingly endless moil of this CPSIA madness, the hours of grinding and groping we the law-opposers are all putting in, "How fun to be quoted!" on that epidural bit from our last musing in The Boston Phoenix yesterday! see: "Congress's War On Toys" by Lissa Harris.

Squealed with a pert, rarely copped to ex-cheerleading voice in the privacy of my own kitchen whilst splashing a rivulet of tooth-ache sweet creamer (entirely unlike me and my adherence to black sludge) into my 5th cup of coffee, with only the dead silence of my sewing machine (yep, still paralyzed with CPSIA-fear for my business), it makes things feel light! and possibly better! for, oh, 1.4 seconds. Someone is noticing!

SIGH, and now it's back to the crushing, day-to-day drone of this thing, where it really can get worse, and wait!--it does!

Oh Cassandra--is it really that bad?
Despite the many lovely phonecalls and e-mails from people "congratulating," reassuring and "see, you got all worked up for nothing!"-ing me after the one year stay on certification and testing announcement which came from the CPSC late last Friday, yes, it appears it's really that bad.

As suspected, this is no time to run off holding hands in a tutu-clad victory circle, there is hard work ahead--and right in front of us. I know it felt good initially, but this "stay" will not fix the fatal flaws in the law, and worse, because it temporarily seemed to subdue the squawking artisans with small businesses, the subject fell mum (can one say "more mum?") over the past week. A week of momentum lost in the self-congratulation.

It is bizarre to me that I cannot (even when it seemed my business would be "off the hook" and it would "all work out") let this go. I have found myself all politicked-out, disenchanted with the same politicians and the system I would think is on "my side," left completely adrift by the fellow moms who think I'm too much of an hysteric and a complainer to even reply to my missives, and even, having worn my Home-Sweet-Home-mat a bit thin, felt the pull-back from my own family on my continuing need to fight this fight.

And now that it looks like we are not out of the woods, starting with this letter from the Waxman-Rush camp to President Obama on February 3rd, and after the rejection of the NAM petition as well as Judge Paul Gardephe's overturn which leaves us with a retroactive nationwide ban on phthalates on February 10, it's an increasingly sticky wicket.
I'm just plain disgusted with the way Henry Waxman's website and office continue to present him as a champion of reform when, according to this letter to President Obama, it is very, very clear that he has absolutely no plans of admitting the flaws in the law or budging one millimeter--and calls for CPSC Chairman Nancy Nord's head on a lead platter, just to stifle her rational complaints over the functionality (or dyfunctionality) of the law.
Yeah, in a move of colossal surprise to me, I find myself feeling sorry for Nancy Nord, and championing the Republican congressmen who will expose this. All in one week. This has nothing and everything to do with my politics; it has everything to do with a big mess we need to clean up.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: like everything in life, this is about short-term pain vs. long-term pain--and nobody wants to do it. Nobody ever wants to do anything painful--and they don't have to feel guilty "if they don't know about it." The reality of National Bankruptcy Day needs more coverage, people. The media has got to jump in in a meaningful way...and the easiest three words in the world must be avoided at all costs. Because you get more flies with honey than "I told you so."

Go see Rick Woldenberg (cpsia-national-bankruptcy-day-redux).--he "doesn't say it" much better than I do. If this ever ends, I am buying that man a vat of coffee.

CPSIA STAY!: IT'S JUST THE EPIDURAL, FOLKS

2009-01-31T07:57:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, the CPSC issued limited relief for small and large manufacturers of children's products, in the form of a one-year stay on testing and certification requirements the CPSIA: read the press release .

While this makes me a very Happy Tomato (for my business), my gut-including-my-uterus and experience tell me this is just the epidural, issuing some relief and stamina-gathering before the real pushing begins.

I hate to slip into my Cassandra-role again, but while I am now able to resume "safely" printing cotton children's apparel which only yesterday was potentially going to be deemed lethal on 2/10, this would not appear to solve the issue of books or school supplies--since the stay does not apply to lead in paint and other surface coatings or small parts (the other non-exempted categories are lead content of metal components of children’s jewelry and full-size and non full-size cribs and pacifiers) I am also really confused as to why these remain explicitly in-place: ATV’s manufactured after April 13, 2009, automatic residential garage door openers, bike helmets, candles with metal core wicks, lawnmowers, lighters, mattresses, and swimming pool slides.

Despite some arse-covering, the verbiage of this release indeed appears geared to the small business, particularly the squawking artisan: "all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses..."
While it makes me "happy" that my voice as part of that group of "complainers" (um, those criticized for spreading the same "misinformation" which surely informed this stay?), I am deeply concerned that we are still left with a lead & pthalates safety law which is not based on risk-assessment (a child might ingest a swimming pool slide? is that on the way up or the way down?)--one which STILL must be amended if we are to avoid this same panic next year at this time.

This is only a stay-of-enforcement, and still unclear, as it says testing is unnecessary, but compliance remains:"The Commission is aware that it is difficult to know whether a product meets the lead standard without testing" Have we gone from no faith in our ability to make safe products to complete lassitude and a Magic 8-Ball Mandate?

A year is a very short period of time, and it is STILL a very big concern that:
"The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously (2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement..."
How can it be that only a few (not EVEN a few, that would be THREE!) people seem to be in control of this thing? And the public and media remain unaware of the big picture?
Let's enjoy our epidural, but also realize what we just went through was only the Transition phase of the labor--there is no going back. We're entering the Pushing phase, and we have got to participate.

I remain panicky over the educational impact (I can panic with a smallish smile today), and the big picture. As always, I look to Rick Woldenberg at Learning Resources and Kathleen at Fashion-Incubator to see what they have to say.

Also to keep an eye on: SC Senator Jim DeMint proposing legislation next week to reform the CPSIA.

photo credit: Iwan Beijes

KARMA YOGA SURFACES AT THE CPSIA ETSY BLOG-IN

2009-01-28T12:06:00.000-05:00

I have a friend--I refuse to label her as a "mommy friend" though she is fellow mother I met when when our children were weeks old, in a new mothers' support group--and she is a deep supporter of mine in this CPSIA mess.

In addition to the not-so-Happy Tomato hand-wringing as it relates to my own business, she has listened to me rant, rave and rail about how the general population--especially and most confoundingly to me, MOMs--just isn't getting it, just isn't alarmed about the impending doom of the law going into effect February 10th, and what it means for regular sorts of things like price hikes in the Target bill, or little things, like, oh, LIBRARY books becoming unlendable to children, and the resulting marketplace blow-up.

And with each letter or phonecall to an editor or congressman (or our own moms' group) that goes unanswered or unacknowledged, each new hare-brained scheme I ponder to bring this wreck of a law desperately-needed media attention, she simply says "If you can answer the question 'Is it for the greater good?' then you have to keep doing it. "

And that sounds like a reallllly annoyingly simplistic and possibly even well-rested approach and it makes me want to throttle her for 2.3 seconds.

Of course I'm doing it for the greater good, I feel like screeching! Why else would I be staying up all hours and making scary (for me) ask-for-help phonecalls and watching my reflection in the medicine cabinet mirror go rapidly, I mean rapidly, beyond any hope of Retin-A catch-up, Dorian Gray?!?!?
But you know what?--asking whether and how something is for the greater good is enormously instructive toward focusing those intentions, no matter how pure. Because, SIGH, time is limited.

My friend has done every kind of job in her life (except, though actually I cannot confirm this, "rodeo clown") and every kind of physical endeavor (including recent ice-climbing), and loves and has taught (surprise!) yoga--but since having children, the yoga she's practiced has been Karma Yoga.

Karma Yoga is not about holding physical poses--it's about adherence to duty (dharma) and right action. As a time to practice, motherhood makes perfect sense here, with its scarce time for the physical self, especially alone, and let's face it, even if was nothing more than a six-dollar box of cereal being cheerily dumped on the floor while you turn around for a second, there is always plenty to do when people smaller than you as-yet unformed morals and incomplete judgment are in your care. And well, you'd think and pretty much hope that mothers, looking at these small people and the gravity of that situation each day, would be considering that bit about duty and adherence to right action..though it is not always the case.

Where am I going with this?--

I stand by my thoughts on some of the perils of Etsy and its forums, particularly the need to widen the cause to include the entire market impact, but I will very happily join today's Etsy blog-in and post what member chichiboulie put together and encouraged everyone to post on their own blogs today, in whole or in part. It is well-rounded and speaks to everyone--and yep, it fits right in with that Karma Yoga question, "Is _____for the greater good?"

I feel recharged, and hopeful when I see people unite, not splinter. Who knows, I might even have some more letters and calls in me yet!

[from chichiboulie, verbatim]:

As parents and concerned citizens I’m sure most of us at one time or another have been confronted with the question of lead poisoning. But have you asked yourself what your government is doing to protect your children from lead contained in toys? The answer? They're banning toys, taking books from schools and libraries, hurting low income families, killing entrepreneurial spirit and risking putting the economy in an even greater depression than we've seen in decades.

I'd like to introduce you to their solution: the CPSIA.Do you know about the CPSIA? No? Then I ask you to take a few minutes to find out about it.The CPSIA stands for Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a new set of laws that will come into effect on 10 February, 2009 and will impact many, many people in a negative way. Make no mistake, this is very real. View it for yourself. If Forbes, the American Library Association and numerous other media are paying attention, perhaps you should too. How will these new laws affect you? Well, here are a few examples:

To the Parents of Young Students: Due to the new law, expect to see the cost of school supplies sky rocket. While those paper clips weren't originally intended for your student to use, they will need to be tested now that your 11-year-old needs them for his school project. This law applies to any and all school supplies (textbooks, pencils, crayons, paper, etc.) being used by children under 12.

To the Avid Reader: Due to the new law, all children's books will be pulled from library and school shelves, as there is no exemption for them. That’s okay though, there's always television. Our children don’t need to learn the love of reading after all.Article from the American Library Association http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?p=1322

To the Lover of All Things Handmade: Due to the new law, you will now be given a cotton ball and an instruction manual so you can make it yourself since that blanket you originally had your eye on for $50 will now cost you around $1,000 after it's passed testing. It won't even be the one-of-a-kind blanket you were hoping for. Items are destroyed in the testing process making one-of-a-kind items virtually impossible. So that gorgeous hand-knit hat you bought your child this past winter won’t be available next winter.

To the Environmentalist: Due to the new law, all items in non-compliance will now be dumped into our already overflowing landfills. Imagine not just products from the small business owners, but the Big Box Stores as well. You can't sell it so you must toss it. Or be potentially sued for selling it. You can't even give them away. If you are caught, it is still a violation.

To the Second-Hand Shopper: Due to the new law, you will now need to spend $20 for that brand new pair of jeans for your 2-year old, rather than shop at the Goodwill for second hand. Many resale shops are eliminating children's items all together to avoid future lawsuits.

To the Entrepreneur: Due to this new law, you will be forced to adhere to strict testing of your unique products or discontinue to make and/or sell them. Small businesses will be likely to be unable to afford the cost of testing and be forced to close up shop. Due to the current economic state, you'll have to hope for the best when it comes to finding a new job in Corporate America.

To the Antique Toy Collector: Due to the new law, you'd better start buying now because it's all going to private collection and will no longer be available to purchase. “Because the new rules apply retroactively, toys and clothes already on the shelf will have to be thrown out if they aren't certified as safe.” http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189645948879745.html

To the American Economy: Already struggling under an economy that hasn’t been this weak in decades, the American economy will be hit harder with the inevitable loss of jobs and revenues from suppliers, small businesses and consumers. The required testing is far too costly and restrictive for small businesses or individuals to undertake.

To the Worldwide Economy:Due to this new law, many foreign manufacturers have already pulled out of the US market. You can imagine the impact of this on their businesses.

If you think this is exaggerating, here is a recent article from Forbeshttp://www.forbes.com/2009/01/16/cpsia-safety-toys-oped-cx_wo_0116olson.html

And for those of you prepared to be stupefied and boggled, The New Lawhttp://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/cpsia.html

Did you know? If this upsets or alarms you, please react.

photo credit: Robert Aichinger, "Peace Pagoda"

THE ETSY BETSY SPIDER: SCURRY OUT FROM UNDER THE HANDMADE UMBRELLA AND HEAD UP THE WATER PIPE(LINE)!

2009-01-26T11:45:00.000-05:00

The handmade community, and those on Etsy and its forums, have been very, very vocal in opposing the Consumer Product Safety Improvemtn Act (see CPSIA: What is it and why do I care? ).

If perchance you don’t know Etsy, it is essentially the Ebay of the handmade world, allowing artisans of hoosies & whatsits at all levels to set up shop without an external, commercial website, and to commune with other crafters.

The negative impact of the CPSIA on Etsians (isn’t that an HG Wellsish moniker!), which places the new lead-testing compliance faaaarrrrrr out of the small artisan or businessperson’s reach, will be catastrophic. If you search Etsy for “baby” you will come up with 192,000+ listings, and 265,000+ for “childrens”. How many Etsy sellers will have to shut down? Etsy staff have tried to provide support, compelling You Tube videos and a special CPSIA forum for the cause…why, some Etsians were even talking about organizing a marching in DC!—

(And here it comes, the part the Handmade Community—of which I am a part--does not want to hear)

While I am agog at the passion and energy the Etsy community exudes, I am also sometimes horrified by the confusion of the CPSIA forum there. It lapses into just the shrewish devisiveness (who sold out and got an XRF gun!—“must be nice!”) and frankly childish approaches to the law (“well, I just won’t one comply! This isn’t fair!”) one would expect of a group of predominantly female artisans under a great deal of stress.

I get to say that, because I am a female artisan under a great deal of stress—but I am more than that stereotype (I am a mother, a businesswoman, an educator and a consumer, for starters) and so are you, Etsians.

The idea of an Etsy march on DC is a fantastic one!---but I can just see: a gaggle of colorful ladies in hand-made tutus extolling the plight of the artisan and effectively shooting themselves in the hand-knit bootie right there. I am not disparaging the impact of the law on the handmade community!, but to focus solely on that is the Patchouli Zither condundrum we've discussed: the complainers become a mockery and are castigated for their original virtues by the law-proppers.
It is the failing of any group which has been marginalized to stay in the margins. We have to get out from under the handmade umbrella (or any other umbrella)--it's not shielding us, it’s obscuring us, and often, our perspective.

Take down the umbrella, burnish the pointy end in a fire of cogent, big-picture thought and focus and brandish it at the people who can change things. Brandish it respectfully and methodically, of course.

Use the handmade umbrella to gesture a point…but make sure it’s not the only point.
I know that when it’s your hangnail it hurts, and that there is great value in small groups of wronged people making a racket, but we have to point to THE BIG PICTURE.

I admit, I have complicated feelings surrounding Etsy, mostly centered on the fact that, for the Biggers, it is a place to come and lasciviously trawl for innovation. Like any artistic forum, it is just as ripe for pillaging as it is for communing. I’ve seen small, unique wildfire items from an Etsy designer be snatched up and mass-produced in exact replica--which is one reason I am an occasional community contributor, but choose not to sell my designs on Etsy. Although I’m completely supportive of the handmade community, I have my own commercial website, and this is my choice. This may be the one area of my life where I’ve fully embraced the truth that I am a much happier tomato not knowing what anyone else is doing.

This is a time I cannot afford that luxury.
Some may call that selling out—but that is better than not selling (or being able to buy) anything at all.

BREAD, MILK, CALL WAXMAN -- and you can just read the script!

2009-01-24T04:36:00.000-05:00

So now you've read a little bit about the CPSIA, and after scraping your jaw off the soon-to-be tested shag rug in your kids' playroom, you just want to know what you can do--while watching Thing 1 repel off the couch, and Thing 2 merrily open a box of ball-bearings...

*YOU MUST CALL MR. WAXMAN.

Mr. Henry Waxman is Chairman of the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, and ONLY HE can call a Committee meeting to postpone the Feb. 10th deadline on this law. President Obama cannot stop the law from going into effect (he has only put a freeze on the revisions now in the pipeline, which appears to put us back at square one with respect to exemptions).
Only Representative Waxman can call the meeting of his committee members so they can vote on it. Urge him with a two-minute phone call. No one has to know the kids are running around like wild hooligans, if you calmly say something to this effect:

"I am an American mother/small business owner/artisan/educator requesting that Mr. Waxman call an urgent meeting of the Committee of Energy and Commerce and push back the Feb. 10th deadline on the CPSIA law until all interpretations and exemptions for compliance have been ruled upon."

You are NOT asking him to make any exemptions or clarifications, you are asking him to call a meeting to hold this law until everything considered. Do not let an aide shunt your call to the CPSC or to Nancy Nord. Only Waxman can press the pause button.

*CALL Representative Henry A. Waxman : (202) 225-3976 (If you have live in CA's 30th, you may leave an e-mail via the contact form on his website)

*CALL the Commerce Committee Democratic Office opinion line: (202)-225-4434 and leave the same message. (note: the mailbox was full over the weekend, but just accepted my message at 10:29 EST, M 1/26--keep at it!)

photo credit: Anandin

LIKE A LEAD LOLLIPOP

2009-01-22T08:51:00.000-05:00

To be a mother who is openly critical of any part of a law with “Safety” (capital S) and “Improvement” in the title is just asking for it.

No matter that Safety is not the part of the law we’re all having problems with (but unintended consequences of the law, including the shut-down of small businesses and effect on the market-at-large). People look at you as though you’re the bearer of some colorful lead lollipop, from the first moment you voice your concern—whether it’s to your Congressman or Playgroup :“Oh, but our children’s SAFETY can’t be compromised! Sorry about your business, but this is SAFETY we’re talking about!!”

No, it’s not.

Opposing The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act opens you up to the kind of complete and total criticism beyond even that of being a mother, as judged by other mothers, which frankly, I thought was impossible (from carpool line to playgroup dissection of Angelina Jolie’s mothering skills). That is because we tend to take the same quality in a person and use it to either discredit or imbue virtue to their words, depending on what we’re trying to achieve. For example, the same qualities associated with femininity: empathy, emotional savviness, an ability to multi-task, are often turned on their ear to become: a lack of logic, hysteria, being scattered or spread too thin.

OR…do I really have to say it? Depending on whose looking and who it affects, I am either viewed positively as “assertive” or (duh) negatively as a “bitch.”

In this situation, proponents of this legislation are now using our qualifications—be it as mothers, artisans, small business-owners—to discredit us and muffle the squeaky wheel. Mostly, that is done through the fear and MORALITY attached to a word like “fear.” Don’t tell me that I don’t have my children’s safety always at the forefront of my mind.

I, who went into debt and spousal stand-off to abate radon in our house, whose heart nearly stopped when she stumbled upon her 3 and 5 year olds merrily doing “styrofoam angels” on the floor next to an unguarded, upended box.

I am saying that at the end of the day you pull my string and I DO say “Mama” and I put my children’s naked skin in the same clothing I sell to you AND I oppose a law which not only questions, but leaves me no way to certify that.

photo credit: Karolina K

THE CPSIA: LIKE AN ANVIL ON A ONESIE

2009-01-20T10:02:00.000-05:00

I’m a big fan of irony. HUGE. And I’ve always loved the image of the anvil--loved it even more and found it delicious, incongruous & unexpectedly pleasing to put on an infant onesie or toddler t-shirt.

Anvil was one of my first block designs, which I carefully, experimentally carved with my son napping in a sling. I remember the sense of excitement I had starting my own company! The feeling that this design, in particular, captured what I wanted to do, which was to offer something different than all the other Tom, Dick & Hannas, something artisanal-yet-everyday—washable, wearable art--and affordable. Three years later, Anvil remains unabashedly my favorite, though it is nowhere near my biggest seller.

Anvil:

-Something abstract, retro, connoting the skilled, autonomous craftsman and all-things artisanal.

-Something reaaalllly heavy, painful and life-altering when it blindsides you over the head with a CLONK!

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is that proverbial Anvil on a Onesie. I, a flagrant lover of metaphor, feel it sitting on my chest, as an artisan—but also as a mother, a business owner and a consumer.

According to the CPSIA, The Happy Tomato, the company I’ve carefully conceived and spent the past few years raising from home alongside my children—where I offer you the same thoughtful, responsibly created designs I put next to my own children’s skin--will be unable to sell you these designs, unless I can submit to thousands of dollars worth of testing to “prove” that my currently lead-free products—surprise!—don’t contain lead.

I print my block designs to cotton clothing and accessories, using certified non-toxic ink, none of which I technically “manufacture.” NEVER MIND the fact that it’s impossible for these materials to contain lead, logic would say that if my suppliers of the cotton clothing and ink certify that their products are safe, I should be in the clear combining the two, right? WRONG. The flaw in this law which will most impact small designers like me is the current mandate for whole product testing—even when the whole is comprised of risk-free parts.

Actually, the things made in America or by small craftspeople or businesses are not those which have been continually linked to lead poisoning in children. And before you go there, YES, “one is too many”—no one is arguing that children’s safety isn’t critical, least of all a mother who is basically unflappable except when she suspects someone is microwaving plastic within a 3-mile radius of her children—but this isn’t a safety issue, it is a compliance issue. Those who want to comply, have no means.

Independent designers like me are not going to have trouble meeting the requirements for lead-safety—we’re already using safe materials—it’s that we won’t be able to afford the mandatory, exorbitant, third-party testing which will be impossible to absorb into the cost of the product, relative to small production numbers. Even IF I could afford the testing upfront, my prices would have to go from something like 28 to 190 for a onesie…did you feel that clonk?

I feel it’s important to reassure you…and to rile you up a bit: this is a relationship of trust, and as a designer and mother I can and must reassure you that the safety of my products has never been in question. Now the riling part: though my heart lies with the artisans and small business of our society, the ramifications of this law condemn all of us to less choice and higher prices across the entire marketplace. Yes, I have a fondness for the lute-playing alphabet-block whittler ensconced in a copse of Maine woods—but I also have a tendency to buy things from Target and enjoy a fondness for things like school supplies and books from Amazon—and ALL OF IT will be affected. There will be less of it, and it will all cost more.

I’m just a former Kindergarten teacher turned stay-at-home mom & designer, whose sales at worst don’t hurt anyone else and at best bring me some income. I have poured all of my residual passion, sleep & finances (which I frankly might have spent on sleep or looking good in my mom-jeans ) into The Happy Tomato, and the CPSIA and February 10th foists on me the demise of the very small piece of autonomy I have carved out.

So, until Congress hears all of us, get yer anvils--while they’re hot!

OPRAH, WHERE ART THOU? (learned helplessness)

2009-01-18T07:36:00.001-05:00

There's a term employed by perplexed educators, wives of men who loll around with slaved-over meatloaf stains on their freshly washed Calvin Klein perfect tees, watching hour-9 of The History Channel when it's obvious to anyone with 4 out of 5 senses that there is a yowlingly rank bathroom to be cleaned, and weary mothers of toddlers who stand expectantly & long-past potty-training, holding streamers of toilet paper and your heart in their hands.
Yes, it's called "Learned Helplessness."

But where did they learn it? After the CPSIA goes into effect on 2/10, they will not have learned about it in school with manipulatives from so obvious a source as a company called Learning Resources --but I digress.

Like most things, this rant on our society and personal responsibility within the greater fabric will somehow come to rest...on Oprah.

I have chronicled my issues with Oprah exhaustively--especially as they relate to book clubs. I am equal parts entranced, apalled, intrigued, enamored, solemnly respectful and "afeared" of her stature in our society.

But I will admit now, with you as my witness, that when the true ramifications of the CPSIA started to dawn on me, including but not limited to my own small, artisanal business being shut down, my VERY FIRST THOUGHT was--
[insert horrifically whiny wail] "OH MY GOD, why doesn't Oprah doooooo something about this??!!!"

Well, I'm not sure Oprah knows--though the implementation of this law would seem to hit on many, many of the things she holds dear: parenthood, sisterhood, financial independence, education--and for heaven's sakes, at least half the things in the Love That! pages of O Magazine would be affected in some way.

Actually, it is Ellen whom I suspect would have the kind of sisterly, knuckle-bumping understanding of the CPSIA's implications, flaws, ironies and even sad, funny parts, to make her the logical advocate. But baby, I don't know that E has the world-wafting clout of O. You just don't have the reach (don't feel bad, NO ONE does).

It's just fascinating to me that my first thought upon understanding how big and scary this law is, was that I, an educated woman, mother, artisan, educator and business owner, in my own right, was powerless to change this scenario, unless someone like Oprah steps in, FAST.

Anyone have Oprah's number?

A MESSAGE FOR ROSCOE: KEEP AT IT

2009-01-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Dear Congressman Bartlett,

I appreciate your reply, and I understand the law. As a mother, an educator and a small designer of children’s clothing, I already put our children’s safety at a premium I cannot fully express.
But HR4040 does not achieve this safety in a manner which is reasonable, cost-effective or even truly measurable. What it will do, as written, is wipe out the small businesses in your district, owned by moms like myself, who pay taxes, are contributing to the economy and to our families survival in these economic times, and who are using materials which cannot possibly contain lead—including 100% certified organic cotton and certified non-toxic inks—to make our products.
But because of the way the law is written, I cannot combine certified lead free materials into a new product and sell it, without securing third-party lead-testing at exorbitant cost which is completely unattainable for a small designer who produces extremely low volume, low cost items. Because I can’t afford to test the whole—even if made of compliant components—my product will be contraband.
I am not interested in amended safety and lead standard. I am interested in having you further examine the law to see how it can be amended or what provisions can be made so that businesses like mine, who responsibly combine natural, lead-free materials in the manner they were intended, can survive. Exemptions for certain materials which cannot possibly contain lead (like cotton and previously certified non-toxic ink), as well as allowing combinations of certified components (with a disclosure of “ingredients” as we do with food—a substance children are 100% guaranteed of ingesting, by the way), are two possibilities I would like to see you explore.
I currently provide cautionary statements regarding choking hazard on anything small I produce—because I am required, and because it is the right thing to do if something is even potentially a choking hazard, no matter how unlikely, whereas cotton and certified non-toxic inks do not even potentially present a lead threat—it is not even possible. Perhaps a lead hazard warning, while absurd, holds some promise of an avenue here for those who cannot possibly afford the testing.
Thank you for looking into this further, and toward the needs of small businesspeople and families in your district. I’m sure you’re aware that women are the fastest growing sector of small business owners in this country, and that we must continue to encourage and protect small businesses and the children they provide for.

Thank you,
Stacia Linz
The Happy Tomato, LLC
www.happytomatokids.com

From: Congressman Roscoe Bartlett [mailto:md06reply@mail.house.gov] Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 9:56 AMTo: stacia@happytomatokids.comSubject: Re: Message for Roscoe

Dear Mrs. Linz:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H. R. 4040). I appreciate the opportunity to respond.

In response to several product recalls in 2007, particularly recalls involving children toys with high lead content, Congress passed and the President signed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This legislation, which became law on August 14, 2008, determines specific limits on the amount of lead allowed in children's products. If the item contains more than the specified amount it is considered a hazardous material and banned under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act. These limits will be enacted over a three year period.

Starting on February 10, 2009, products for children under 12 years of age, cannot contain more than 600 ppm of lead. After August 14, 2009, children's products may not contain more than 300 ppm of lead, and as of August 14, 2011 the limit is reduced to 100 ppm. This law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that products made after February 10, 2009 meet the new safety standards. Organizations that sell used children products for example, thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that their products comply with the new standards; however, resellers that do sell products that are found in violation of the new standards could face civil and criminal liability. All resellers should consult the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website (www.cpsc.gov) to ensure that inventory being sold has not been recalled and is considered safe.

The new law will also reduce the tolerable amount of lead allowed in paint from 600 ppm to 90 ppm. The CPSC will review and modify the products and standards at the least every 5 years. The CPSC will require that all manufacturers, importers, and private labelers of children's products be tested by an independent, accredited testing lab, to ensure that the products meet the new requirements. Also, effective as of August 14, 2009, manufacturers must put a tracking label on children's products which provide basic information including the location and date of production.

Under this law, the CPSC is directed to analyze and develop safety standards for infant and toddler products. Manufacturers of infant and toddler products will be required to provide consumers with registration forms to help in recording contact information. The CPSC is also directed to evaluate recall notification technology to ensure its effectiveness.

This law requires prominent cautionary statements on toys and advertisements regarding choking hazards. It also directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study to evaluate discrepancies regarding risks and preventable injuries among minority children. Additionally, it prohibits certain phthalates (DINP, DIDP, and DnOP) found in toys that could be placed in children's mouths, that have a concentration of more that 0.1% until further research is performed.

If you have further questions please consult the Consumer Product Safety Commission's website, www.cpsc.gov, or call 800-638-2772 (TTY 800-638-8270). I appreciate you for taking the time to contact me. I will continue to study the issues involved. I hope you will continue to keep me informed on issues that are important to you. In the meantime, I encourage you to visit my Internet website http:///www.bartlett.house.gov/ where you can sign up for e-mail updates.

B Sincerely,

ROSCOE G. BARTLETT
Member of Congress

RGB: FP
Sincerely,
Roscoe BartlettMember of Congress

HR-4040: WHAT'S THIS?--A NEW WRINKLE CREAM?!?!

2009-01-13T15:41:00.000-05:00

Sorry to get your hopes up.

Sadly, HR-4040 is not some magical new wrinkle cream which will smooth & tighten you, make you appear more rested and give you back the years of your life only the unfathomable worries of motherhood could swipe. It's a law: HR-4040, The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. And guess what! It is one more thing for you to worry about as a parent.

In addition to changing all of our lives (leaving our lines intact and perhaps cutting deeper ones)--whether we're parents, artisans, business-owners or consumers--it does not live up to it's claim. It will not eradicate the lead threat from our children's lives in a meaningful, consistent and measurable way, and it will deny them many of the most beloved and already safe toys, games, books, apparel and school supplies you rely on--especially those made by the smaller, independent manufacturers and designers, who will not be able to pay outrageous sums to have independent labs certify their products are safe.

If you're like me, you run on an accumulated sleep-deficit of years, mixed with the kind of necessary, garden-variety denial that allows you to get out of bed in the morning--and to allow your child out of the house, even though they could possibly be hit by a meteor.
I want to be involved in issues--but I reeaalllllly want to know how it will affect me and my child—and fast. Before naptime or the blessed caffeine fumes run out. Completely normal and reasonable human behavior and it's why I started this conversation, in chunks you can read, and take or leave in the moments you steal to down a cup of coffee and half a pack of dark chocolate m&ms away from the prying eyes of your toddler.

I am an artisan, a small business-owner, a mother, a former Kindergarten teacher--oh, and a loving consumer. This law, with its unintended consequences, affects me profoundly on each and every one of these levels.

Not to share the furrows, but certainly it affects you on at least one.
Please read and join the conversations.

WHAT IS IT AND WHY DO I CARE?

2009-01-11T15:13:00.000-05:00

Lead: Bad--sounds good, right?

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was designed to protect children (0-12) from lead and pthalates in all products which pertain to them (except food and drugs).

It's a response to those massive, scary recalls of 2007, and it requires all products for children, including those that currently pose no lead risk (like cotton and non-toxic inks) now be tested--by a third-party lab at staggering expense--to be below 600 ppm lead (and 300 ppm as of 8/09), or they are deemed illegal and "banned, hazardous substances" and cannot be sold or even given away as of February 10th.

This date is being called NATIONAL BANKRUPTCY DAY by those who have considered the unintended consequences of this law. THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT HANDMADE TOYS! (though I love them)
As written, the CPSIA will :

-destroy small businesses (including artisans and makers of handmade toys, clothing, art & school supplies) by mandating expensive testing of their products (which are unlikely pose risk), taking that money out of the economy

-eliminate your access to those unique products developed by small manufacturers (including school supplies like special needs accomodations).

-close mid- and even some large-sized businesses, who will have massive amounts of lost, unsaleable inventory.

-raise the price of the products remaining in the marketplace--expensive testing may be feasible for WonderMart, but the increased cost of a lesser product (in every way) will be passed along to you.

-close down or severely limit second-hand trade (thrift stores, ebay, Craigslist), Although they will not be required to test for lead, the penalty is the same ($100,000 per incident), and the onus is on the seller to "guess" if they might be in violation of the law. Who want to be that guy?--No one is going to take those odds: what's available to you as a consumer will diminish.

-raise the pricetag on schools (with their silly preponderance of items which children come in contact with). Prices will go up, as we eat the cost. The public and private sectors will be affected.

-succeed in being my favorite, biggest (surely?) unintended consequence: it's not an improvement. We are not talking about saving children from the dingle-dangles of China with this law. We are blowing up our own economy and small manufacturing scheme, which has never had a lead issue and did not contribute the recalls which prompted the law.

IF you even knew about the law.
Lead is not the risk addressed with this law: the ability to comply is--for all of us. This is a law "divorced from risk-assessment" (thank you RICK WOLDENBERG), and must be amended.

LEADED UNTIL PROVEN UNLEADED

2009-01-11T07:36:00.000-05:00

I am not an hysteric, I'm not--except, ironically, when it comes to my kids' safety--and I continue to steer myself very carefully away from conspiracy theories here (but let's face it, those have their place and are certainly entertaining, so look for a future section of this conversation entitled "JUST FOR FUN: CONSPIRACY THEORIES") but I have to wonder:
What does it mean when the federal government starts quietly and very quickly passing broad-snaring laws which punish regular and already safe behavior under the auspices of "Safety Improvement?"
Laws pertaining to safety which contain absolutely no element of risk assessment in the thing they are regulating?
Laws which threaten an individual's life (by this I mean: quality of life, livelihood, means to support family, full access to the products of a free marketplace...)?
Okay, that's a lot of questions--and they are passionate ones. However, passion and hysteria are not the same thing.
In the case of the CPSIA, the law seeks to regulate the poison of lead in children's products. Fine. But it demands that every product--whether or not it's likely to be eaten by a child (up to age 12), and whether or not it is comprised of components which could even conceivably contain lead (e.g. a cotton shirt printed with certified non-toxic inks) be tested by anyone who sells these things--but here's the catch: the manufacturer of these individual components (as well as the next manufacturer in the chain who combines these components) must use ONLY independent, exorbitantly priced lead-testing sanctioned by the enforcing agency to certify products are lead-free! Testing which the average small (or even larger) business could not possibly afford to do. Even on products which were never at risk for containing lead, and those in inventory retroactive to the enforcement date, too, which cannot be sold or even given away.
Here's a scary analogy which may be wildly unpopular, but it's a noodle-burner, so let's go for it:
How is this different than the federal government deeming, let's say, ALL homosexuals illegal (as "banned, hazardous substances") in America, unless they can prove they do not contain the HIV virus (which we know is a dangerous virus, but in 2009 they are not more likely to contain than any other group), by specifying that reasonably priced home-testing--or even clinic or doctor-testing--is unacceptable, as all testing and certifications must be performed by an third-party lab okayed by The Safety Commission, to which can be assigned any fee?
Guilty Until Proven Innocent (or Leaded Until Proven Unleaded) would seem to open up some scary vias--I mean roads--out of Rome.

BATHTUB GIN, BATHTUB TOYS

2009-01-08T05:55:00.000-05:00

Do I actually have to say this? To make some comparison to Prohibition (ah, that worked out so well)?
Except, this law isn't really like making alcohol illegal, it's like effectively taking ALL BEVERAGES off the market, but especially the kind of lovely, dusty little sodas you adore and only occasionally find in the coolers of Mom and (ugh) Pop stores off winding roads headed into the mountains, and remember so fondly from cartrips with your Dad and your sister as a kid.

It's like taking Cheerwine (do you know what I'm talking about?) out of circulation, even though it's a soda that couldn't possibly contain alcohol (But it MIGHT--it does have "wine" in the name).

Though I am a (Diet) Dr. Pepper fantatic, I am delighted when I happen on Cheerwine. It doesn't happen very often, and I guess would buy a case of it if I could, but part of the true appeal of Cheerwine is that it's not "almost-Dr. Pepper"--it's Cheerwine dammit, and because fills a very specific, irreplacable space in my psyche and hierarchy of needs.

In his brilliant rebuke to CPSIA, Rick Woldenberg pointed out, quite reasonably, that if you take away the ability of responsible or smaller manufacturers to comply with this law in a reasonable, affordable way, you will not eliminate the products entirely, you will simply breed "Scofflaws."

Okay, okay, I'm a sucker for language and he had me at "scofflaws"--but it will happen, and here is why:
The kind of people who are knowingly and irresponsibly producing these goods now, or who are in production of goods which both likely contain lead and which are intended for a population which would likely ingest lead, will not care about these standards--if they even "know" about the new standards. Let's face it, non-compliant people don't much trouble themselves with the intricacies of how to comply. where the people who do care, even those will not be able to afford to comply with the standards by proving they already comply with the standards. So, you will simply wind up with fewer choices and now those of a questionable nature.

Even if reputable, somehow magically compliant companies could step in, I don't want Dr. Pepper, which is owned by Snapple & I'm pretty sure is isn't malevolent attempting to make Cheerwine. It isn't the same.

The small businesspeople, like myself, having to take themselves out of the market entirely, will still be reeling on the floor with two bottles of Cheerwine--one pressed against sweaty brows of disbelief, the other poured down throats in the futile attempt to drown the sorrows of collapsed businesses and dreams...oh that's right! There's no actual wine in Cheerwine.

BUTTON, BUTTON, WHO'S GOT THE BUTTON?

2009-01-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

Another feature of this law--and place for reform if you want to get the lingo down--is the need to allow component testing, as opposed to the currently-required unit testing.

The way the law is written now, Acme Buttons must have a red, plastic button independently tested for lead in order to (knowingly) sell it to a children's clothing manufacturer--and then it must be tested again by Button Up, the small manufacturer who buys said red button and then sews it onto a lead-free cotton shirt (which couldn't possibly contain lead), if it's intended for anyone 0-12.
My head is spinning.

It also means that a child's zipper, from the same batch which was tested by Acme Zippers, must be tested on each distinct destination where it appears--and that would include separate testing of a short and long-sleeved version of the same flower girl dress, identical in every other way, save sleeve length!--Each version must be tested in its final form by the next manufacturer on the supply chain, even though it is the exact same zipper which has been previously tested, and has nothing to do with the sleeves on the garment.

AAAAAAAAAAAACK! I get why The Peanuts' Lucy always said that now. I do.

It also means--and here is where we get into the seedy little workarounds which are sure to "crop" up (pants-joke)--that the exact same 5" zipper which must be tested on a child's hoodie, does not have to be tested on an identical piece of clothing for dolls. Or dogs. Or dwarves.

SHINY, SMILEY MEGASTORES TYING HA-A-ANDS

2009-01-02T23:06:00.000-05:00

My first, nauseating concern about this law (besides, “GULP--I have to close my business?!”) was that in snuffing out the richness, innovation and healthy choice that small manufacturers and artisans bring to our society, we’re pushing people, yet again, to the Shiny Smiley Megastore. Filled with shiny, cheap things, nothing can be called exceptional or imbued with individuality or care there—but you can get, well, everything.
ICK.

I evolved into a children’s apparel business for two reasons--okay, for lots of reasons, mostly involving the clawing need to preserve an identity within the “joyful tedium,” as the French say, of staying home with an infant. But really?, I just wanted to put my kids in clothes slightly different than all the other Tom, Dick and Hannas (a reference to giant kids’ clothier, Hanna Anderson--not, shudder, Hannah Montana), and I couldn’t quite find what I was looking for: something offbeat, exceptional, that wasn’t smarmy, snarky or snide and that I could actually afford.

Enter reason two: I'm one of those optimistic, starry night-eyed sorts who truly believe art should have a lowercase “a,” and be part of some world of everyday, affordable, surroundable objects.
So my first thought was for the little guy making little things, not so much the little guy buying little things, and the SSMs and man, how they just ruin everything with their faceless, icky dreck!

Now, there are people who not only have to, but really like to shop at the McWhop-mart, and it's certainly-certainly not as though I have never come down from my high horse (pasture-fed, of course) to set foot inside one myself. But if the bigger they are, the harder they fall, and the Big-Mart will have to test aaaaaalllllll of their products as well. They may have more testing income, but they have more to test--and all of their inventory will become accountable when the CPSIA goes into effect retroactively. Big stores (including JC Penney and Amazon) are/will be returning big shipments to sender, immediately.
If the law stands as written, everyone will head to head for the Shiny, Smiley Megastores, full of shiny but no-longer cheap things--because the exorbitant cost of the testing, shipping and inventory malfunctions will have to absorbed by...you.

THERE'S A 100% CHANCE THAT'S GOING IN MY MOUTH

2009-01-01T14:57:00.000-05:00

One of the most curious things about this law, and this level of regulation and testing, is that it doesn’t apply to things we are absolutely certain our children will put in their mouths, like, um, FOOD. How is it that I can sell you an untested homegrown tomato, but not a pure cotton shirt with a block design of a tomato printed on it in certified non-toxic ink?

You may think this is like comparing apples to ball-bearings (the FDA is a separate entity from the CPSC) but this law reads so that virtually everything kids 0-12 come in contact with, be it school supplies, books, bedding, clothing, the art hanging on their walls—even if it is made of materials which when combined couldn’t possibly contain lead--must be tested.

Let's just substitute the term "organic" to compare and discuss lead certification in children's products. Under the provisions of this law, I can’t take a certified "organic" (lead-free) apple and certified "organic" (lead-free) grapes and combine them without having to expensively, independently (and some would say, POINTLESSLY) test the fruit salad containing only those two certified ingredients to see if it’s still “organic”(lead-free).

We absorb 60% of whatever we put on our skin, but I’m pretty sure we absorb 100% of whatever we put in our mouths... Does this make any sense to you?