National Bankrupcy Day

This is very near and dear to my heart since I do make handmade items for sale...

"February 10, 2009 has been dubbed "national bankruptcy day" because of a new law that will take effect that day. It will require ALL businesses to do lead testing on EVERYTHING that is made for children 12 and under -- even small, artisan businesses.

If you buy or sell handmade toys, clothing, cloth diapers, or babycarriers the following is really important information for you. As of February 10th, 2009 ALL items sold in the US that are meant for children 12 years and younger will be required to have third-party lead testing done by the manufacturer. This sounds great in theory since we all want to protect our children, right? This law will only force small businesses to close (or operate illegally) when the problem lies with large companies making cheap items in foreign countries.

DO YOU MAKE OR SELL THESE ITEMS? If you own a small home based business crafting these items, these requirements fall on YOU. You will be required to test each and every component of your items for sale and label them with a batch# and date of manufacture. If you do not comply you will be in violation of federal law and could be subject to fines up to $5,000 . Anything children's items made before this date that are not tested and cerified lead-free are considered banned hazardous waste and cannot be sold after February 10th, 2009. Even if you use materials such as fabric that were tested by their manufacturer not to contain lead, you must still have third party testing done. This is obviously not an option for most artisan businesses! Please call or write your representatives regarding the new CPSIA legislation that has already passed and will be put into effect in February without any thought for the `little guys'.

DO YOU BUY THESE ITEMS, OR VALUE THE ABILITY TO BUY THEM? Then you need email or write your representatives today as well. If this legislation is not changed to offer some sort of clarification regarding handcrafting businesses in the US, then many if not most of the items I've discussed will no longer be available. No more wood cars crafted by a retired grandpa, no more children's handmade clothing and cloth diapers on Hyena Cart, Etsy and sites that encourage us to buy handmade. I don't know if you feel the same but if I had to choose between a handmade item made by a work at home mom vsa "certified lead-free" item made in China and sold at Target, I'd choose the former.

We must act soon and get some changes made or February 10th will mean the end of the "Buy Handmade" movement! Stand up for small businesses everywhere as this legislation effects each and every one of us, our businesses, our children and even our economy.

Let your representatives know that as much as we value keeping our children safe by testing items for lead, this is the WRONG way to accomplish that.

You can read more about the CPSIA legislation at:

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/c...must-be-tested/
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.html
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template....;ContentID=6275
http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/