As of now, on February 10th I will no longer be able to sell the baby items I have been selling...pacifier clips, burp cloths, etc.
I just found out about this law that has been passed and I thought I would cut and paste an entry from my friend Destiny's Blog...from Little Lambs and Lilies
Look out for
National Bankruptcy Day on Feb. 10, 2009. That's what its being called because hundred and thousands of companies big and small will be affected or forced out of business due to this
Crazy Law--the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (
CPSIA). Read more
here.
It all started last year when we had that big lead scare in children's toys--that all came from China, by the way. So, now Congress is passing this law that prohibits the sale of ALL children's items intended for children 12 and under unless they have received a General Conformity Certificate (GCC). This mean that each product sold will have to go through a testing process that costs an insane amount of money for each product.
This CPSIA does not show favoritism to large or small companies. Even small business (like mine and so many of my friend's) will have to conform to this law. It is going to force WAHMs (work at home mom's) out of business. Let's just say that a mom has a business making custom clothing like dresses. She will have to have the dress tested (fabric, buttons, etc.) for a total of about $1, 400. And, from what I understand the test product will be destroyed. For a dress that retails for around $40-60 what good is that going to do? Then if she wants to change the color or fabric of the dress she'll have to go through the whole process again!
NOW--don't get me wrong....I'm all for protecting our children!!!! But, I think the law has been written poorly. But, why can't they go to the source of the problem (china)?? Instead it is taking away opportunity of American artisans/craftsman to pursue their passion.
A mother who desires to stay home with her children and at the same time work to earn a little extra income should have that right. Isn't it good to
support handmade products once in
awhile instead of the toys, clothing, art, etc that are mass produced?
Big companies will be able to afford to get the testing done and I'm not sure how they will be affected. (or will we be affected by their prices going up????? just a thought) But small companies and the wholesale companies they buy from will.
No more buying and selling toys, clothes, books "for children under 12" on ebay, etsy, etc....
As if our economy wasn't in enough trouble already, let's make it a little worse!!
(Can you tell I'm upset about this???)
By the way..there's a $100,000 fee if you are caught selling these items!!!!
Here are a few more links about this subject:
How can you help?