Posts of Blog

The HTA Blog is Moving

2009-09-18T05:32:18.699Z

We are now posting at http://handmadetoyalliance.blogspot.com/ . All of our older posts are archived below.

An HTA Pop Quiz

2009-09-17T06:36:51.727Z

See if you can identify either of these two tiny companies, both of whom make children's products:

Three friends launch their company out of a garage in Southern California. Their first products are picture frames, but they developed a side business in dollhouse furniture made from picture frame scraps...

And

Three partners in New York make toys out of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resists splintering and held up well to heavy use. The details and charm are added with colorful labels based on characters from one of the partner's children's books. They took 16 of their wooden toys to the American International Toy Fair in New York City and they quickly become a success...

Wait--don't bother searching through our list of over 300 business members, even though these descriptions might describe many of our member businesses who make their children's products in their garages or basement.

Actually, the first paragraph describes Mattel when it began in 1945.

The second paragraph describes the early years of Fisher-Price (now wholly owned by Mattel) in the 1930s.

What would have happened to Mattel or Fisher-Price if the CPSIA had been in effect during their early years? Certainly the early Mattel might have redoubled their focus on unregulated picture frames rather than invest in testing their tiny batches of dollhouse furniture. And Fisher-Price would likely have reconsidered their business plans if they knew that every buyer at Toy Fair would need to see their certificate of compliance.

This is one of the most compelling reasons to nurture and support American small businesses. We are the future of the American economy. Small businesses bring innovation and an opportunity for growth that big business can't match. And, although Mattel and Fisher Price lost their moral compass in the many decades since their humble beginnings, their failures had been providing opportunities for small manufacturers as parents sought out toys made with integrity. But the CPSIA took all that away and left Mattel smelling like roses.

If anything, Congress needs to learn the lesson that harming small business without cause is like throwing away the future.

HTA testimony for the House Commerce Committee CPSIA hearing

2009-09-11T04:10:46.995Z

The following is what Jill Chuckas, Secretary of the Handmade Toy Alliance and owner of Crafty Baby in Connecticut, would have said today to Representative Waxman's Commerce Committee if she had been allowed to testify.

September 10, 2009

My name is Jill Chuckas and I own a small hand crafted children’s accessories business called Crafty Baby (www.craftybaby.com). In December, when I learned that the CPSIA would indeed affect my business, I joined and quickly took on a leadership role within the Handmade Toy Alliance. Currently, I am on the executive board and hold the position of Secretary. Our grass roots alliance of almost 400 businesses, represent children’s product artisans, small batch manufacturers and retailers of children’s products throughout the country. Today, I am here to share not only my story, but the stories of all the members of the Handmade Toy Alliance.

As a hand crafted artist, I am involved in every aspect of my business – from production to sales, advertising and marketing to accounts receivable. When the toy recalls began, my business increased. People were seeking out hand crafted and made in the USA products in droves. When Congress first spoke of this “toy safety” legislation, I applauded their efforts along with the rest of the country. In December of 2008, though, I read the fine print. I, along with many others, quickly realized that this law, meant to regulate the companies that had betrayed the countries trust, would effectively put me out of business in less than a year. Not because my products are unsafe, but because I simply can not afford the cost prohibitive, redundant testing protocol that this law stipulates.

The biggest obstacle to compliance for our membership is the third party testing protocol. The companies represented by the Handmade Toy Alliance are very small – many have only one or two employees, if that. Many are operated out of homes and are a supplement to the family income. All are run out of a love for children, and a desire to share products that are an alternative to the mass produced items that invade our society. Some strive to become larger – possibly employing 5-10 people – but most like being small and having personal relationships with their customers. Jill Courtright of Auntie Jill’s Shop (VT), recently shared with me the joy she was having in working with a four year old to design a stuffed animal just for him. Under the CPSIA, she would not be able to do this work because the cost of third party testing this one stuffed animal would be 10 times as much as what she would sell it for (as well as being a destructive test). At sixty five, Linda Moore Kurth, owner of Whimsmoore, LLC (WA), had finally realized her twenty five year long dream of having a children’s toy, gift and book site that invites children’s imaginations out to play. Although she had her product line tested using XRF scan technology and is confident that her products are safe for children and meet the standards of the CPSIA, this is not sufficient for her to prove compliance. She is wrestling with the reality, like so many of us within the Handmade Toy Alliance, that she may have to close the doors to her business.

A major issue within the CPSIA, as we see it, is the lack of flexibility within the law to employ risk assessment and alternative forms of testing to prove compliance. Our members agree with the original intent of the law – to provide our nation’s children with safe products. In doing so, compliance needs to be geared at products as a whole – looking at the parts used to put together a product. The reality is that many of our members use raw materials from the same supplier, whether it be fabric, wood, ASTM certified non toxic paint, finished Onesies, snaps, zippers or so on (and have compliance certificates from those suppliers), to make their finished products. Good sense would dictate that if these items were tested prior to being sourced to our members, than why should the materials be tested again? At the very most, using a technology already employed by the CPSC, such as an XRF hand held scanner, would seem highly appropriate. Yet, the CPSIA does not allow for this common sense approach to proving compliance.

Another obstacle for many of our members – particularly retail store owners and importers – is the lack of harmonization with European Union standards. The European Union has long had stronger safety standards than the US and toys entering our market stream have certification of passing these standards. Yet the CPSIA does not allow for this testing to be accepted as proof of compliance. For that reason, many beautifully hand crafted toys and products from Europe have been pulled from the US market. These products are completely compliant with the levels set forth within the CPSIA, but because the testing protocol in the EU tests for soluble lead (or ingestible lead) rather than total lead content, the testing is deemed invalid. Science has shown us that soluble lead is of greater concern than total lead content, but the CPSIA does not lend itself to this implementation of risk assessment. Handmade Toy Alliance member Jonathan Green of Jonathan Green & Co. (NJ) who specialize in German products shared with me, that now, many store owners, including his, will no longer be able to supply customers with products from their native Northern European countries that express and maintain their ethnic heritage.

All of our members have expressed frustration in the lack of flexibility and use of risk assessment within the law itself. We recognize that in the last few months, a number of rulings have been issued by the CPSC that have brought some relief to our members. We also recognize that more rulings are soon to be issued that may bring additional relief. Although we are happy to see common sense implementation of the CPSIA by the CPSC, we continue to feel strongly that change needs to come directly from the law itself. As we have seen on numerous other occasions, rulings by regulatory agencies can be overturned. The very fabric of the law allows for litigation, and little “wiggle” room in interpretation. The Handmade Toy Alliance has put forth documents we call “Seeds of Change” that highlights our suggestions for common sense changes within the CPSIA. We urge the committee to consider these suggestions in a technical amendment to the CPSIA.

Thank you for the committee’s willingness to open the CPSIA up for discussion in the House of Representatives.

Best Regards,

Jill Chuckas
Owner, Designer
Secretary, Handmade Toy Alliance
www.craftybaby.com
www.handmadetoyalliance.org

Press Release: HTA Board members attend Committee Hearing on the CPSIA

2009-09-11T17:52:00.187Z

Stamford, CT – September 10, 2009 – Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) Board members Jill Chuckas, owner of Crafty Baby (CT) and Kate Glynn, owner of A Child’s Garden and Impish (MA), attended a hearing in the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection on Thursday addressing issues regarding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Although not invited to formally testify, the HTA has vocalized a solid and consistent message to fully participate in the process to address the unintended consequences facing its members from the CPSIA. This hearing, although solely focused on the information shared by Chairperson Inez Tenenbaum of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), was the first of its kind to discuss the implementation process and ramifications of the CPSIA.

When questioned directly by Ranking House Member Radonovich (CA) and Chairman Emeritus Dingell (MI) if the CPSC needed flexibility in the CPSIA to grant exemptions and fully implement the law before them, Chair Tenenbaum repeatedly stated that it was premature for her to answer the question. Later, when Rep. Dingell further pressed the issue asking if she would support targeted amendments to the CPSIA, Chair Tenenbaum again stated that it was premature to fully answer, but once her staff finished “untangling the knots”, that a legislative response may be needed. Throughout her testimony, Chair Tenenbaum reinforced her commitment to work diligently to educate consumers, implement the legislation before her and be transparent in the process.

One issue that Chair Tenenbaum began to touch upon was component based testing – an area on which the HTA has long awaited a ruling. “We heard it clearly stated by Chair Tenenbaum that a ruling relating to component based certification will be forthcoming, but no time line as to when that will be and exactly what it will encompass,” Chuckas stated. “We recognize that she has only been in office for just over 2 months and has made tremendous progress in a short period of time, but our member businesses are closing now and this ruling could keep them open. It is extremely frustrating that this process takes so much time when it appears, at least from our standpoint, to be a fairly straightforward request.”

Following the hearing, Chuckas and Glynn visited with their members of Congress – the offices of Sen. Kerry (MA), Sen. Dodd (CT) and Rep. Himes (CT). Chuckas and Glynn had met with staffers from these offices after the April 1st rally and had kept in consistent communication with these Congressional members. At this meeting, the HTA team sought additional support and outreach to request further hearings and open dialogue with both Congress and the CPSC, hoping to enact common sense changes within the fabric of the CPSIA. “It was encouraging to hear that my Congressmen are willing and able to openly discuss the concerns of the HTA membership as a whole,” Glynn commented. “Although I recognize that our journey is not yet over, I feel some amount of hope that our voices are being heard.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 382 retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA. Formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, HTA members are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

Douglas Rushkoff, author of Life Inc., puts the CPSIA in a larger context

2009-09-09T05:58:00.146Z

In a labor day interview on public radio's To the Best of Our Knowledge, Douglas Rushkoff cited the CPSIA as a recent example of government enacting laws for the benefit of corporations. He points out that corporations are, after all, the invention of government.

Even though we live in a world now where corporations are free to compete with each other at a certain level...there's no competition with corporations themselves. A great recent example is the toy paint manufacturing scandal where all these conglomerates outsource their toy manufacturing to china and a bunch of toys came back with this lead-tainted paint. So...government comes in and says "we're going to create great regulations to prevent lead paint from ever getting in children's mouths again." And what that is is a testing procedure, so it costs maybe 50-60 thousand dollars for a toy company to test a toy before they can put it out on the market. [Note: we at the HTA would characterize these costs as $200 to $3,000 per item] Well what does that do to the small toy manufacturers or the company that's making a hundred of something rather than a hundred thousand of something? They can't spend $50,000 per toy that they're manufacturing and what it does is that it puts everyone else out of business.

What Rushkoff goes on to discuss deserves some thought. His thinking is neither left nor right, nor is is libertarian. It could be described as localism or perhaps Distributism (without the Catholic underwriting). He goes on to say that the answer to many of our problems is to act locally, buy locally, and support our communities.

We gotta think small...When you want to do one teeny little thing, you come up against the obstacles that need to be changed. It's only the tiny ideas that work. It's our addiction to big ideas, our addiction to some giant movement -- institutional change, "march on Washington", the idea that we're dependent on Obama for a better life -- is itself the problem. The fact is, we do have the means to care for each other, to grow food, to educate each other, to do the very basic things that people need to enrich their lives. And once you start looking for them in the smallest of ways..it ends up rippling out in ways that you just wouldn't believe.

Truth be told, this perspective is shared by many of us at the HTA. All we want is to use our hands to make and sell children's products. Doing this one simple ting, we've run into a really big obstacle that needs to be changed--the CPSIA.

Press Release: The HTA sends Board members to Committee Hearing on the CPSIA

2009-09-08T22:00:05.305Z

Stamford, CT – September 8, 2009 – The House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection has scheduled a hearing for this Thursday, September 10th titled, “Consumer Product Safety Commission Oversight: Current Issues and a Vision for the Future”. Although only one witness – Chairperson Inez Tenenbaum of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) – has been called, the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) will be sending two Board members to attend the hearing in the hopes that their voices will be heard. Efforts are currently underway to have Board member Jill Chuckas, owner of Crafty Baby (CT) speak on behalf of the members of the HTA, while fellow Board member, Kate Glynn, owner of A Child’s Garden and Impish (MA) will make the trip to attend the hearing and legislative visits.

“Regardless of whether or not I will be allowed to speak, I have prepared written testimony that I will submit to the committee,” stated Chuckas, Secretary of the HTA. “We have all worked so hard to have this hearing happen, and it is very important to be involved in the process and show that we will continue to work towards a solution that both keeps children safe and keeps our membership in business. Hand crafters were never intended to be put out of business. It is now time for Congress to amend the CPSIA so that we can continue to do what we love – create safe and lasting products for children.”

After the hearing, Chuckas and Glynn intend to meet with their members of Congress to further discuss the impact of the CPSIA. “We have really spent a great deal of time outreaching to members of Congress and just sharing our stories,” discussed Glynn. “For the most part, those we have spoken to are sympathetic to our cause. We’ve come to the point, though, where understanding needs to move to action and this first hearing is a step in that direction. The majority of the members of Congress that we have discussed this with have stated that if brought to the floor, they will vote for common sense changes to the CPSIA.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 382 retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA. Formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, HTA members are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

A bleak overview of Mattel, dubbed one of the "Bad Boys of Business"

2009-09-07T06:10:25.250Z

The finance site Minyanville recently named Mattel one of the "bad boys of business", using the tagline "No lawsuit, recall, or suicide can stop this childhood-memory maker." Other recipients of this dubious honor include Blackwater, Wal-Mart, and Comcast. The article then describes a litany of bad PR dating back to the original Barbie.

Unfortunately, the article missed the recent news about Mattel's exemption from CPSIA testing requirements. But, a commentator named James Wolfe updated the article and provided some additional insights. Here are his comments:

Mattel Ethics

Report Abuse

09-03-2009, 1:32 pm

Having worked for this company for a couple of decades, most of that time as middle management, I finally left because I could no longer stomach its hypocrisy.

Mattel's latest behind-the-scenes maneuvering involves getting ($1 Million lobbying effort) a special 3rd party toxicity measuring exemption by the CPSC. This will give Mattel a competitive edge because it will not incur the expense of independent testers and is (once again) allowed to police itself.

Bob Eckert dodged a fatal bullet a couple years ago when he testified before congress regarding the impermissible levels of lead in painted toys. The commission failed to ask him how Mattel monitors the VENDORS of the China factories Mattel owns. Vended-out work constitutes something like 75% of Mattel's manufacturing processes in China. Had the senators gone there, the outcome of the committee would have been RADICALLY different.

HTA Letter to the House Commerce Committee

2009-09-04T15:04:42.728Z

September 4, 2009

House Energy and Commerce Committee
2322A Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Henry Waxman Chairman	The Honorable Bobby Rush Subcommittee Chairman
The Honorable Joe Barton Ranking Member	The Honorable George Radanovich Subcommittee Ranking Member

Re: Format of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Hearing, “Consumer Product Safety Commission Oversight: Current Issues and a Vision for the Future”, scheduled for Thursday, September 10

Dear Chairmen and Ranking Members:

We are writing in regard to the subcommittee hearing set for September 10, 2009, the first Commerce Committee hearing on consumer product safety since the CPSIA was passed over a year ago. We are very disappointed to learn that the committee will not be taking this opportunity to hear from any small businesses affected by the CPSIA. Indeed, we have learned that CPSC Chair Tenenbaum will be the only person invited to testify.

While we have full faith in the abilities of Ms. Tenenbaum and believe she is working to apply common sense interpretations to the CPSIA, we do not believe that the she can represent the full scope of the CPSIA's impact on responsible American small businesses. Nor do we believe that the unintended consequences of the CPSIA can be solved through the CPSC's rulemaking. A technical correction is required, and we would like the opportunity to tell your committee why.

Our businesses have been burdened by a law designed to fix a problem created by irresponsible multi-national corporations such as Mattel. The small manufacturers, crafters, and retailers represented by our alliance have impeccable safety records, yet we are burdened by excessive compliance costs while Mattel has once again been trusted to police itself.

Now is the time for Congress to hear the voices of small businesses. Now is the time to show that laws can be written for the common good, not just for the interests of large, well-connected corporations such as Mattel. Now is the time to invite small businesses, including a representative of our alliance, to speak truth to Congress about how the CPSIA is devastating our businesses and our livelihoods.

As parents, consumers and small business owners, we all believe that children’s products should be free of toxins and safe for our children. We are in business due to our sincere desire to put forth quality products. Unfortunately, the CPSIA has made this endeavor much more difficult than it should be.

Please, help us fix the CPSIA. Help us continue to provide unique clothes and playthings for America's children. Please, invite us to testify.

Respectfully,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

Contact information and a listing of all 382 business members of the Handmade Toy Alliance is available at http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/members-of-the-handmade-toy-alliance

savehandmadetoys@gmail.com

www.handmadetoyalliance.org.

Board members:

Cecilia Leibovitz, Craftsbury Kids, VT	Dan Marshall, Peapods Natural Toys, MN
Jill Chuckas, Crafty Baby, CT	Mary Newell, Terrapin Toys, OR
Jolie Fay, Skiping Hippos, OR	Heather Flottmann, Lilliputians, NY
Rob Wilson, Challenge & Fun, MA	John Greco, Greco Woodcrafting, NJ
Kate Glynn, A Child's Garden, MA

Press Release: The Handmade Toy Alliance Reacts to Testing Exemptions for Mattel

2009-08-31T22:34:22.215Z

St. Paul, MN – September 1, 2009 – The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) continues to issue important guidance on several key areas of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which was passed by Congress in August 2008 and requires all children's products to be tested for safety by third party laboratories. Except, it turns out, for toys made by Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, who has recalled 12.7 million toys for safety hazards or lead paint since 2007.

The CPSC granted Mattel permission to operate "firewalled" in-house testing facilities instead of paying third party laboratories for performing required toy safety testing. Although such in-house testing facilities are allowed under the CPSIA (due to Mattel's heavy lobbying in 2008), only very large manufacturers can meet the requirements set forth in the law. Smaller manufacturers, including the members of the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA), must pay third party labs for testing services ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars per item.

“We are concerned that this is just another example of the fox guarding the hen house,” wrote Consumer Reports. Members of the Handmade Toy Alliance couldn't agree more. “Mattel is one of just a few companies that caused all the panic over toy recalls back in 2007,” said Dan Marshall, Vice President of the HTA and co-owner of Peapods Natural Toys (MN). “While the provisions of the CPSIA are causing hardship for hundreds of smaller companies with impeccable safety records, Mattel has been allowed to bring their testing back in house with only a promise that they will not have continued lapses in product safety.”

“This really makes me crazy,” said Jill Chuckas, Secretary of the HTA and owner of Crafty Baby (CT). “This law is nearly impossible for small businesses like mine, but Mattel gets let off the hook. How is that fair?” Mattel's stock has risen 33% in the first six months since major provisions of the CPSIA came into effect on February 10, 2009.

The Handmade Toy Alliance again calls to Congress to amend the CPSIA to make it fairer for small businesses by allowing the CPSC to apply risk analysis to mediate the costs of compliance without sacrificing safety. Small businesses should not be punished for Mattel's mistakes.

Although the CPSC has recently defined a list of materials that are not expected to be contaminated by lead, many materials still require testing. “It's fine to exempt wood, fabric, and paper from testing,” said Cecilia Leibovitz, President of the HTA and owner of Craftsbury Kids (VT). “But as soon as you attach a nail, zipper, button, hinge, or a coat of paint, we're back to having to pay for testing. Most of our members are still very much struggling with this law.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 382 retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country, who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA. Formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, HTA members are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

1 Year Later, Now What?

2009-08-17T13:37:37.410Z

August 14th marked 1 year since the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was signed into law. President Bush and all but 4 Congressmen felt great about what this law would do- after all, it was framed in part as a reaction to the many toy recalls Mattel had made just the year before.

But for a law with such a simple purpose, to keep children safe, so much remains up in the air over this law. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the folks who have been 'empowered' (and I use that word loosely) to oversee the implementation of this law, have been very slow in getting the word out about exactly who is affected and in what ways. Maybe they need some tips from the FCC, or whoever it was that was responsible for letting people know about the digital conversion for our television stations- I know I was seeing commercials about that several times each night I turned on the TV.

But in defense of the CPSC, they were given quite a daunting task. In addition to monitoring items entering the marketplace for risk, here they were first asked to ignore risk under the guidelines of this law- something, to my knowledge, not asked of the CPSC until now. Ignore risk? That's what they do! Risk assessments. But Congress didn't want silly things like 'risk' getting in the way of getting unsafe products out of our children's hands. Take rhinestones for instance. High in lead, but not soluble by our digestive system. So even though swallowing one poses little to no risk of lead actually entering the blood stream, the CPSIA deems them a banned hazardous substance for children 12 and under.

The CPSC has been making determinations on what items can be exempted based on the amount of lead they inherently have in them. Things like my unfinished wooden toys, textiles and plant or animal based materials. But as of today, if the item has more than 300 parts per million of lead, it is a banned hazardous substance regardless of the risk. So what has made it to this list?

Rhinestones & Swarovski crystals
Ball point pens
Bicycle tires (currently given a reprieve)
Youth ATV's (currently given a reprieve)
Books printed before 1985 (unless specifically tested to show the ink meets the lead requirements)

The list goes on and on. What's worse is that mothers and fathers, many of whom started home-based business specifically to provide safe children's goods, are now required to meet the same requirements as companies like Mattel. Well, except for the fact that those Moms and Dads don't have their own CPSC certified testing facilities like Mattel does.

That's right. One of the companies specifically responsible for the creation of this ill conceived law has also been the first to get their own laboratory certified as a 'firewalled' lab. And it's not only lead and phthalates (a plastics softener) that these Moms and Dads need to test for.

A lesser known aspect of this law requires ASTM F963 to go from a recommended guideline to mandatory. For those who don't know, this is a toy industry safety manual. Since it's mandatory the CPSC is probably providing it, right? No. you can purchase it for $58 from the ASTM website.

Once you've gotten this handy guide, you'll find that you also need to have Use and Abuse testing and Flammability testing performed on all of your toys. For each toy style, Moms and Dads have to submit 6-12 toy samples to be tested for Use and Abuse, plus another one for the lab to torch. The results are good for one year, then they must be repeated to be F963 (and ultimately CPSIA) compliant. The labs, by the way, are still waiting for more guidance from the CPSC on the number of samples required for testing and the length of time the results are valid, expected in November. Yes- that will be 1 year and 3 months later from this piece of legislative-wonder becoming a law.

Speaking of testing, February 10, 2010 is when third party testing becomes mandatory for lead and phthalates. Manufacturers that are using non-exempted materials will need to have General Certificates of Conformity available to give to each retailer that carries their items or for customers, if asked. And if you use an item that was already tested to be lead free? You will have to retest it in your finished product at a cost of $50-75 per component, unless you send it to a lab in Asia where they charge as little as $15 !! So we've got that to look forward to.

And let's not forget about today, the birthday of the CPSIA. Lead in products must be no greater than 300 parts per million, lead in paint or surface coatings must be no greater than 90 ppm, and tracking labels become mandatory.

The tracking labels have really been an issue for many manufacturers since guidance on what was required was only passed down 3 weeks ago. I wish I was kidding. These labels must include company name, City State & Country of manufacture and date of manufacture. If your company is not a small biz, it must also include lot/batch/run number. To my knowledge, no description of what constitutes a small business has been provided.

Now you might wonder why this info is required. There are 2 reasons. The first is to make sure if somebody with no internet access gets the item that they have an idea of how to contact the company (in my case, they could contact the state of NJ and ask for the contact info of Greco Woodcrafting).

The other reason for tracking labels to include this info was so consumers could make an informed decision. If there was a recall taking place from a particular area or region, the buyer should be able to decide if they want to buy anything at all that also comes from there.

.....because if there's a NJ based recall, surely there might also be a problem with my wooden toys?

The second reason, in my opinion, is absolutely ridiculous. Which I guess makes it a perfect fit for this ridiculous law. Happy birthday, CPSIA.

HTA comments on ASTM testing requirements for toys

2009-08-17T05:03:55.268Z

The document below was sent to the CPSC in response to their request for comments on ASTM toy standards, which include use and abuse testing, flammability testing, and toxic chemical testing beyond the lead content limits specified by the CPSIA.

Mattel gets a hall pass

2009-08-12T05:53:35.947Z

Without drawing any conclusions, here's a few facts about Mattel, the world's largest toy company:

Since 2007, Mattel has recalled 12.7 million toys for safety hazards or lead paint.
n 2009, Mattel agreed to pay fines to the CPSC totaling $2.3 million and about another $12.5 million in settlements to several states for these safety violations. By contrast, Mattel's advertising expenditure in 2008 was $719 million and its total sales were $5.9 billion.
In August 2008, The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was passed by Congress, largely in response to Mattel's recalls. Mattel supported the law.
Since February 10, 2009, the date when many of the provisions of the CPSIA came into effect, here's what Mattel's stock price has done:

In July 2009, Mattel reported better than expected quarterly profits.
And, in August 2009, Mattel was the first company granted permission by the CPSC to operate "firewalled" in-house testing facilities instead of paying third party laboratories for performing required toy safety testing. Consumer Reports wrote of this development, "This is just another example of the fox guarding the hen house."
Meanwhile, almost every other children's product manufacturer continues to try to figure out how to survive the double-whammy of the CPSIA and an economic downturn.

CPSC Chair Tenenbaum Responds to our request for stay of CPSIA Tracking Label Requirements

2009-07-17T18:12:26.967Z

We received a letter from Chair Inez Tenenbaum regarding our request for an emergency stay of enforcement of the pending tracking label requirements under section 103 of the CPSIA, which are set to go into effect on 8/15. The CPSC has yet to provide guidance on how to comply with these requirements, but we are very much encouraged that the CPSC is responding to our correspondence. They seem to understand the difficulties imposed by the CPSIA on small batch manufacturers.

Second request for a stay of tracking label requirements

2009-07-02T01:23:19.420Z

On June 30, the HTA wrote to CPSC Commissioners Tenenbaum, Nord, and Moore and asked for a stay of enforcement on the CPSIA tracking label requirements, which are set to go into effect on 8/15. A day later, the National Association of Manufacturers did the same.

Considering that we're just over 40 days from the implementation of this new rule and the CPSC still hasn't issued guidance on how to comply with it, we think a stay of enforcement is the only reasonable option.

Seeds of Change

2009-06-13T05:57:20.167Z

After much research and thought, the HTA has developed a series of five technical papers designed to be ready-to-enact language to amend the CPSIA. We're calling this document "Seeds of Change: Five Changes Small Batch Toymakers, Crafters, Retailers, and Garment Makers Need to Survive the CPSIA". It's aim is to allow the CPSC to used its considerable experience with risk analysis to mitigate the inflexibility of the CPSIA's various provisions.

We believe that these five points, if enacted, would save hundreds of small businesses without creating loopholes for unsafe mass-market products.

It's Not Just Toys: The CPSIA affects all Childrens's Products

2009-06-16T03:06:55.421Z

United States of America (Press Release) June 15, 2009 -- National media continues to report on the disastrous affects of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) on small-batch toymakers. A June 12, 2009 report by CNNMoney highlighted the legal challenges faced by Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) members Amy and Joe Sharp, owners of Little Aloutte toys. However, this report and the vast majority of other reporting on the impacts of the CPSIA failed to address the full scope of the CPSIA's impact, which affects all children's products, not just toys.

“The general public, the media, and even some in Congress don't seem to realize the scope of the CPSIA,” said Jolie Fay, owner of the children's clothing company Skipping Hippos in Oregon. “Even some businesses are just now starting to figure out that this law applies to them, too, even though they don't make toys.”

When the CPSIA was drafted in response to the 2007 safety crisis in the toy industry, its scope was made far wider than just toys. Clothing, bicycles, pens and pencils, classroom supplies, books, and cloth diapers are all subject to third party testing and certification requirement of the CPSIA.

While many of these diverse industries benefit from trade organizations representing their interests, there are few organizations concerned exclusively with the unique difficulties faced by small batch manufacturers and crafters. For this reason, the Handmade Toy Alliance represents the interests of all small batch manufacturers, whether they make clothes or costumes, homeshool supplies or adaptive products for children with special needs.

“Despite the word 'toy' in our name, our mission at this point is far broader,” said HTA Vice President Dan Marshall of Peapods Natural Toys and Baby Care in Minnesota. “Our understanding of the scope of the issue has grown considerably since we first named ourselves and our mission now is to protect and advocate for all kinds of hand crafted children's goods.”

“We've really begun to reach out to as many other small manufacturers as we can, because few trade organizations were advocating for handmade goods,” said HTA President Cecilia Leibovitz of Craftsbury Kids in Vermont. “Somebody needs to stand up for crafters who make their products by the dozens instead of the tens of thousands—whether they're making hair bows, toy boats, or baby blankets.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 368 retailers, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country, who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and children's goods in the USA. They are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

HEARING ADVISORY: CPSC CHAIR NOMINATION HEARING

2009-06-11T06:18:33.468Z

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation announces the following full committee hearing:

Nomination Hearing
Full Committee
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Hearing Start Time: 10:30 a.m.
Press Pre-Set Time: 9:45 a.m.
Location: Room 253, Russell Senate Office Building

Nominee:

Inez M. Tenenbaum, to Chair the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

We need to contact our ALL of our Senators (the hearing will take place in the Senate) NOW regarding Tenenbaum's confirmation hearing as chairperson of the CPSC, requesting that they pose questions for us at the hearing. Here are suggested questions:

1. Do you believe that you can apply risk assessment principles to the CPSIA as it is currently written? If the answer is yes, then I would like to ask what specific areas of the CPSIA able to utilize risk assessment. If the answer is no, then I would like to know if a technical amendment to the CPSIA that specifically utilizes risk assessment is something Ms. Tenenbaum would consider.

2. Would you be willing to work with the Handmade Toy Alliance to outreach and educate small businesses throughout the country how to work within and understand the CPSIA?

The Commerce committee will be holding the hearing on June 16th. Therefore, if your Senator is on the Commerce Committe, he/she will have the best chance of posing a question. The Republicans will be asking the hard questions, so they are truly our allies in this part of the game. The Senators on the Commerce Committee are as follows:

John Rockefeller (chair) D-WV
Daniel Inouye D-HI
John Kerry D-MA
Byron Dorgan D-ND
Barbara Boxer D-CA
Bill Nelson D-FL
Maria Cantwell D-WA
Frank Lautenberg D-NJ
Mark Pryor D-AR
Claire McCaskill D-MO
Amy Klobuchar D-MN
Tom Udall D-NM
Mark Warner D-VA
Mark Begich D-AK
Kay Bailey Hutchison (ranking member) R-TX
Olympia Snowe R-ME
John Ensign R-NV
Jim DeMint R-SC
John Thune R-SD
Roger Wicker R-MS
Johnny Isakson R-GA
David Vitter R-LA
Sam Brownback R-KS
Mel Martinez R-FL
Mike Johanns R-NE

If you see any of your members of the Senate listed above and need contact info for the appropriate person in their office, please email Jill at jill@craftybaby.com direct. Jill has all the contact people's names, phones #'s and emails. We need to have them ask our questions. Jill will help you in anyway she can to connect with the right person.

This is our best chance to be heard before Tenenbaum is placed at the CPSC. Let's make ourselves heard and loudly! :-) Please let us know if you need help!

The Handmade Toy Alliance shares their reaction to the $2.3 settlement with Mattel and Fisher-Price over violations of the federal lead paint ban.

2009-06-07T07:00:04.564Z

Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced a settlement with Mattel Inc., of El Segundo, CA and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fisher-Price Inc., of East Aurora, NY in the amount of $2.3 million for violating the federal lead paint ban. Enacted in 1978, the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) prohibited toys and other children’s articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead (by weight) in paints or surface coatings. In 2007, about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Price toy models were determined to have exceeded this limit. As a broad reaching reaction, Congress enacted and President Bush signed into law the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August of 2008.

“One of the biggest frustrations with this issue is that Mattel and Fisher-Price broke a law that was already on the books, but the Congress reacted by writing another law that doesn’t improve the safety of children’s products on the market,” Mary Newell of Terrapin Toys (OR) states. “Instead, small companies get penalized for not having the capital to third party test their safe products, and Mattel and Fisher-Price get a financial slap on the wrist.” Members of the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) have received quotes from certified third party testing facilities that range from $300 to over $4000 to test one batch of product that has often already been shown, via component certification and/or natural material exemptions, to be safe as per the CPSIA guidelines. HTA manufacturers typically work in small batches, ranging from 10 -100 products in a batch in contrast to the 100,000+ product that larger product manufacturers may create in factories.

With the stepping down of Nancy Nord as acting Chairperson at the CPSC and the inevitable confirmation of a new Chairperson in the foreseeable future, there is hope that some of the specific issues that plague small businesses regarding the CPSIA may soon be addressed. “But, the law continues to ignore the general principles of risk assessment and is just an example of government ineffectively trying to fix a problem without looking at the practical application of the law to small business,” Rob Wilson of Challenge & Fun (MA)
discusses. “The fact remains that Mattel and Fisher-Price violated a well established law and rather than looking at ways to improve enforcement of the law on the books, [Congress] enacted new, overly broad reaching legislation that could serve to destroy some of the most safety conscious children’s product manufacturers out there.”

Handmade Toy Alliance Member Testifies in House Small Business Subcommittee

2009-05-14T19:09:27.947Z

Starbright Baby Testimony

HTA member Suzi Lang, owner of Starbright Baby, testified at the House Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight today. She and several other business owners did a great job describing the difficulties the CPSIA is causing for small businesses. This was the first post-CPSIA Congressional hearing and our first chance to tell Congress what we need. The complete hearing is available on YouTube.

SBA Office of Advocacy Backs HTA Position on Tracking Lables

2009-05-11T06:36:37.920Z

The Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy has written a letter to the CPSC urging flexibility for small business under Section 103 of the CPSIA, which requires batch tracking labels on all children's items. The letter mirrors many of the concerns we raised in our letter to the CPSC. The SBA letter can be read at http://www.sba.gov/advo/laws/comments/cpsc09_0427.html.

Having a Garage Sale? Read this first!

2009-05-11T06:57:06.514Z

Hey you with the garage sale! Put down those used baby clothes and read this 28 page booklet from the CPSC before you even think about selling any children's product.

Thanks, CPSC, for making that so much simpler. Now we can all be experts in consumer product safety. Here's a sample of the what you need to know from page 7:

Whimsical Walney Will Fight No More Forever

2009-05-12T04:58:27.111Z

CPSIA reform advocates at Whimisical Walney, makers of unique kids t-shirts, have given up for now. They write:

While a stay on enforcement may have been issued for the CPSIA, the law still stands as written.
This means that Whimsical Walney has closed its doors for a time while we devise our new game plan as well as work to have this law changed.
In the meantime, The Adventures of Whimsical Walney will continue to chronicle not only the development of a new small business, but also how CPSIA continues to affect small businesses across the nation.

Let children play!

The HTA applauds President Obama’s nomination of 2 new Commissioners to the CPSC Tuesday as a step in the right direction to remedy the many unintended consequences of the CPSIA.

2009-05-11T07:07:49.394Z

United States of America (Press Release) May 6, 2009 -- The Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) applauds President Obama’s nomination of 2 new Commissioners to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Tuesday as a step in the right direction to remedy the many unintended consequences of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The CPSC has been left grossly under funded and understaffed despite the increase in demands on the agency since President Bush signed into law the CPSIA of 2008. With the installation of two new commissioners, a third appointment expected this summer, as well as a 71% increase in funding from fiscal year 2007, there is new hope that the CPSC will be able to address some of the issues that befall the HTA membership.

President Obama’s nominee for Chair of the Commission, Inez Moore Tenenbaum, has worked in the field of education as the former State Superintendent of Schools in South Carolina. She currently serves as special counsel to the McNair Law Firm

in the area of public school finance. Robert S. Adler, nominee for an additional Commissioner of the CPSC, spent eleven years (from 1973-1984) as an attorney-advisor to two commissioners at the CPSC and was part of the President’s transition team, co-authoring the agency review report on the CPSC. The President also intends to extend the size of the CPSC to include 5 Commissioners and additional staff in the months to come.

While restoring the overall health of the CPSC is a step in the right direction to enhance the regulatory functions of the agency, there is still much work to be done to correct the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. “I am greatly encouraged by the President’s naming of nominees. Congressional members have been telling us for 6 months now that new leadership at the CPSC will fix the unintended consequences of the CPSIA” Jill Chuckas of Crafty Baby (CT) states. “Still, though, I believe that the wording of the law itself restricts the Commissions ability to remedy all the errors of the CPSIA and the HTA will continue to lobby for a technical fix utilizing risk based assessment.”

With confirmation hearings in the near future, there is hope that the process will move swiftly as the August 14th, 2009 deadline for third party batch testing by certified laboratories and batch labeling procedures loom over the HTA membership and thousands of small manufacturers throughout the country. “Having spoken personally with Mr. Adler, he appears to have a good understanding of the unintended consequences the CPSIA has had and will continue to have on home sewers and other small manufacturers in our membership,” Jolie Fay from Skipping Hippos (OR) shares. “The announcement of these nominations gives me renewed hope for change, and a much needed added burst of energy while I continue to work towards a legislative change in the CPSIA.”

The Handmade Toy Alliance is a grassroots alliance of 334 toy stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country, who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and children's goods in the USA. They are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level.

Video of April 1 Rally in DC now online

2009-04-08T21:09:20.619Z

Amend the CPSIA Rally Video on Vimeo.

My Letter to President Obama

2009-04-07T01:07:19.498Z

by Jill Chuckas

Cross-Posted at www.change.org

Dear President Obama:

My name is Jill Chuckas and I own a small home based hand crafted children’s accessories business in Stamford, CT. Since December of 2008, I have been working with the Handmade Toy Alliance (www.handmadetoyalliance.org) to bring awareness to and changes within the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Unfortunately, this very well intended piece of legislation that I applauded Congress for undertaking, was written so broadly that my product line, as well as thousands of others, has become one of the unintended consequences.

This past Wednesday, I, other representatives from the Handmade Toy Alliance and 24 other industry organizations that are negatively impacted by the CPSIA, joined together at a rally on Capital Hill to discuss and share our concerns with each other and Congress. Afterwards, we attended a multitude of Legislative meetings with our Members of Congress. Personally, I met with Rep. Jim Himes and staffers from Sen. Lieberman’s, Sen. Dodd’s and Sen. Kerry’s offices. This was an exhilarating process that myself, as an ordinary citizen, had never imagined I would undertake. But in this great land, it is both a person’s right and duty to call upon their leaders for help and guidance when they see a problem that needs to be fixed.

The overall consensus of those of us at the rally is that a technical amendment to the CPSIA is needed so that those of us producing safe products that are below the limits set forth within the legislation but can not afford to prove this compliance, as well as those who produce products that for one reason or another should be provided permanent exemptions (such as books, resale shops, ATV and motorbike sellers). To give but one example of these unintended consequences, I create a soft clutch ball for children ages 4 months and up. Like most small scale manufacturers and artists, I work in small batches – usually about 10 in a production run. The way the law is currently written, as of August of this year, I would need to send one clutch ball of each run in to a third party accredited laboratory to test for lead and phthalates – a component in plastics. There are no plastics anywhere on the ball, but because it is intended for children under 3, it would need to be evaluated for this toxin as well. The test is destructive, so I would not get my clutch ball back. And, they would break it down into components – 5 for this product - and perform the tests – to the tune of an average price of $75 per component for lead and $250 per component for phthalates. That totals $1500 to test 1 clutch ball that retails for $16.50.

Now, after I receive the test results, I would need to permanently mark each clutch ball with a distinguishing label listing place of manufacture, company information, date of manufacture and identifying numbers for the batch – different labels for every batch, or run, of 10 clutch balls. The tracking on this alone is burdensome, and would only prove to increase administrative costs without any safety enhancements. For one of a kind artists, this process would be impossible. The other key point that needs to be made is that fabrics are inherently known by science to be lead and phthalate free (as long as no coatings are added). Component based testing – where the supplier of my raw materials would certify the compliance of my components – would be a much more logical, cost effective approach to prove compliance, but the law does not allow for such flexibility.

On Thursday evening, a vote was held on the Senate floor for S.964 – an amendment presented to remedy some of the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. It is my understanding that just prior to the vote, Sen. Pryor assured the Democratic leadership that Commissioner Moore of the CPSC has gone on record stating that the Commission has the authority and the discretion to address the issues of implementation – that the law does not need to be amended. Instead of a change in the law – a change in the leadership at the CPSC (Acting Chairman Nord) is needed to enforce the law with common sense. This is something that I have been told time and time again. I so badly want to believe that it is true. Two things in particular make me believe differently, though. First, the NY District Court overturned a ruling that the CPSC had made regarding phthalate retroactivity and put the industry in a whirl wind just a few days prior to the date of implementation. Secondly, just last week, the CPSC had the opportunity to grant an exemption to ease the burden on the motor bike and ATV industry. Rather than voting to grant the exemption, Commissioner Moore voted against the exemption.

So today, I call on you Mr. President, to please help me and so many other small business owners like me. If new leadership at the CPSC is all that is needed, then please appoint someone quickly. As it stands, I will be put out of business on 8/14/09. Not because my products are unsafe, or because of the state of the economy. But instead because I can not afford the testing protocol that the CPSIA imposes on my company. I need your help and your guidance to save small business from the CPSIA.

Thank you for your leadership.

Best Regards,

Jill Chuckas

Owner, Designer – Crafty Baby
Secretary – Handmade Toy Alliance

April 1 Rally Coverage by the Bureau of National Affairs

2009-04-07T00:24:43.644Z

The following is an article published by the Bureau of National Affairs, a news and information service for government and business:

Businesses, Republican Lawmakers, Others Call For Amendments to Product Safety Law

April 2, 2009

Small and large businesses, association executives, and Republican lawmakers at an April 1 rally called for changes to a product safety law that they say is wreaking economic havoc, driving small companies out of business, and reducing consumer choice in products.

Speaker after speaker said the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was well-intended, but has had far-reaching, unintended consequences, including costly testing requirements for lead and phthalates in products that do not contain lead or phthalates.

Between 200 and 300 people attended the industry-sponsored rally at the Capitol.

“Thanks to the flaws in this new law, millions of perfectly safe products are in the process of being destroyed, costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars in the midst of one of the worst economic crises in history,” said Rick Woldenberg, head of the Alliance for Children's Product Safety, which is a coalition of small business owners, manufacturers, crafters, and entrepreneurs.

Testing Costs, Destroyed Products

Jill Chuckas, with the Craft Baby, Handmade Toy Alliance, makes handmade items for children and described how the law has affected small crafters. When large numbers of imported toys were recalled, she noted her business increased because parents wanted safe toys that were made in America. But now the CPSIA will put her out of business in August, she said.

While Chuckas contended her products are safe and contain no phthalates or lead, she cannot afford to test her products to comply with requirements. For example, a child's clutch ball, which retails for $16.50, would cost $1,500 to test. She also pointed out that the testing destroys the products. For one-of-a-kind items, testing is impossible.

Forthcoming tracking label regulations due in August, are also burdensome for the small home crafter, she said.

Many of Chuckas's comments about testing were echoed by other speakers who also make and import speciality items for children.

Children's book author Carol Baicker-McKee argued that vintage books, which were made before 1985, are safe and should not be taken off library shelves. CPSC exempts children's books made after 1984 from lead requirements. Baicker-McKee pointed to a 100-year-old children's book, which she said was both beautiful and safe for children.

Citing data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Becker-McKee pointed out there has never been a case of a child poisoned by a book. She also pointed out that tests for lead would destroy these rare, vintage children's books.

Republicans Discuss Law's Issues

A number of Republican senators and congressmen visited the rally to discuss the unintended consequences of the law and what could be done to address the CPSIA issues. They said they were impressed with the numbers of people who turned out for the rally.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas), who was one of the conferees on the CPSIA, said the law did not provide authority for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to interpret some of the bill's provisions and grant needed exceptions.

Barton and Rep. George Radanovich (R-Calif.) introduced a bill March 31 (H.R. 1815) that would amend the CPSIA and grant more flexibility to the commission.

Barton cautioned the crowd—many of whom planned to visit congressional offices to plead their case—that Washington is a “majority-minority town, and the majority sets the rules.” Barton said he does not want the CPSIA to be a partisan issue. He urged attendees to be “nice” to Democrats when visiting their offices, and not to say mean things about the Republicans either.

Radanovich told the attendees, “your numbers are impressive,” and he urged them to tell their representatives why Congress needs to revisit the CPSIA and “make it better.”

Sen. Robert F. Bennett (R-Utah) said, “We have to make Congress fix this. Please let everyone know your battle cry.” Bennett introduced S. 389 Feb. 5 to delay the CPSIA ban on lead in children's products.

Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) said when libraries worry about taking books off the shelves, it might get the attention of the Democratic leaders.

Consumer Groups Respond

A coalition of consumer groups issued a statement April 1 in response to the industry-sponsored rally. The group claimed that the CPSIA is a “strong and necessary law that protects our families and repairs our broken product safety net.”

The statement was issued by the group's members, including the Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Kids in Danger, U.S. Public Interest Research Group, National Research Center for Women and Families, and Public Citizen.

The consumer safety advocates placed the blame for anxiety about the law on CPSC acting Chairman Nancy A. Nord for a failure of leadership. It also charged that industry has orchestrated attempts to question the law and call for weaker protections. The group provided the media a chart demonstrating how the commission can “reasonably address each complaint under the law.”

The law already gives CPSC the power to address issues with the CPSIA, according to the statement. “But the CPSC is failing to respond forcefully to concerns, and that's why the law has generated so much anxiety,” the statement said. “President Obama must replace the old guard at the CPSC with new leadership that will carry out the law as intended.”

In a related development, CPSC acting Chairman Nancy A. Nord, in an April 1 letter to the President, also requested that he nominate a new chairman to the agency to move ahead on pressing agency matters.