Farewell to Enterprise

[saeriellyn]

Well, that didn't last long.

My nursing necklaces will not be turning into a tidy little home-based business after all, thanks to the new CPSIA law that went into effect today.

I don't expect anybody who doesn't dabble in handmade materials for children to know about this, so let me give an extremely brief explanation: CPSIA was pushed through

Comments

[sunrider05]

That sounds like a really, really bad joke?

[sunrider05]

I should add that I'm sorry you and many others are the victim of seemingly very, very slobby work by politicians :-(

[seyrah]

Agreed that this is a ridiculous law to apply to hand-crafters, but I think you have exaggerated the impact (as have various bloggers, and certainly I'm sure some people or thrift stores are therefore taking it that way). This law only requires testing of items produced on or after the date the law goes into effect--not vintage or secondhand items. Those only have to be thrown out if they are "likely" to have lead or pthalates in them.

Also, I believe there is an exemption for crafters who make a "unique" product every time, i.e., not repeat copies of items.

All that said, I do know of a number of people who are losing their second incomes because of this, and it's pretty asinine. Others are just going on as before, certain that no one's actually going to enforce this against SAHM crafters knitting scarves for kids.

[saeriellyn]

I sincerely hope it is an exaggeration, but the thing is so ridiculously complex even the crafters of the law can't seem to keep the requirements straight.

It may only require testing for things produced on or after today, but the ban still applies retroactively to anything sitting on store shelves - hence the return of clothing. There seems to be no common sense applied to what items are actually likely to contain these substances.

I have not heard of any exemption for one-of-a-kind craft items, but I will look into it.

I don't see how it's going to be enforceable, really. But I still don't want to be one of the ones caught and served notice because I don't have an MSDA sheet on every bead I use.

[firebyrd]

Sorry, Dawn, but Seyrah is completely and totally wrong. There are not the exceptions she claims. You're not exaggerating the impact. While all the stuff I sell is sold as adult collectibles, this is something we all need to get involved in as far as contacting our legislators and trying to drive some sense into them. Our voices might actually make a difference-it was the resounding cries from small businesses that got the date for enforcement driven to next year. There's a gal in the pony community who is a major spearhead for a lot of these efforts. If you'd like, I can hook the two of you up.