How Will the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Affect You?

Please read this great article in the Seattle Times by Allison Brownrigg. If you haven't yet, please call your senators and representatives and tell them to stop the implementation of the CPSIA on February 10th. It will have a devastating effect on our economy! Big children's product manufacturers like Matel will be able to afford the testing on their products, but small to medium sized businesses may not be able to stay afloat with the types of testing that are required.

If you have a child, THIS WILL AFFECT YOU!!! If the law goes into effect as written,

• LIBRARY BOOKS and school supplies will all be suspect. There is no "grandfathering" in this law, so all products will have to be compliant.
  
• Sellers of used children's items will have to abide by this law. They won't be required to test products, but how will they be able to know if their products are safe without testing? Fines are up to $100,000 and jail time!
• Stay-at-home moms who make handmade items to sell online in order to support their families will be forced out of business. I know of one mom who is a single parent and has a disabled child that cannot attend daycare due to his complicated health issues. The testing will be more than she can sell her products for. What does this mean for us? Either she will have to get a job and put her child at risk, or she will have to seek public assistance and use already scarce tax dollars to support her family, which she does not wish to use!
  
• Importers of quality children's products will no longer import to the US because of the new regulations. It's easier to just leave the US out of it rather than to get expensive testing done.
• Medium sized businesses will have to cut their product line drasticly to stay afloat. They'll still be able to provide products to the public, but we won't have the selection we once had.

Implementation needs to be pushed back until all these issues, and more, are addressed. Call, write or email your senators. Call, write or email your representatives. Phone calls and snail mail letters are more effective than email. There is one person who can call a hearing to delay the implementation of this law, but so far he has not done so. In addition to calling your own representatives, call Rep. Harry Waxman. Here's his contact information. Do what you can! He needs to know this law is disasterous to the small businesses, schools and libraries of the United States! (You need to have a zip code in the California 30th district-Los Angeles- to send him an email message)

In Washington, D.C.
2204 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 225-3976 (phone)
(202) 225-4099 (fax)
In Los Angeles
8436 West Third Street, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 651-1040 (phone)
(818) 878-7400 (phone)
(310) 652-3095 (phone)
(323) 655-0502 (fax)