Safe Toys at a Cost
Posted by Paige
In August 2008, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act which requires toy makers to have their toys tested for toxic chemicals including lead and phthalates by an independent third party. The law goes into effect February 10, 2009, and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number. Each toy is required by law to be tested which can cost between $3,000 and $4,000 per toy.
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act isn’t just for toys either it regulates all products for children under 12. From clothing and baby bottles to cloth diapers and school supplies, each will need to be compliant with the new law.
Toy makers and small vendors have been told to comply with the law by February 10 and all toys must be labeled and tested. Toys currently on shelves may have stickers added to the product, or codes on file. Much like when the USDA announced the Organic Food Certification, there has been a group of small and natural toy makers that are banning together to ask for an addendum or exception to the law. As the law stands now, even organic toys which already have materials documentation must abide by the testing rule. Many organic and natural toy companies are small mom and pop type shops that can’t afford the per toy cost of testing. And ironically, they have been the providers for safe toys for decades. Including one of my vendors that hand-makes wooden toys with sustainable wood and beeswax. These smaller toy makers must either comply or close up shop. And unfortunately many are saying unless there is an exception for rational exclusions from lead testing of materials including wood, paper, cotton, and other materials known by science to not contain lead, they will be forced to go out of business.
The Handmade Toy Alliance also warns of Toys "On Sale" prior to the February switch. Many conventional toys won’t pass the new standards, so big shops are trying to not take a deficit and are marking these items on clearance and on sale to the unsuspecting consumer.
Learn more about the Handmade Toy Alliance or the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.
This is the first I’ve heard of this. How can I help?
What a truly misguided intervention in the name of “Protecting Children”!
The Consumer Product Safety Implementation Act (CPSIA – Public Law 110-314) and its proposed rules that are to become effective February 10, 2009 will discourage the production and use of natural and organic products and will have a NEGATIVE IMPACT ON THE AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS THAT ARE UNQUESTIONABLY SAFE FOR CHILDREN. Precisely the opposite of what is needed!
THE WINNERS: Manufacturing Companies and the Chemical Company Suppliers that continue to create and utilize a multitude of additives that are “deemed safe” until proven otherwise after years of research.
THE LOSERS: Our Children and Grandchildren