>> Dale Dougherty is the editor and publisher of MAKE and CRAFT magazines. dale@oreilly.com
Years ago, Jason Gold was looking for lead-free; you have to get your own certificate.”
a rattle for his new baby. He wanted some- She adds that the law affects “people who make
thing safe and made of natural materials. the nicest things, in small numbers” — dressmakers
“I was trying to find a rattle that wasn’t coated in will have to make two dresses for each new design
paint or made of plastic,” he recalls. Not finding any, and send one off to be tested and destroyed in the
he made a rattle out of wood. process. “The law is not tenable,” she says. “It
Thinking that other parents might be looking for stifles innovation.”
alternatives to mass-produced items of questionable Most crafters are upset about testing, but Gold
materials, he started Camden Rose, a manufacturer believes other provisions of the law are equally
of wooden and fabric toys in Ann Arbor, Mich. Today, onerous. “CPSIA requires that you put a label that’s
the Camden Rattle sells for $15 through a network of permanently attached to the item, forever,” he says.
alternative retail stores and places like Whole Foods. Finally, there’s a cumbersome administrative
This past year, Gold thought the economy would process. Once you’ve tested your product, you have
be his biggest worry during the holiday season. It to send the certification to the government to put
turned out that the 2008 holiday season was his on file; they’ll send an authorized certificate back
busiest ever. Instead, the bigger worry for Gold has to you, which you must send with your product
been figuring out whether the Consumer Product to retail stores.
Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) will put him and The law goes into effect Feb. 10, 2009.
many others like him out of business in 2009. Rick Woldenberg, chairman of toymaker Learning
The CPSIA seems like a good idea as a response Resources, has dubbed it National Bankruptcy Day, to the U.S. recall of toys made in China that have and Fasanella has set up nationalbankruptcyday.com potentially harmful levels of lead, phthalates, or to organize opponents of the law. The timing is par-other toxins. The law’s intentions are good but its ticularly bad for those who sell into retail because side effects are not. Lost in the details are provisions this is when they preview new products and take that may deal a serious blow to America’s cottage orders. Fasanella says the law is “already affecting industries and individuals who make things by hand. the amount of kids’ clothes available for next fall.”
There are three parts to the CPSIA. The first She believes bigger companies will be hurt as well. requires independent testing and certification. Makers hope the Consumer Product Safety “We’ve gone from no certification to the strictest Commission will come up with realistic fixes, such as form of certification in the world,” says Gold. “It exemptions for small-run manufacturers and hand-might cost me $4,000 to test my rattle.” The tests made goods. “[But] if the changes happen too late,” must be done for each component, and for each says Fasanella, “the law will have hurt a lot of people item, not for the manufacturing process itself. who won’t recover.”
Kathleen Fasanella of Fashion Incubator in Las And if the goal is to really protect children, then Cruces, N.M., says clothing makers are equally Gold believes the CPSIA must be rewritten. “The affected. “In the past, if you made pajamas you law focuses on lowering the amount of lead and could buy fabric that the vendor certified as non- phthalates, not eliminating them,” he says. “I want flammable,” she explains. “The vendor certificate to produce products that don’t have any of those was enough. With this law, you can’t use a vendor harmful substances, and I’m being put out of certificate to verify that the materials you used are business.”
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