Updates on the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

The other day I had a conversation with another dog owner at the dog park who was wondering what the current status was of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act since she also makes items for children. It got me thinking - I haven't been watching very closely as I haven't been very diligent about my own products what with the wedding and all.

But now that I'm kicking off the holiday season with an attempt to make up some goodies for sale (soon to be seen for sale at Fabrika Fine Fabrics in Savannah, Ga and Valley Flower Company in White River Junction, Vt and on my etsy site), I realized that I'd better get up to speed asap.

The short of it is that not very much has changed in the past few months. The legislation passed, but the implementation of it has been on hold. Major interests have been lobbying on behalf of thrift store, libraries and artisans to attempt to convince the Consumer Product Safety Commission to amend the legislation so that it will fairly address these industries. Libraries were successful and did receive notice that they would not need to test books in their collections. The thrift industry is hoping for the same.

Handicraft artisans are lobbying for an amendment which would exempt natural products (ex. untreated wood, natural fibers, beeswax, etc) from needing to be tested and also putting the onus on component suppliers to prove their items are non-toxic rather than on the artisan to test his/her end product. In the meantime, large toy manufacturers (to whom this legislation was directed) have set up their own testing facilities, certified by the federal government, and have begun to test products already.

For more information, here are some current articles:
The Hill, November 15, 2009
New York Times, October 30, 2009
Nancy Nord's blog - Consumer Product Safety Commissioner