It's a Blog! ...? And the CPSIA.

A lot of sellers on Etsy blog, and a lot of them swear that it is rewarding both in both personal and shop-related ways. As a result, I too will attempt to follow this trend, and give blogging a whirl. However, I'm not exactly sure what to do!

I guess I have to start on a sour note, and remind you that the new CPSIA act of 2008 (consumer product safety improvement act), which was intended to protect American children from harmful lead in products from big businesses overseas, is endangering many shops at Etsy and throughout America. This is because the law doesn't currently have exceptions for small and micro-businesses, to save them from the expensive testing requirements that the big guys have to go through. It seems to me that these regulations weren't thought over well enough, because they may have the unintended effect of forcing many small businesses to shut down or else sell products for children illegally, which will put a lot of Americans out of work in the middle of the financial crisis we're all experiencing. The act goes into effect on February 9, 2009, so act now to encourage an amendment to the law.

For a lot of really good information, check out Etsy seller jewelrydesignsbyME's post in this thread: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6002704

Also, here's a response from Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman from when I e-mailed him with my concerns about the CPSIA:

"Thank you for contacting me regarding implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA; P.L. 110-314). I am pleased to hear from you on this issue.As you may know, CPSIA was passed by Congress in response to the recall of over 15 million toys that were imported from China from 2007-2008. In this legislation, Congress stipulated that every product intended for use by a child under the age of 12 must be tested and certified to meet the safety standards issued by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Given that products must be certified to have met CPSC thresholds for safety by independent, for-profit entities validated by CPSC, I understand your concern that the costs to many small, domestic manufacturers of having products tested may put them at a competitive disadvantage relative to larger competitors. This is an issue I have been following closely, and I am pleased to announce that CPSC has initiated a rulemaking procedure to exempt certain products and/or products manufactured under particular procedures from the newly mandated testing requirements. This proposed rulemaking is open for public comment until January 30, 2009. If the new testing regime will adversely affect your small business or product, you should submit your comments to CPSC to request an exemption (and the reasons why) through the public comment process. Instructions on how to submit comments to CPCS regarding this particular rulemaking can be found online at http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ComponentPartsComments.pdf . I am looking forward to examining CPSC's final rule on product testing to make certain small toy and child clothing manufacturers are not unduly burdened with inefficient or duplicative regulatory requirements. Let me assure you that, as a long-time member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I will be monitoring the effect of CPSC regulation on small businesses in Connecticut; and I will keep your views in mind if legislation regarding this issue is considered by the Senate in this 111th Congress."

I promise to be less serious in my next post, and it'll probably be a little bit shorter, too!