Hold on to your seats...I'm speaking politics!

Remember my post of a few months ago about "50 things about me" and one was that I avoid politics? Well, I really do, but this has hit home on so many levels that I just can't keep quiet.

Some of you may know about this already but if you don't, here is a quick recap of what the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) means to you and me.

I don't take credit for writing all of the following as some of the material was copied from another blog, but you get the idea...

In August, a law was passed, that while with the best of intentions, will ultimately put THOUSANDS if not MILLIONS out of business, including me!

The CPSIA of 2008 has a great heart--protecting the safety of children. However, it was SO broadly written, SO vague and SO all encompassing that it is LUDICROUS! Basically what it states is anyone who creates products for children under the age of 12 will have to REDUNDANDTLY and COSTLY test their items for lead. While I applaud the idea...this law was written with NO REALISM!
I, for example, make and sell hairbows for children. I use basic materials you find in your local fabric/craft store. These materials are READILY available for me to use for my own personal use and considered COMPLETELY safe in that aspect. However, due to this new law, as of Feb 10 2009, SUDDENLY, those VERY SAME materials (ribbon, wire, hot glue, barrettes) that I have used for the past 12 years to create hair bows (many for my own daughter and nieces who are all alive and healthy and suffering no ill effects from my un-tested bows), will SUDDENLY be considered unsafe if I use them to make bows to sell? For example, for my bow business to fully comply, I need to send samples of each style of bow and in EVERY color to be tested. Then each component in each bow will be tested separately at a cost of $60.00 a test. I did the math yesterday and it comes to $138,700.00 Even if I tried to sneak around the law and just had the components tested separately without the finished product (which isn't really fully complying) it would still cost me $9,180.00! If I had that kind of money to waste on testing you think I'd be sitting here making bows? PLEASE! Then EVERY time I buy a new spool of ribbon or bag of barrettes, I need to pay $60.00 to get it tested. The "Sanches" in me says, "Whatever! Sell your bows anyway. No one is going to really care and your chances of getting caught are almost zero." But the reality is that I sell my bows to Kid to Kid stores nationwide and THEY are requiring me (as they should) to provide certificates of compliance to continue to buy my products for their stores because the fine for non-compliance is $100,000.oo per item! Most boutiques, craft shows, and internet sites will do the same to protect themselves.

This makes NO sense.
None.

We live in a unsteady economy...people are seeking any way possible to make a living. This law affects not only handmade artists like myself, but thrift shops, small businesses, schools and more! EVERYBODY will have to RAISE their prices because the companies they must buy from will have to RAISE their prices for tested products!

As previously discussed with family members, it's not just the fact that I would lose my business that I have built with much hard work, sweat, and tears for the past 12 years that has me so upset. Brendan and I will be ok. We'll figure something out. My bow money is used to supplement our income for things like sports, dance, vacations, car repairs, new furniture and the hundreds of other extras that never end in a normal family. It's not needed to pay the house payment or put food on the table. Thank goodness! Our kids are older and I am healthy and able/willing to get a job if needed. The point is that this affects SO many people who ARE trying to support their families and pay the mortgage. Who were lucky enough, and smart enough, and talented enough, to figure out a way to do it. And now the government is making it impossible for them to do just that.

Here is a video that I found on you-tube that showcases just a SMALL portion of items that will soon be banned and will have to be thrown away unless they are tested.


Please write your reprenstatives and congressman and let your opinions be heard.
And if you want a cute hair bow for cheap, meet me at the corner at 2:00 a.m. I'll be in disguise :)