Hi, folks, I know I rarely get formal with the guild at large, bad for my image or something, but there's something going down here in the USA that is really bothering me. Now, this thread is directed at Americans, though anyone should understand.
My mother owns a small business, a web store selling baby wearing and 'natural parenting' options. She's also setting herself up to become one of the forefront names in the baby wearing industry. Now, the bad news:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, as of 2008, was given increased authority to protect children through the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This bill, just for those who don't know, set some strict standards as to how much of certain known hazardous materials, such as lead, could be included in children products. It also presented some other far reaching powers including provable safety in children products.
The law is in fact a fairly good idea, encouraging improvement of products overall, especially when children are involved. The problems with it, though, are a bigger worry. The first problem is that the bill left definition of 'children's product' up to the CPSA. There is not a clear definition, and in fact, the CPSA voted recently to expand the number of products covered by the bill. The second issue is that now, products covered by the CPSIA have to pass HIGHER standards than what was already required. For example, even if a company purchases materials from companies that have already tested and proven their products safe for lead levels, the final product must be tested AGAIN for the same thing. A number of foreign companies have pulled out of the market completely instead of trying to deal with the CPSA's rules.
And where it hits home. The CPSA has been using bully tactics against certain members of the baby wearing community.
Link This is the subject I was intending to write about at the beginning of the week. Someone else beat me to the punch with a very eloquent blog post, and I set it aside to focus on my school work. But today, there was a recall from the CPSA, with no details, but there were no injuries due to the product, and the only hazard would come from misuse of the product. Is this really what the CPSA is for? To protect us from ourselves?
My plea to Americans is this: Write to your Senators. Write to your Representative. Write to the Commissioners of the CPSA. Demand that the CPSA do its job of protecting us from companies releasing faulty and dangerous products, NOT protecting citizens from their own poor choices.
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