HTA Presentation to the CPSC Roundable Discussion on Small Business Outreach, October 6, 2011

The Handmade Toy Alliance, (HTA) representsa broad swath of small and micro businesses involved in production, retailing and importing of specialty toys and children’s products. These businesses are the backbone of specialty children’s products culture in America. They are mothers crafting items for sale on etsy.com, they aresmall specialty toy shops in towns across America, they are small businesses producing small batch toys in the USA, and they are all entrepreneurs providing new and unique opportunities for safe play.

This diverse membership struggles with assembling, reading, interpreting, understanding and implementingthe Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA.) The smallest microbusinesses have the largest hurdle to jump, but even our small business members have a sizeable learning curve. I’ll summarize these issues along with suggested outreach opportunities for threebusiness categories within the HTA.

Micro and Small Businesses Manufacturers
Micro-businesses are those crafting and retailing toys and children’s products in very small batches, each in very narrow product types. These businesses are family or single owner businesses with no employees and they represent 61% of our membership.In addition to selling their products online in a marketplace like etsy.com, they retail their products at small craft shows throughout the country. These may be church fairs, county fairs and other artisan events where they sell directly to the public.

Small businesses are those producing children’s products in small batches, often with broader product types. They represent 7% of our membership.

The following factors combine to makecomprehensionof the law problematic:

1. Insufficient time to digest the thousands of pages of law and rulings.
2. Inability to interpret the laws and rulings for their specific products and circumstances.
3. No feasible access to legal representation to provide an interpretation the law.
4. Difficult to obtain documents required by the law – ASTM F963 – because of cost and limited availability.

These businesses need the law boiled down to the minimum required for compliance in their specific business implementation. This amounts to individual legal interpretations for each business for each product they produce. This is literally hundreds of thousands of applications of the law. (There are currently over half a million children’s items for sale at etsy.com alone.)

The HTA suggests flowcharts or other easy to use methods like web-based question-answer forms for providing requirements in a logical manner. The intelligence programmed into the flowchart or form sequence leads business owners through questions ultimately arriving at requirements for their product. Either technique mustprovide the user the following information:

1. What parts of the law are applicable,

2. What tests are required and whether the test must be performed by a 3rd party;

• what is the specific component that causes the test requirement,
• a list of certified testing laboratories.
  

3. What possibility there might be for component part certification,
4. How to apply the small batch rules from H.R.2715,
5. What are the labeling requirements,
6. What are the record keeping requirements,
7. What liabilities and penalties come into play,
8. And, what form a certificate must take.

Another tool the CPSC can provide is to publish lists of components to avoid when making one of a kind and crafted children’s items. For instance; metal beads, colors that have a greater risk of containing lead, hazardous fasteners, etc. This is an easy way to keep components that are more likely to pose a risk of injury or that likely cause test failure out of children’s products from the start.

For reaching these businesses, the Internet is the primary method. Micro businesses rarely attend trade shows and most of them are NOT members of a trade organization like the HTA.The largest of the small business manufacturers may attend a trade show like ABC Kids recently held in Kentucky.

Specialty Toy Retailers
The second category is small specialty toy retailers, both brick and mortar and internet based. These businesses provide a market for small batch children’s products and an alternative for consumers not interested in products mass produced in the Far East. They differentiate themselves from mass market retailers by offering unique small batch products, usually through a single retail outlet. These businesses represent 25% of our membership.

Technically, these retailers are not required to test and certify but are subject to some requirements of the law depending on how they acquire their product for sale. Without sorting through thousands of pages of law, they need to know:

1. What parts of the law they should be aware of when working with small batch suppliers,

2. What record keeping requirements affect them,
3. What responsibilities they have when acquiring product directly from a local small batch manufacturer,
4. What responsibilities they have when acquiring product directly from a foreign manufacturer,
5. And how they can ensure their inventory is safe and compliant.

The Internet is also a primary source of information for specialty toys retailers. Many of these retailers attend at least one trade show yearly, for instance ABC Kids or the International Toy Fair in New York. These small retailers are seldom members of the Toy Industry Association (TIA) but some may be members of the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association (ASTRA.)

Specialty Toy Importers
The final category is specialty toy importers and these businesses represent 5% of our membership. It is a small percentage, but a big component in the culture of specialty toys in America as these importers provide access to mainly small batch products from Europe.

For importers the CPSIA blurs the definition of manufacturer to include the importer. The law is not always clear in how this blurring occurs. They need to know:

1. How to determine if they are considered the manufacturer of record, especially when they hold no inventory or only facilitate transport from foreign manufacturer to domestic retailer,

2. What testing requirements apply when a product is already third party tested to a European standard,
3. What record keeping requirements affect them,
4. And how to apply the small batch rules from H.R.2715.
The primary source of information for specialty toy importers is the internet and a secondary source is an industry group like the Handmade Toy Alliance.

In General

It is important to note that small batch manufacturers are constantly under production, although certainly the fourth quarter is the busiest time of the year for all of our membership. Issuing request for comments, changes and requirements during these 3 months will often go unnoticed.

The CPSC already has a wealth of information available. Unfortunately it is not always easy to find and utilize. Perhaps it would be advantageous to create a Wiki where businesses can post questions and the CPSC can post an official response. The wiki can also incorporate existing FAQs and guidance documents. Over time this becomes a valuable, searchable knowledgebase.

About the Handmade Toy Alliance

The HTA was formed in 2009 as an ad hoc group of businesses that were adversely affected by the CPSIA. During these past few years we have worked to save our member businesses from the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. We have testified before House and Senate committees and lobbied our representatives and senators. This culminated in the passing of H.R.2715 in August of 2011 which has two provisions that are an outgrowth of our work. Unfortunately, H.R.2715 is not the legislative fix our group desired, but places the fate of all of our businesses in the hands of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

We currently have nearly 700 members but no offices, no staff, no legal representation, a volunteer board of directors who donate time and resources to the cause, and very limited financial resources. Although we work hard to help our members understand the law and to disseminate information, we are in no way prepared to be the source or conduit of comprehensive compliance information to our members. The width and breadth of the products produced by our members is enormous and the need to interpret the law for all of these single cases beyond our capability.

Today we hope to communicate to the staff of the CPSC as an advocate for our members, the magnitude of this issue and the primary problems that need to be addressed for educating our membership. We appreciate this opportunity to voice these concerns and look forward to working together to implement suitable solutions.

Image from Michelle Sorensen.

HTA Letter to CPSC on Registration of Small Batch Manufacturers in the CPSIA Reform Law

August 19, 2011

Office of the Secretary
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Room 502
4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814

Dear Mr. Stevenson:

On behalf of the Handmade Toy Alliance, an alliance now numbering 670 toy stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve unique handmade toys, clothes, and children's goods in the USA, we respectfully request your clarification and action in regards to the registration requirements for small batch manufacturers in the newly signed CPSIA reform law, H.R. 2715.

Congress has now expressed its clear intent to provide regulatory relief to the small businesses we represent. As you know, H.R. 2715 allows small batch manufacturers to assure compliance with applicable product safety laws through less expensive alternative testing methods and exempts them from testing altogether when no affordable alternative testing methods are identified by the Commission.

The Handmade Toy Alliance would like to be fully engaged with the CPSC as it interprets H.R. 2715. Our goal, as always, is to create a regulatory environment which protects both public health and the welfare of the small businesses we represent.

It has come to our attention that members of the Commission are interpreting H.R. 2715's requirement for small batch manufacturers to register with the CPSC as a technicality which requires the completion of an official registration process by the Commission before relief willbe provided. This interpretation is contrary to our understanding of the law and contrary to congressional intent as we understand it through dozens of conversations with bothRepublicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.

The text of the law reads:

Any small batch manufacturer that utilizes alternative requirements or an exemption...shall register with the Commission prior to using such alternative requirements or exemptions pursuant to any guidelines issued by the Commission to carry out this requirement.

The word any in this sentence makes it clear that a manufacturer's ability to register with the Commission is not predicated upon whether or not the Commission has issued guidelines for registration. If the word any were not present in the sentence, the meaning would be different. However, the inclusion of the word any makes it clear that small batch manufacturers may still register with the Commission even in the absence any official guidelines. It is our interpretation that, in the absence of any guidelines from the CPSC, a small batch manufacturer may register with the CPSC in any manner which the manufacturer deems appropriate.

Our interpretation is supported by the previous section of the law, which reads:

The Commission may not require third party testing of a covered product by a third party conformity assessment body until the Commission has provided either an alternative testing requirement or an exemption...

This sentence clearly states Congress's intent that, in the absence of any action by the CPSC, third party testing will not be required for covered products made by small batch manufacturers. Relief is not contingent upon the CPSC's ability to identify alternative testing methods. Nor should relief be made contingent upon the establishment of registration guidelines.

We therefore formally request the Commission to make an immediate finding of fact that relief for small batch manufacturers under H.R. 2715 is not contingent upon the promulgation of registration guidelines by the Commission.

Notwithstanding our position on this interpretation, we would like express our interest to help create a sensible registration process as soon as possible. Registration should be simple and straightforward for both the Commission and small batch manufactures. We agree with Senator Rockefeller, who spoke on the Senate floor:

The creation of a new public [sic] registry for small batch manufacturers...can be implemented without notice and comment or even a hearing. As such, the Commission should act to effectuate the new mandates of this bill in a most expeditious manner.

Senator Pryor then seconded this view:

I also share the Senator’s view that nothing in H.R. 2715 is intended to delay the Commission’s rulemaking with respect to third party testing and believe that the Commission should conclude its testing rulemakings in the next 2 months.

We agree with Senators Rockefeller and Pryor that 2 months is an appropriate timeline to complete registration guidelines. This will allow enough time for small batch manufacturers to register prior to the expiration of the ASTM F963 and lead in substrate testing stays of enforcement on December 31. If the registration process is not completed by October 31, 2011, there will not be enough time to notify small businesses before the expiration of these stays. As we have stated previously, the last two months of the year are the busiest season for our members. So, the earlier they can begin to register, the better.

Small batch manufacturer registration can and should be as simple as filling out a registration form or sending an email to a specified address at the CPSC. The Commission may also want to allow outsourcing of this task to trade associations or businesses who could collect and compile a database for the Commission. We would like to discuss alternatives with the Commission as soon as possible, as well as ways in which our organization can help publicize the registration process to our members.

Thank you again for taking the time to read and consider our comments.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

Congress Passes CPSIA Relief for Small Businesses!

In the past three years, Handmade Toy Alliance members were quoted in hundreds of news articles, testified 5 times on Capitol Hill in both the House and Senate, met with 4 out of 5 of the CPSC commissioners, phoned in to dozens of conference calls, wrote dozens of letters to the CPSC and hundreds of letters to Congress, and brought together over 600 likeminded small businesses--all to reform the CPSIA, a one-size-fits-all law that was killing our businesses.

And, just when it seemed that the debt ceiling crisis was going to swallow Washington whole and prevent any chance of CPSIA reform for another legislative session, the balance suddenly tipped yesterday. Within 8 hours, both the House and the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that provides a meaningful way forward for our members. Only two members voted against it in the House and it passed unanimously in the Senate.

While we did not write this bill, we were able to significantly influence it's design through dozens of meetings with Republican and Democratic staffers. It's not a perfect solution to the many problems of the CPSIA, but it does offer the promise of meaningful relief for small batch manufacturers. Basically, the new law will require the CPSC to identify "alternative testing methods" which are economically practical for each product safety standard which would otherwise require third party testing. And, if the CPSC is unable to identify an economically feasible alternative for a given standard, it must exempt small batch manufacturers from the testing requirement. And, it gives the CPSC the flexibility to recognize other standards, like EN-71 in the Europen Union, which paves the way for the return of small batch products from Europe.

These new rules will apply to standards such as the 100ppm lead in substrate rule, the ASTM toy safety standard, and a variety of other standards which apply to many different types of children's products. Notably, it does not apply to the lead in paint standard, the small parts standard for products designed for children under age 3, the lead in metal jewelry standard, and standards that apply to pacifiers, cribs, and durable nursery equipment; those standards will still require third party testing as they do now.

What is a small batch manufacturer? Basically, it's a business or group of similarly-owned businesses that make less than $1 million in revenue per year (indexed for inflation) from the sale of consumer goods. And, in order to qualify for these alternative testing methods or exemptions, products cannot be made in quantities greater than 7,500 per year. Qualifying small businesses will also need to register with the CPSC.

What this means is that the CPSC must act to ensure that product safety certification is affordable for small businesses. How that plays out over the next few years is very much in question, however, and it will require the HTA and other groups to remain steadfast advocates for our members. The importance of the HTA and other trade organizations will only grow as a result of this new law.

If this law is to work for us, we need your continued support! The fight is far from over--it's just moved from Congress back to the CPSC. The HTA could use your support now, more than ever. If you aren't already a member, please join us now. The HTA has low cost and even free options for membership. Not only will we be working to make sure that this new version of CPSIA does what it needs to for small batch producers, we will continue to promote members and offer great cooperative marketing opportunities.

Donate to the HTA

Yesterday morning, our members were facing a drop dead date on December 31, 2011, when two important CPSC stays of enforcement on third party testing requirements were set to expire. Today, we now have a way forward that will stop the CPSIA's one-size-fits-all approach and will hopefully keep our family businesses alive. That is the victory in today's votes.

We did this together! Thank you!

As Seen in Today's Issue of The Hill

Fix the CPSIA!

Fix the CPSIA: ‘Unintended Consequences’ Cost Thousands of Small Business Jobs

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passed by Congress in 2008 was intended to make products safer, but after three years it has also effectively ended the American Dream for many small businesses and needlessly raised consumer prices. Both Democrats and Republicans agree that the law's "unintended consequences" must be urgently fixed.

The safety of our products is our top priority. Our member companies want to focus on improving safety instead of generating paperwork. We want to invest in our products and employees instead of spending millions of dollars for unnecessary and redundant testing. The CPSIA has jeopardized the availability of and, in some cases, banned safe products such as books, bicycles, musical instruments, rhinestones, youth model ATVs and motorcycles, and clothing with zippers.

HR 1939 maintains the CPSIA's important safety provisions but adopts some modest, common sense reforms. HR 1939 amends the CPSIA to ease regulatory burdens where appropriate, eliminate duplication and needless paperwork, and improve the accuracy of information in the CPSC’s public database. With unrealistic deadlines and new regulatory burdens fast approaching, the time is now to fix the CPSIA.

It’s Time to Put Politics Aside. Support HR 1939 and Save U.S. Jobs

A message from the National Association of Manufacturers, with thanks to:

Alliance for Children’s Product Safety
American Apparel & Footwear Association
American Pyrotechnics Association
The Art and Creative Materials Institute
Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers
Bicycle Product Suppliers Association
Craft and Hobby Association
Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association
Handmade Toy Alliance
HandsOn Science Partnership
International Sleep Products Association
Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
Motorcycle Industry Council
National Retail Federation
National School Supply & Equipment Association
Promotional Products Association
International Retail Industry Leaders Association
Specialty Vehicle Institute of America

Press Release: HTA Urges CPSC to Stay Enforcement of ASTM Testing for Small Batch Manufacturers

Stamford, CT – July 5, 2011 – In a letter dated July 3, 2011, the Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) addressed the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) recent staff briefing package on the “notice of requirements” for laboratories to become accepted to test for ASTM F963 as presented to the Commission and public. Primarily geared towards testing laboratories, this notice also signals to stakeholders such as the HTA that once approved and published in the Federal Register, all children’s products falling under toy guidelines manufactured 90 days after publish date will need to be tested and certified by a CPSC accepted laboratory.

“To begin requiring third party testing to the ASTM F-963 standard will dramatically and permanently harm small batch toymakers,” shares Dan Marshall, HTA President and owner of Peapods Natural Toys (MN). “We are therefore petitioning the Commission to delay the publication of lab certification standards for ASTM F-963 or to stay indefinitely the enforcement of the ASTM F-963 third party testing requirement for small batch manufacturers.”

Currently, Congress is considering substantive changes to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which would significantly reduce the compliance costs for small batch manufacturers. “We have received clear indications from the leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties of their intention to modify the CPSIA in order to reduce its unintended consequences for small batch manufacturers,” states Randall Hertzler, HTA Vice President and owner of euroSource (PA). “While this legislation is pending and progressing, it is simply unnecessary to employ a ruling that will imperil thousands of small business.”

“The vast majority of HTA members are extremely small businesses, consisting of no employees, very small revenues and a limited number of products produced in short quantities,” explains Jill Chuckas, HTA Board member and owner of Crafty Baby (CT). “Yet, the CPSIA treats these micro businesses exactly the same as large, multi-national corporations. A typical HTA manufacturer making only a few thousand units of a toy per year simply cannot afford to absorb fixed testing costs (often at $500 to $3500 per toy created).”

The HTA also states concerns regarding the timing of this proposed rule making, which, by estimates, will bring ASTM F-963 into effect in mid-October, directly in the middle of holiday production runs. “Large companies who mass produce product for holiday sales complete their production runs at least 6 months prior to sale,” shares Mary Newell, HTA Treasurer and owner of Terrapin Toys (OR). “Imposing third party testing requirements in mid-October will have a much more negative impact of small batch toymakers like those in our membership who generally are crafting and creating product right up until the actual holidays.”

“For almost 3 years now, our membership has been working tirelessly together in order to better understand and manage the CPSIA. The basic language within the law is extremely difficult at best for our membership to comprehend, particularly without the assistance of attorneys and technical support staff,” states Marshall. “We have urged the Commission to author a simplified guide to the ASTM F-963 standards for small businesses, to no avail. Without such clear guidance, small batch manufacturers cannot negotiate fairly or openly with the third party labs they would be required to employ.”

The HTA consists of 653 member businesses, including retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA. Formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, HTA members are parents, grandparents and consumers who are passionate about their businesses as well as the safety of the children in their lives. While in support of the spirit of the law, the unintended consequences of the CPSIA have motivated members of the HTA to work to enact change at a federal level. For more information, visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org.

Image from Wee Wonderfuls.

HTA Letter to CPSC on Upcoming ASTM Toy Safety Testing Requirements

July 3, 2011

Office of the Secretary
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Room 502
4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814


RE: Commencement of ASTM F-963 Toy Safety Testing Requirements and Petition for a Stay of Enforcement

Dear Honorable Commissioners:

We are alarmed to learn that the Commission is proceeding this month with rulemaking to begin certifying third party labs to test for the ASTM F-963 Toy Safety Standard. Unless the Commission's course is altered, the result of this process will be the initiation of third party testing requirements for all toys made after mid-October of this year as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

To begin requiring third party testing to the ASTM F-963 standard will dramatically and permanently harm small batch toymakers. We are therefore petitioning the Commission to delay the publication of lab certification standards for ASTM F-963 or to stay indefinitely the enforcement of the ASTM F-963 third party testing requirement for small batch manufacturers.

We request this action for four reasons.

First, our members simply cannot afford to pay for third party testing of toys they produce in small batches. ASTM F-963 testing fees range from $500 to $3,500 or more per toy. A manufacturer making only a few thousand units of a toy per year simply cannot afford to absorb this fixed cost, which is borne easily by larger corporations.

Second, the timing of the CPSC's proposed actions is markedly unfair to small batch manufacturers. Many, if not all, small batch toymakers continue to make their toys for the holiday season right up until the third week of December. Large-scale manufacturers, however, almost always complete their holiday production runs by early summer. Imposing third party testing requirements in mid-October will therefore have a much more negative impact on small batch toymakers.

Third, the language of the ASTM F-963 standard itself is extremely difficult for a typical small batch toymaker to comprehend. It is intended solely for the use of product safety engineers. The result of this complexity is that our members are much more at the mercy of third party labs and must rely entirely on these labs to determine which standards apply to a given product. Labs can therefore require and bill for redundant or unnecessary tests under the standard that they could not impose on larger companies which employ a dedicated compliance staff. We have urged the Commission to author a simplified guide to the ASTM F-963 standards for small businesses, but to no avail. Without such a document, small batch manufacturers cannot negotiate fairly or openly with the third party labs they would be required to employ.

Fourth, as the Commission is well aware, Congress is actively considering substantive changes to the CPSIA which would significantly reduce the compliance costs for small batch manufacturers. Leadership of both the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed their intentions to modify the CPSIA in order to reduce its unintended consequences for small batch toymakers. While this legislation is pending and progressing it makes little sense to unnecessarily imperil thousands of small businesses.

For these reasons, we urge the Commission to delay the third party testing requirement for the ASTM F-963 standard or stay its enforcement for toys made in batches of fewer than 10,000 units per year.

On behalf of our 653 member small businesses, we appreciate your willingness to consider our concerns. We hope to preserve the long American tradition of hand-crafted children's goods while ensuring safety for the children who enjoy them.

Respectfully,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

Image from mypapercrane.com.

Press Release: HTA Calls on House Energy and Commerce Committee to Support Reform of CPSIA

The Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) representing small batch manufacturers and specialty toy retailers, today called on the House Energy and Commerce Committee to support H.R. 1939 (Enhancing CPSC Authority and Discretion Act of 2011, ECADA) during House Energy and Commerce Committee markup. ECADA addresses the unintended consequences of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) – a law that threatens to destroy the small batch children’s product manufacturing industry and specialty toy shops in the United States.
Passed by Congress in 2008 in reaction to lead-in-paint toy recalls by multinational companies, the CPSIA’s unintended consequences have devastated small businesses throughout America. The law's third party testing requirements, which will go into force at the end of 2011, and other mandates contained in the law, will force many more small crafters and retailers out of business.
“We need a solution because time is running out,” said Randall Hertzler (PA), HTA Vice President. “The time for politics is past. The Committee can save small businesses by supporting this bill.” “The unintended consequences of the CPSIA fall disproportionately on small batch children's product manufacturers, retailers, and importers. ECADA has language that provides meaningful reform for members of the HTA while still maintaining safety protections for consumers”, added Dan Marshall (MN), HTA President.
The ECADA would amend provisions of the CPSIA to provide relief to small and micro-businesses by requiring the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to implement rulemaking to specify an alternative test or exemption as well as require a cost-benefit analysis to justify testing costs. The bill goes a long way towards restoring and preserving the culture of handmade and specialty children's products in America.
About the Handmade Toy Alliance
The HTA was formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, and consists of 649 member businesses. Our members businesses include specialty toy stores, toymakers and small batch children's product manufacturers who want to preserve consumer access to safe, unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods. For more information, visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org.
Image courtesy of HTA Member Crafty Baby.

Is this YOUR Congressman? We need your help! A CALL TO ACTION

Cross-posted from HTA Member Milagros Boutique in Portland, OR.

The Handmade Toy Alliance has worked three long years to get to this point. Namely, getting a change to the Consumer Product Safety Improvment Act (CPSIA) that will stem the tide of tainted toys, almost all of which are imported, without imposing a regulatory environment on small, ethical manufacturers and crafters that will literally drive them out of business with red tape.

Since the day we opened our doors, we have been a staunch promoter of our local craft industry. We have been working side by side with countless local crafters trying to improve the CPSIA so that it does not put these small enterprises out of business. Your action to help save these small business is needed now more than ever.

How can you help?

A CPSIA amendment is currently in mark up in the Committee of Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives. This amendment should be presented for a vote in this committee soon but surprisingly, despite all the rhetoric about supporting Main Street, not a single Democrat has voiced support. If this does not change, thousands of small businesses stand to be sacrificed at the alter of partisan politics.

We NEED your help! We need bipartisan support for this legislation to have any hope of it progressing through both houses of Congress. If your Congressman is on this list below, please call them NOW! Ask them to support the CPSIA amendment known as the ECADA. Learn more about the amendment.

• Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI 2nd) (202) 225-2906 - Legislative Director: Ken Reidy ken.reidy@mail.house.gov
• Rep. John Barrow (D-GA 12th) (202) 225-2823 - Legislative Director: Hill Thomas hill.thomas@mail.house.gov
• Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC 1st) (202) 225-3101 - Commerce LA: Saul Hernandez saul.hernandez@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA 23rd) (202) 225-3601 - Legislative Director: Jonathan Levenshus jonathan.levenshus@mail.house.gov
• Del. Donna M.C. Christensen (D-VI-At Large) (202) 225-1790 - Commerce LA: Angeline Muckle-Jabbar angeline.muckle-jabbar@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO 1st) (202) 225-4431 - Legislative Director: Brendan Devine brendan.devine@mail.house.gov
• Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI 15th) (202) 225-4071 - Commerce LA: Andrew Woelfling andrew.woelfling@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA 14th) (202) 225-2135 - Chief of Staff: David Lucas David.Lucas@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Eliot L. Engel (D-NY 17th) (202) 225-2464 - Commerce LA: Travis Osen-Foss travis.osen-foss@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA 14th) (202) 225-8104 - Legislative Director: Casey Fromson casey.fromson@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX 20th) (202) 225-3236 - Legislative Director: Brenda Muniz brenda.muniz@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Gene Green (D-TX 29th) (202) 225-1688 - Legislative Director: Abigail Pinkele Abigail.Pinkele@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA 1st) (202) 225-6311 - Legislative Director: Beth Osborne beth.osborne@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA 7th) (202) 225-2836 - Commerce LA: Ilya Fischhoff ilya.fischhoff@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Jim Matheson (D-UT 2nd) (202) 225-3011 - Commerce LA/LD: Shana Beavin shana.beavin@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA 5th) (202) 225-7163 - Commerce LA/LD: Kyle Victor kyle.victor@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.(D-NJ 6th) (202) 225-4671 - Commerce LA: Tuley Wright tuley.wright@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Mike Ross (D-AR 4th) (202) 225-3772 - Commerce LA: Kate Callanan kate.callanan@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Bobby L. Rush (D-IL 1st) (202) 225-4372 - Commerce LA: Tim Robinson timothy.robinson@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL 9th) (202) 225-2111 - Commerce LA: Megan Michaud megan.shannon-winterson@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY 10th) (202) 225-5936 - Commerce LA: Lars Hydle lars.hydle@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA 30th) (202) 225-3976 - Commerce LA/LD: Zahava Goldman Zahava.Goldman@mail.house.gov
• Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY 9th) (202) 225-6616 - Commerce LA/LD: Yuri Beckelman yuri.beckelman@mail.house.gov

EVEN IF YOUR CONGRESSMAN IS NOT ON THE LIST, WE NEED YOU TO CALL NOW! Find you congressman and call BOTH their DC and local offices and urge them to support HR 1939!

Please share this post with your friends and family, post to your facebook page, tweet it, etc. If you value hand crafted goods, we need your help on this today!

Thank you!

HTA Letter of Support for H.R. 1939 (the ECADA)

Dear Chairman Upton and Chairwoman Bono Mack:

Thank you for your continued attention to the needs of the small business members of the Handmade Toy Alliance, (HTA). Our purpose from the beginning of our organization has always been to mitigate the costs of CPSIA mandated third party testing and to remedy the unintended consequences of the CPSIA that fall disproportionately on small batch children's product manufacturers, retailers, and importers. The preferred solution remains a legislative exemption for these small and micro-businesses.

Although H.R.1939 allows relief for our members in the area of third party testing, we remain concerned about other provisions of the CPSIA which unfairly disadvantage small businesses. These include retroactivity, labeling requirements, the 100ppm lead content standard, and lack of harmonization with the European Union. In the interest of expediency, we have chosen to focus our efforts on providing the most relief for as many of our members as possible.

In surveying our members, our analysis is that the greatest burdens we face are mandatory third party testing for lead in substrate and ASTM F-963 testing for toys, both of which are scheduled to be implemented by the end of this year. H.R.1939 proposes third party testing relief to the members of the HTA through CPSC rulemaking to specify an alternative test or exemption, with the protecting stipulations that the benefits of third party testing justify the costs and that rules impose the least possible burden. This language within H.R.1939 makes compliance more achievable for our membership and for that reason we endorse this bill.

Legislative proposals offered in the last Congress failed to go far enough in providing relief for our small business members. H.R.1939 is closer to meeting the needs of our membership. It is imperative that both the House and the Senate take action without delay to save what remains of the culture of handmade toys and children’s products in the USA.

We remain hopeful that the democratic process can prevail and that a meaningful and bipartisan reform of the CPSIA will be enacted. On behalf of the 647 small business members of the Handmade Toy Alliance, we thank you again for your attention to this important issue.

Respectfully,
The Handmade Toy Alliance Board of Directors

The Handmade Toy Alliance Announces their 2011-2012 Board of Directors

The Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) has announced its board of directors for the 2011-2012 year. The HTA achieved nonprofit status in 2009, and has a board of directors consisting of 9 members.

Dan Marshall, HTA founder and co-owner of Peapods Natural Toys and Baby Care in St. Paul, MN, will serve as President for the upcoming session. Dan served as Vice President during the 2010-2011 year.

Randall Hertzler, owner of euroSource, LLC, a specialty European Toys online store established in 1999 in Lancaster, PA takes on the role of Vice President

Jolie Fay continues for a second year as Secretary. Based in OR, Jolie is the owner and
designer of Skipping Hippos, vintage inspired outerwear with a modern twist.

Mary Newell continues in the role of Treasurer, which she has held since the HTA's inception. Owner of Terrapin Toys, LLC in OR, Mary is known as the maker of Mary's Softdough, established in 1988.

Continuing their service to the HTA are founding Board members Jill Chuckas, the owner of Crafty Baby (CT), known for its fun and functional accessories for children, Rob Wilson, Vice President of Challenge & Fun (MA) and founder of CPSIA-Central, a web forum devoted to discussing all aspects of the CPSIA and Cecilia Leibovitz, founder and Creative Director of leading handmade children’s toy and gift retailer Craftsbury Kids, Inc. Cecilia also served as Board President from 2009 until the present. Marianne Mullen joined the Board last year and is the founder and owner of Polkadot Patch Boutique (VT), a children’s online retail store dedicated to unique, colorful products for children.

Adam Frost joins the Board this year and is the owner of The Wooden Wagon (MA), an online store specializing in natural wood and cloth toys.

Newly elected President, Dan Marshall commented on the election results, “We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of talented people make up our Board. Each one of these board members brings a diverse set of knowledge and skill to the vision of the Handmade Toy Alliance."

HTA Responses to House Commerce Committee Followup Questions on CPSIA Reform

Questions for the Record from the April 7 Hearing on Reform of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)


The Honorable G. K. Butterfield

1. During your oral testimony you stated that the Handmade Toy Alliance endorsed the Republican discussion draft “because of the relief it provides to our members.” You went on to suggest that the draft provides your members an exemption from third-party testing or that your members would be allowed to follow alternative testing procedures. My understanding, based on the advice of lawyers on my staff, and on Chairman Bono Mack’s opening statement, is that the draft does not provide any relief to your members from the mandatory third-party requirements for five specific products or hazards: (1) lead paint; (2) lead in children’s metal jewelry; (3) small parts; (4) compliance with crib standards; and (5) compliance with pacifier standards. Relief is only available to your members from any additional testing requirements that CPSC might require in the future through the rulemaking process outlined in the draft. Small crafters will still have to have their children’s products third-party tested for lead in metal jewelry, small parts, and compliance with the crib standards. In addition, ASTM F-963 will remain a mandatory standard, so your members will still have to comply with all of ASTM F-963 and certify that they have done so.

a. Assuming my understanding is accurate, do you and your members still support the Republican discussion draft even though it does not provide full relief from compliance with CPSIA? If so, please explain why.

First and foremost, we wish to restate that our primary goal is the passage of meaningful CPSIA reform as soon as possible. Although the discussion draft would provide relief for our members in key areas, we remain concerned about many other provisions of the CPSIA which unfairly disadvantage small businesses. These include retroactivity, labeling requirements, the 100ppm lead content standard, lack of harmonization with the European Union, and testing requirements for small parts and lead in paint. In the interest of expediency, we have chosen to focus our efforts on providing the most relief for as many of our members as possible.

Our ideal solution to the unintended consequences of the CPSIA is outlined in our platform. The discussion draft proposes relief through CPSC rulemaking as you indicate, but with the protecting stipulations that the benefits of third party testing justify the costs; that rules impose the least possible burden; and that an exemption is provided by default in the absence of rulemaking. These stipulations make compliance achievable for our membership. However, our preference remains a legislative exemption for micro-businesses.

Our purpose from the beginning of our organization has always been to mitigate the costs of third party testing on small batch children's product manufacturers. The CPSIA established requirements for many types of tests for many different types of products. In speaking with our members, our analysis is that the greatest burdens we face are mandatory third party testing for lead in substrate and ASTM F-963 testing for toys, both of which are scheduled to be implemented by the end of this year. We are not seeking exemptions from the standards themselves, but from the third party testing requirements. In both cases, we believe that small batch manufacturers should be allowed to self-certify based on a reasonable testing program. The discussion draft would make this possible.

We are not pursuing exemptions from testing requirements for lead in paint, metal jewelry, or crib standards. In the case of the lead in paint and metal jewelry standards, we recognize two realities. First, these were the two areas which caused the majority of product safety concerns prior to the enactment of the CPSIA. Second, although we disagree with the need for testing American and European products for lead in paint violations because lead paint has been outlawed in those countries for over 30 years, we recognize that the damage to these companies has already been done. The lead in paint testing requirement has been in place for almost a year and a half. Several respected companies have already ceased operations as a result. The damage has already been done. We hope that component-based testing will mitigate the cost of lead in paint testing in the future.

We are not at this time concerned with the crib standard. None of our members manufacturer cribs.

As for the small parts testing requirement, we believe that the CPSC can and should develop alternative testing methods which would allow small-batch manufacturers to self-certify. This standard is very straightforward and relatively easy to test for. In a perfect bill, the small parts standard would not be excluded from the exemptions available to small batch manufacturers.

Once again, we urge the House and the Senate to work together to mitigate the overwhelmingly negative impact of the CPSIA on small businesses.

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Here's the unedited video from the April 7, 2011 Hearing. It includes all the breaks for floor votes, so it's a full 7 hours long. HTA's testimony is at 5:19.

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The Honorable John Dingell

1. The draft legislation amends section 101(b) of CPSIA to exempt components of children’s products from the Act’s lead limits if such components do not cause a child to ingest more than a de minimus amount of lead. The legislation would require the Commission to specify procedures for manufacturers to test and estimate this de minimus amount. Do you believe small manufacturers and handcrafters will be able to afford and/or carry out such test procedures?

No. We do not believe that small batch manufacturers will be able to avail themselves of the de minimus exemption process. The costs involved in meeting the requirements of this process would be beyond the reach of our members. However, we hope that the CPSC will rule on de minimus applications made by larger companies in such a way that smaller businesses may benefit as well. For example, if the CPSC rules that a given company's leaded crystal rhinestones meet the de minimus standards, we hope that it will make its ruling categorically, so that all manufacturers which use leaded crystals may also benefit. We would hope that committee report language would communicate the expectation that de minimus rulings should be made as generally as possible and not limited to only a specific product made by a specific manufacturer.

HTA's Testimony on CPSIA Reform to the House Commerce Committee, April 7, 2011

Hello. My name is Dan Marshall. I am the Founder and Vice President of the Handmade Toy Alliance. The HTA represents 644 small businesses affected by the unintended consequences of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.

My wife Millie and I own Peapods Natural Toy Store in St. Paul, Minnesota. I am here today with my daughter Abigail and fellow HTA Board members Rob Wilson of Challenge and Fun in Massachusetts and Randall Hertzler of euroSource in Pennsylvania.

The HTA began in November of 2008, after I began to understand how the newly-passed CPSIA would decimate the small batch manufacturers who supply our store. Since then, I've been working with hundreds of other small business owners to save small batch manufacturers from regulatory burdens of the CPSIA, the greatest of which is the cost of mandated third party testing. These fixed costs, which are easily bourn by mass market manufacturers who make tens of thousands of units at a time, are simply impossible for small businesses that make toys, children's clothing and accessories in batches of a few dozen at a time, often in home-based studios.

These required tests are not limited to lead content testing. Toys, for example, will be subject to mandatory ASTM F963 testing, which requires the destruction of multiple units of each toy. The CPSC's current schedule would mandate ASTM testing as soon as this October. Unless the CPSIA is reformed, hundreds of small American toymakers will not survive that date.

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Please donate today--Any amount helps!

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Unlike similar product safety legislation such as The Food Safety Modernization Act, FDA food labeling rules, or California's Proposition 65, the CPSIA makes no allowances whatsoever for small businesses. Nor does it allow the CPSC any discretion in how it applies third party testing requirements to various types of products. Bicycles, books, hand-knit sweaters, and wooden toy cars are all treated the same.

As a result, the CPSIA as it stands is basically unenforceable. Key provisions have been stayed numerous times. The CPSC is slowly being transformed from public safety guardian into an enforcer of procedures and technicalities dictated by Congress at huge cost. Congressional action has dramatically undermined the CPSC, an agency which has effectively protected the American public for almost 40 years.

Meanwhile, we've watched numerous trustworthy businesses fold because of the CPSIA. Untold others have decided not to pursue their dreams as toymakers or crafters. We've even begun to see secondary effects such as the end of Mothering Magazine, which closed in February after 35 years, citing reduced ad revenues due to the CPSIA's impact on their advertisers.

If the CPSIA is not amended, hundreds more small family businesses will perish for no good reason.

Thanks to the work of this committee, we have a way forward. Our alliance endorses the draft amendment because of the relief it provides for our members. This bill requires either an exemption from third party testing or alternate testing procedures, such as XRF screening for lead in substrates, for products that are produced in small quantities. This is exactly what we have been asking for since the formation of our organization. Small batch manufacturers would be given a safety valve which was originally left out of the CPSIA.

We desire a thoughtful and measured reform worthy of meaningful bipartisan discussions. These issues deserve a full hearing to ensure that a high degree of consumer protection is maintained. We do not wish to create loopholes that would benefit the types of irresponsible companies that created the toy safety scare in the first place.

We urge you to reach out to your colleagues in the Senate to reach a bipartisan agreement. The CPSIA was the product of a strong bipartisan effort in 2008 and its reform requires the same effort. We believe this discussion draft is a suitable foundation for that discussion. We urge both houses of congress to set aside differences and find a way to see this reform process through. Our family businesses are watching the process closely. We're depending on you.

In conclusion, on behalf of our members, I would like to thank this committee for addressing this important issue and urge you to quickly pass meaningful reform of the CPSIA. Thank you.

Press Release: HTA sees new momentum as they prepare to testify; endorsing new bill amending the CPSIA

The Handmade Toy Alliance (HTA) will testify at the upcoming Congressional hearing on April 7, 2011 regarding a discussion draft to amend the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) from the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade. HTA Founder and Vice President, Dan Marshall (Peapods Natural Toys -MN) is set to testify on behalf of the HTA and its members endorsing the progress this new bill proposes. Board members Rob Wilson (Challenge and Fun – MA) and Randall Hertzler (euroSource – PA) will accompany Marshall at the hearing and attend legislative visits.

During the last year the HTA and its members have continued to work diligently, to bring meaningful discussion and reform to the CPSIA. The proposed amendment is seen as a step in the right direction toward reaching a middle ground, and ultimately saving many small businesses from the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. HTA Board member Jill Chuckas (Crafty Baby – CT) states, "While this new bill does not give us everything we've been asking for, we believe it saves most of our member businesses from extinction."

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Please donate today--Any amount helps!

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The bill focuses on several key issues that give way to reducing the financial burden the original law inflicted on small businesses. Hertzler comments, “Rather than requiring third party testing for every children’s product, the bill seeks to restore the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC's) ability to set its own priorities, allowing the Commission to define specific categories for specific tests, in areas where the benefits from required third-party testing justify the costs.”

The movement towards reform gives the HTA a new wave of momentum as they prepare to travel to D.C. in support of the reform bill. Marshall announced, "The Handmade Toy Alliance plans to endorse this bill both for its text and also for the context we hope it will create—a bipartisan and bicameral dialog which quickly leads to meaningful reform of the CPSIA."

The HTA was formed in November of 2008 in response to the CPSIA, and consist of 643 member businesses, including retail stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve consumer access to unique handmade toys, clothes and all manner of small batch children's goods in the USA.

HTA Endorses New CPSIA Reform Bill

On Tuesday, the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade released a discussion draft of a proposed amendment to the CPSIA. This document is the first attempt to begin a meaningful discussion of CPSIA reform since the demise of Rep. Waxman's bill a year ago, which we had endorsed with reservations.

In the intervening year, we've seen more small businesses fold because of the unintended consequences of the CPSIA. And, we've seen a momentous election which drastically changed the political landscape on Capitol Hill.

While this new bill does not give us everything we've been asking for, we believe it saves most of our member businesses from extinction. Furthermore, we are relieved that the bill is by no means a wholesale repeal of the CPSIA but seeks to find a middle ground. We are hopeful that Senate Democrats will see it as a thoughtful and measured reform worthy of meaningful bipartisan discussions.

In general, this bill would restore the CPSC's ability to set its own priorities and would allow the commission to use the tool of third party testing as a scalpel rather than as an axe. Instead of requiring third party testing for every children's product, the commission could target specific categories for specific tests in areas where the benefits of testing would outweigh the costs. This would restore the commission's volition to analyze risk and greatly reduce the need for businesses to repetitively test perfectly safe products.

Furthermore, the bill would exempt one-of-a-kind items from third party testing and would require the CPSC to either exempt small batch manufacturers from third party testing or allow us to use alternative testing methods such as XRF screening for lead in substrates. Small batch manufacturers would be given a safety valve which was originally left out of the CPSIA.

This by far the best bill we've seen to date. The Handmade Toy Alliance therefore endorses this bill both for its text and also for the context we hope it will create—a bipartisan and bicameral dialog which quickly leads to meaningful reform of the CPSIA.

Image by Robert Mahar.

Our (Unpublished) Letter to the Editor of the New York Times

We sent the following letter to the New York Times in response to their staff editorial opposing reform of the CPSIA. One week later, we have received no response and our letter has not been published--nor has any other response to their extremely shallow editorial.

February 24, 2011

Dear Editors,

The past two years have been heartbreaking. Since the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in 2008, we've seen dozens of our friends and colleagues lose their family businesses. They were forced to close not because their products were unsafe, but because they simply could not afford the costs of third party testing which is mandated by the CPSIA.

Imagine our dismay this morning when your newspaper described the plight of these families as a “canard”, as a misleading fabrication. Much as we wish that the CPSIA effects on small businesses were make-believe, they are, as your own paper has reported, very real and very painful.

A large multinational company like Mattel can afford to spend a few hundred dollars to test a production run of 200,000 plastic toys in China, but a small-batch toymaker in the US simply cannot afford to spend the same amount on batch of 20. The mathematics of the CPSIA are skewed entirely in favor of big business.

As many Democrats, Republicans and even the CPSC itself has said, we need common-sense reform of the CPSIA which protects small businesses while preserving safety. We hope that your newspaper will look past the canard that this is all “part of a standard antiregulation litany” and appreciate the real effects of the CPSIA on real small businesses owned by real people.

Sincerely,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

Video of Jolie Fays's CPSIA Testomony to the House Commerce Committee

Here is Jolie's main testimony from the February 17th CPSIA hearing in the House Commerce Committee:

Jolie also fielded a number of questions from representatives. In the video below, Jolie responds to Representative Harper about the cost of third party testing, based on quotes she received shortly after the CPSIA was passed in 2008:

Mothering Magazine Ceases its Print Publication After 35 Years, in Part Due to CPSIA

We were saddened to learn that Mothering Magazine has ceased it's print publication after 35 years and will now be online only. In a statement, longtime editor Peggy O'Mara wrote:

"Many of our advertisers have been hard hit by the economy. Toy manufacturers have been burdened by the cost of complying with the new regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Many of our sling and baby-carrier advertisers experienced declining sales or went out of business altogether in 2010 as a result of loss of sales due to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recalls of infant carriers."

This serves as a very unfortunate reminder that the CPSIA has not only affected the small businesses which are burdened by its excessive regulations, but also other small businesses like Mothering which rely on them for support. We wish Mothering the best as it transitions to online-only.

Jolie Fay's Testimnony to House Commerce Committeee CPSIA Hearing

Good afternoon, my name is Jolie Fay. I am the owner of Skipping Hippos. I make
children’s ponchos in my home in Portland, Oregon. I am testifying on behalf of the 619 Handmade Toy Alliance members. We are the people knitting hats on the train, we are the mothers in line with you at the store, and we are the people from your church and home towns who have grown up in families that craft. We are your neighbors, your families and your constituents and we need your help to bring common sense changes to the CPSIA.

Our businesses were born from the desire for safe children’s products. We make them
with care and attention, most often from materials purchased from our local craft stores.Our dreams were to build heritage products that will be cherished and remembered, and saved for generations.

Our broad membership experiences the unintended consequences of the CPSIA indifferent ways.

Micro-sized businesses that craft and retail toys and children’s products make up half of our membership. Often, these businesses are family or single owner businesses with no employees who produce and sell products in very small batches. The CPSIA makes no provision for these businesses to be able to operate. People crafting in their homes are expected to third party test the same way as mass market manufacturers. The costs of 3rd party testing for lead and ASTM standards are prohibitive in very small batches, tracking and labeling requirements are too burdensome and these micro-businesses find the law and its requirements too complex to interpret, understand and apply.

HTA Board members Jolie Fay and Randall Hertzler

For example, at the Hollywood Senior Center in Portland, there is a small retail shop. The items in the shop are exclusively made by their members. Handmade trucks and planes are made by retired loggers in their 70’s and 80’s. They are on an incredibly small fixed income and would never be able to afford a single ASTM laboratory test. The workmanship that has developed over a lifetime helps contribute a small, but very substantial supplement to their monthly income. These projects keep them active and give them meaning to each day. These are artisans, but this law makes them criminals.

Another segment of HTA members are small batch businesses, producing multiple items
and selling in boutiques and on line. They also are not able to absorb the testing costs for their products as the CPSIA makes no provision for these entities to continue to be economically viable after absorbing the costs of full CPSIA compliance. Again, they are treated equivalent to mass market manufacturers. Companies, who create only 20 or so products, producing in batches of 10 and 20 units, simply can not absorb the testing costs and still expect to charge a reasonable price for the added expense.

Representing 19% of our membership, a third group hurt by the CPSIA is small specialty toy retailers. These are the “mom and pop” toy stores tucked into towns all across America. The CPSIA removes the ability for them to sell almost all of the safe local products and many international products. Loss of specialty products from Europe, particularly, tilts the children’s products marketplace in favor of mass produced items and removes an opportunity for specialty retailers to differentiate themselves. Without the ability to offer products unique, which sets their store apart from the competition, there is little reason for the existence of the small specialty toy retailers. So the CPSIA limits consumer choice unnecessarily and creates a regulatory barrier to international small batch manufacturers.

The final group is specialty toy importers, representing 2% of our membership. It is a small percentage, but a big component in the culture of specialty toys in America. Within this “melting pot” culture that we live in, these importers provide access to many safe products from our ancestors’ and countries of origin, enriching the value of play and helping the specialty market survive. The CPSIA treats these small scale importers as if they were mass market manufacturers and therefore they suffer alongside USA based small batch manufacturers.

I grew up in Wyoming, where my great grandparents were homesteaders. For generations, my family has made clothes, toys, saddles, and belts for their children. I cherish these items because they are from my family, and they were made with care, just like what I make. Our members are people like me, from all across the country, making safe products that we simply cannot afford to third party test. I am here today because I want my children to understand and learn from our entrepreneurial spirits. Crafting gives them joy, selling it gives them reward.

While the HTA has worked closely with the CPSC – submitting comments on pending
rules, attending CPSC sponsored workshops, regular email and phone contact with CPSC staff - we feel strongly that the current legislation does not grant the CPSC the flexibility to address our members’ needs. Our membership is in need of a legislative fix that only you, in Congress, can give.

Solving the problems of the CPSIA is not only for our members’ immediate financial
relief, but will save generations of future handmade products. For thousands of years, cultures have been studied through their handcrafted toys. In every museum around the world, there are artifacts of handmade toys –connecting the cultures of the past to societies of today. What will our legacy be if the CPSIA destroys our generations’ ability to share in this piece of history?

Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you today. Please note that in my written testimony, I have shared some of our ideas to rectify the unintended consequences of the CPSIA.

HTA's Jolie Fay to Testify this week in House Commerce Committee

Jolie Fay

Handmade Toy Alliance board member Jolie Fay, owner of Skipping Hippos in Oregon, will testify this Thursday before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in a hearing entitled "A Review of CPSIA and CPSC Resources." Jolie will be representing all of the HTA's over 600 members who are seeking reform of the Consumer Product Safety improvement Act (CPSIA), which unfairly punishes small businesses for the sins of large corporations.

Fellow HTA board member Randall Hertzler, owner of euroSource, LLC, will also attend the hearing. Both He and Jolie are meeting with congressional staff and council to promote the HTA platform before and after the hearing. Follow @eurotoyshop or the #CPSIA hash tag on twitter on Thursday for updates throughout the day.

Once again, we are asking for donations to help offset the cost of travel so that we can continue to lobby congress for reform of the CPSIA. Please visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org to donate. Any amount will help!

HTA's Letter to the CPSC About the Feasibility of a 100ppm Lead Content Limit

On February 16, the CPSC will hold a public hearing on the feasibility of lowering the lead content standard in children's products from 300ppm to 100ppm. We have submitted the following letter as our testimony.

February 10, 2011

Office of the Secretary
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Room 502
4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814
cpsc-os@cpsc.gov

Re: 100 PPM—Technological Feasibility Public Hearing

Dear Mr. Stevenson:

On behalf of the Handmade Toy Alliance, an alliance now numbering 620 toy stores, toymakers and children's product manufacturers from across the country who want to preserve unique handmade toys, clothes, and children's goods in the USA, we respectfully submit the following comments for consideration during the Commission's hearing on the feasibility of imposing a 100ppm lead content limit on children's products.

To begin with, we would like to refer the Commission to our earlier letter on the subject, dated September 27, 2010. We would like to reiterate that letter's conclusion, which stated:

As small manufacturers, we lack the wherewithal to demand consistent compliance to such a low standard from our component suppliers, many of whom do not specifically manufacture for children's products. We lack the resources to test repeatedly to ensure that any given test's results are actually within a 100ppm limit given the tests' margins of error. And, in an environment where the Commission blurs bright lines, we lack the patience for such a low limit that has no impact on human health but could well jeopardize our family businesses.

After reading the other responses to the Commission's initial requests for comments on the feasibility of a 100ppm standard, we were struck by the near unanimity among manufacturers and trade groups representing manufacturers. Almost all these respondents agreed with us that a 100ppm would be difficult to achieve consistently, would be difficult to measure, would add unnecessary and untenable compliance costs, and would not directly correspond with any health risks associated with lead content in different materials.

Voltaire: "The perfect is the enemy of the good."

Now, we are being asked to clarify our position regarding how the feasibility of a 100ppm standard would vary according to the type of material and the extent to which 100ppm-compliant components are “commercially available”.

Unfortunately, none of our members are chemists or materials scientists. Nor do we posses the resources to engage a scientific study of the vast myriad of products our members produce in order to fully answer these questions. The best we can do is describe our businesses and the difficulties we would encounter if we were required to meet a 100ppm lead standard.

For this hearing, the Commission asked, “What factors or considerations should we evaluate in deciding whether a product complying with the limit is 'commercially available?'” Unlike mass market manufacturers, we do not always begin our production with raw materials. We frequently purchase component goods like zippers and buttons from Jo-Ann Fabrics, beads and polyfill from Michael's, and screws and hinges from Home Depot.

These components have not been tested by a CPSC-accredited third party lab and do not indicate their lead content. Nor do the manufacturers of these components make any claim or guarantee regarding the consistency of materials used that would suggest that a hinge or button purchased in June would have the same lead content as the same item purchased in August. Indeed, many of these component parts are sold by distributors such as Dritz Notions or Stanley Hardware and bear no indication of the company which actually manufactured the part in the first place.

So, before the CPSC decides the extent to which 100ppm-compliant components are “commercially available”, we ask that the Commission should first conduct a thorough survey of the lead content of the component parts on sale at Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michaels, and Home Depot (or other comparable retailers). We urge the Commission to test a few dozen screws, buttons, zippers, and hinges—and then do the same test again in a month. This would be the best and only way determine the commercial availability of 100ppm-compliant parts for our members.

Unfortunately, we were not able to initiate such a study in the 15 days from when the Commission posted notice of this hearing and the date our comments were due. Nonetheless, the difficulty and expense of conducting such a survey is the exact same difficulty and expense small batch manufacturers will be facing if they would be required to comply with a 100ppm lead content standard.

While we recognize that it would be problematic for larger companies as well, we believe that small batch manufacturers, who have little or no negotiating power with their component suppliers, would be most adversely affected by a 100ppm standard. Much as we'd like to see the development of marketplace of pre-tested component parts, the truth is that, in most cases, this marketplace has so far failed to materialize. The burden of compliance, therefore, remains almost exclusively with the end-product manufacturer. A 100ppm standard would vastly aggravate this burden.

We believe the Commission can and should consider the economic feasibility of a 100ppm standard. And, we believe that any such consideration of the economic impact would logically lead to the conclusion that a 100ppm standard is not, in fact, feasible.

Finally, as discussed in our previous letter, we believe that a 100ppm total lead limit which does not take bioavailability into account is an inappropriate standard for measuring the health risk of a children's product. We have read the comments by consumer groups which reiterate the facts that lead accumulates in a child's body over time and that there is no safe amount of lead exposure. And, while we agree with these assertions, we can not find any logic which would justify a blanket 100ppm limit for all types of materials in all children's products.

It simply does not make sense to us that the lead content in brass, steel, plastic, vinyl, or glass should all be subject to the same limit, since each material behaves differently when exposed to human skin or saliva. Nor does it make sense to us that a baby rattle, puzzle, football, or bicycle should pose the same risks of lead ingestion or that these various products should all be subject to the same 100ppm standard.

We therefore urge the Commission to conclude, as we have, that a 100ppm lead standard is not technologically feasible; that 100ppm compliant component parts are not commercially available, especially for small batch manufacturers; and that a 100ppm standard would not relate to the risk of lead exposure as it varies from one material to another and from one type of product to another.

Our members are personally dedicated to making safe, quality products. We represent centuries of American craftsmanship which has nourished generations of American children.

Please consider the impact of 100ppm on our member businesses. Please do not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

Thank you again for taking the time to read and consider our comments.

Respectfully Submitted,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

A listing of all 620 business members of the Handmade Toy Alliance is available at http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/AllianceInfo/OurMembers.aspx .

HTA Letter to House Commerce Oversight Committee Regarding Regulatory Reform and the CPSIA

January 26, 2011


To:
The Honorable Cliff Stearns
Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

The Honorable Diana DeGette
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

CC:
The Honorable Fred Upton,
Chairman, Commerce and Energy Committee

The Honorable Mary Bono Mack
Chair, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade


RE: House Commerce Committee, Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Hearing to Examine Administration's Regulatory Reforms


To the Leadership of the House Commerce and Energy Committee:


On behalf of the 613 small batch children's product manufactures and independent retailers we represent, we would like to express our appreciation for the committee's attention to President Obama's recent executive order calling for less red tape in government regulation.

The President wrote in his recent Wall Street Jounal editorial, “Rules have gotten out of balance, placing unreasonable burdens on business—burdens that have stifled innovation and have had a chilling effect on growth and jobs”. We believe that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) provides a vivid illustration of the unreasonable burdens to which he refers.


Passed in 2008 as a response to quality failures in mass market toys, the CPSIA mandates third party testing for all children's products including toys, clothing, shoes, science kits, sporting equipment, and even compact discs and DVDs. This testing, which costs between several hundred and several thousand dollars per item, is required whether a business makes 100 units or 100,000 units per year. In this way, the law grossly discriminates against small batch manufacturers who must pay for the same testing as multi-national companies like Mattel.

These tests are mandated not only for lead content, but also, in the case of toys, for ASTM use and abuse tests, which add significant additional costs per toy.

Since the inception of the CPSIA, numerous small businesses have already ceased production, cut back on their offerings, introduced fewer new items, moved production overseas to reduce costs, and/or raised prices—all as a response to increased compliance costs. And, fewer new businesses have entered the marketplace.

We have asked the CPSC to simplify and narrow the scope of the CPSIA. Although the commission has made certain beneficial rulings such as exempting fabric and natural materials from lead content testing, we have been told by the Commission that compliance burdens cannot be further reduced without Congressional action. And, far from simplifying the law, the Commission has created confusion in many areas. In particular, its definition of a “children's product” is a 62 page document which provides more vagueness than clarity. Indeed, much of the CPSC's rulemaking on the CPSIA would not satisfy President Obama's executive order that “Regulations are accessible, consistent, written in plain language, and easy to understand.”

We are also concerned about the possibility that the CPSC may retroactively lower the lead content standard to 100ppm from the 300ppm standard which was previously mandated by the CPSIA. This lower standard, which is lower than the amount of lead the FDA allows in food, is impractical, not scientifically justified, and nearly impossible for small businesses to achieve.

We believe that the CPSIA can and should be fixed to make it less complicated, more focused on legitimate safety hazards, and fairer to small businesses. Our platform of proposed reforms is attached with this letter. We sincerely hope that Congress will act to reform the CPSIA. As President Obama wrote, “Small firms drive growth and create most new jobs in this country. We need to make sure nothing stands in their way.”

On behalf of our 613 member small businesses, we appreciate your willingness to consider our concerns. We hope to preserve the long-standing American tradition of hand-crafted children's goods while ensuring safety for the children who enjoy them.

Respectfully,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

HTA Letter to the CPSC about Extending the CPSIA Stay of Enforcement

January 3, 2011

Office of the Secretary
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Room 502
4330 East-West Highway,
Bethesda, Maryland, 20814


RE: CPSC Lifting of Stay of Enforcement under Section 102 of the CPSIA

Dear Honorable Commissioners:

As the Commission prepares for the lifting of the stay of enforcement for the CPSIA in just five short weeks, we would like to share our members’ concerns regarding this action and how it affects their abilities to produce children’s products in small batches.

A toy by Selecta Spielzeug of Germany,
now celebrating 2 years of extinction under the CPSIA.
Courtesy of HTA member EuroToyShop.com

We appreciate the opportunities the Commission has granted us to share our concerns regarding the CPSIA. Our fundamental belief continues to be that the CPSIA focuses resources on processes rather than safety and needlessly hampers the Commission's ability to make product safety determinations based on risk.

While the Commission has been able to address some of our concerns, there continue to be a number of issues that require resolution prior to our members being able to effectively implement testing protocols under the CPSIA. Our greatest concern remains the cost of third-party testing, which disproportionately affects small-batch manufacturers. We have testified in congressional hearings in both the House and the Senate that lifting the stay now will unnecessarily doom hundreds of small family businesses.

In the last month, Congress has shown it's determination to amend the CPSIA. At the December 2, 2010 Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, both Chair Tenenbaum and Commissioner Northup testified about ways Congress could add flexibility to the CPSIA. The Senate also heard from industry stakeholders, including the HTA, who shared concerns with the legislation and urged for common sense amendment to rectify the many unintended consequences.

We strongly believe that a properly crafted amendment can and will protect small businesses, maintain a vibrant selection of children's products in the marketplace, reduce compliance costs, create a more effective CPSC, and promote common sense without sacrificing safety. But, until this legislative amendment is completed, lifting the stay would create chaos for our member’s businesses.

Furthermore, the component part testing rule has yet to be finalized and manufacturers are still working to understand the draft rules. While we have been advising our members that this ruling will be forthcoming and doing our best to share what their responsibilities will be, we have yet to receive clear, concise guidance. Without this formal ruling, we continue to have difficulty explaining to our component part suppliers the necessity for their testing information.

To that point, many of our member’s suppliers are refusing to test altogether, or refusing to supply their certifications to our members. In addition, for those members who purchase supplies direct from fabric and craft shops, such as JoAnn Fabrics or Michael’s, supplier certifications are not readily made available. Finalized rulings are necessary to push compliance upstream and help our members prove their testing protocol under the CPSIA.

Finally, while we appreciate the work of Neal Cohen, the CPSC's new small business ombudsperson, he has had only a few short months to initiate his outreach and education efforts. We would very much like to see these efforts more firmly in place before the stay is lifted.

For these reasons, we urge the Commission to further extend the stay of enforcement under Section 102 of the CPSIA.

On behalf of our 609 member small businesses, we appreciate your willingness to consider our concerns. We hope to preserve the long American tradition of hand-crafted children's goods while ensuring safety for the children who enjoy them.

Respectfully,

The Handmade Toy Alliance

A listing of all 609 business members of the Handmade Toy Alliance is available at http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/AllianceInfo/OurMembers.aspx

Board members:
Cecilia Leibovitz, Craftsbury Kids, VT
Dan Marshall, Peapods Natural Toys, MN
Jill Chuckas, Crafty Baby, CT
Mary Newell, Terrapin Toys, OR
Jolie Fay, Skipping Hippos, OR
Marianne Mullen, Polka Dot Patch, VT
Rob Wilson, Challenge & Fun, MA
Randall Hertzler, euroSource, PA
Kate Glynn, A Child's Garden, MA

cc: Neal Cohen, Small Business Ombudsman, CPSC