I am not easily amazed any more by ridiculousness coming out of the halls of our government. I mean, we have all seen some stupid things done, and something has to really raise the bar on stupidity to amaze me again. Well, it has happened. Last summer, the Consumer Products Safety Commission Act of 2008, was passed. The impetus behind this law came as a reaction to the fact that unscrupulous manufacturers in China were sending uncoated, lead based paint toys to the US. So, moving swiftly with the sword of righteousness guiding us, we passed these new standards. Suddenly, in early January, thousands of US manufacturers of anything used by children under 12 years of age are discovering that US companies are interpreting, based on their attorneys' advice, the law to mean that every component piece of every product sold must be tested. I will get to the stupidity of it all below.
I will use an example that I am very familiar with. My wife has spent the last 18 months creating a business that started out of our home. She makes various items for moms and kids, mostly from textiles with some attachments like clips or closures. One of her items is a pacifier clip. on one end is a metal clip used to attach a strand of ribbon to a child's clothing, the other end is a loop with a snap to hold a pacifier. Simple, easy, useful product. She offers this product in 50 fabric choices. The way the law is being enforced, and the way it is written quite frankly, she will have to have each pacifier clip product undergo testing costing $300. That's right, $15,000 in testing, as each, separate fabric type has to be tested. But wait, it gets better. When she runs out of material or clips, and has to buy more, each on from a new batch has to be tested again. This has to happen even if the manufacturer of the materials has tested each component piece and has certification.
Small businesses have to buy materials in small lots, especially in start-up mode. This simply means the added price you pay is having to have each finished product from a new lot tested. I will include several items from some petitions, articles, etc currently making the rounds, but stores are already demanding that products already on the shelves be removed if this test result - (the standard is supposed to start in Aug 09)cannot be proven immediately. Right now, there are literally thousands of small businesses in the US with the owners holding their heads in their hands knowing that if this doesn't change, and change immediately, they will have to close.
The Daily KOS community has a lot of voices, a lot of contacts, and a lot of good ideas. I am hoping that some people in the media, in Congress and even directly in the Obama administration see this and get this fixed. Time is of the essence, the large stores are already enforcing this edict. The ripple effect will be the loss of up to a million jobs, a large portion of which are very small businesses, in the blink of an eye. This is an industry that isn't looking for a bailout, just the application of reason. The ironic thing here is that if this is left to stand, the only companies that will be left in this market as suppliers are very large firms and the Chinese firms that the law was drafted to protect us from in the first place.
Here is the essence of a petition that is found at the following link:
http://www.ipetitions.com/...
Petition to the Consumer Products Safety Commission
Who should read this
1.If you are a small or home-based business that manufactures apparel or other textile products for children under 12 years of age, this legislation impacts you, or
- Whether you sell your products wholesale or directly to the consumer through eBay, Etsy, or your own web site, this legislation impacts you.
If either of these describes you, your business is at stake. Please join us in making our voices heard.
Our Comments To the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC):
We are small manufacturers of children’s apparel and textile products throughout the United States who are petitioning the CPSC to express our concerns regarding the lead and lead in paint standards as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).
We want to first emphasize that many of us are parents ourselves and care as much about the safety of our children as anyone. We welcome measures that will help to ensure greater child safety with regard to lead. However, such measures are only effective if they target the real risks.
Lead in apparel and other textile products pose little risk to children.
It is important for the CPSC to recognize that the majority of the materials used to manufacture apparel and other textile products are inherently lead-free. While trace elements may be found in some dyes, those amounts are well below the regulatory limits. Even if trace materials existed in the materials used to produce the textiles, very little would remain on finished fabrics because of the low application levels and the washing that occurs during processing.
Without prudent regulation from the CPSC, the CPSIA will result in unintended and devastating consequences to manufacturers of children’s products that pose little to no risk of lead exposure to children.
The costs of unnecessary testing and its impact on our businesses
Requiring expensive tests on inherently lead-free products to verify that they, in fact, don’t contain lead will only add financial burdens to small manufacturers – most of whom are already suffering from the current economic climate – while providing no improvement in consumer or product safety.
We recognize that some types of children’s apparel contain components that may contain lead. However, metal, painted plastic, and vinyl components in children’s apparel are adequately regulated under the requirements for third party testing for lead in paint.
The CPSC has the authority to exclude components and classes of products from the lead ban. Accordingly, we urge the CPSC to issue guidance that makes clear that textiles and apparel are only subject to the lead and lead in paint requirements to the extent that a component presents a risk that it contains lead.
The cost of digestive testing for lead ranges from $130 to $180 per test. For example, a garment with two metal component parts, such as a zipper and snaps, would have to test each component separately at a cost of $360. Previously, a small manufacturer might have spread these costs out over several styles by using the same zippers and snaps in each style. Let’s assume a manufacturer produces 10 styles. Now, with new regulations that require testing of each component part after it is removed from a sample garment, one of each style, the costs of testing increase dramatically to $3,600.
This cost multiplies exponentially if we are now required to test fabrics and threads for lead, or if different dyes also trigger their own lead tests. Any small manufacturer that can survive these costs – and there aren’t many that can – will have to pass them on to their customers. So, consumers end up on the losing end, too.
We urge the CPSC to exempt lead testing for those components and articles that are inherently lead-free and require testing for only those components that may contain lead.
What happens to us WILL effect the U.S. Economy
Based on U.S. Census data, the Cut and Sew Apparel Manufacturing industry, which includes most categories of small manufacturers of infant’s and children’s apparel, is comprised of more than 40,000 companies. Of these, almost 28,000, or 68%, are sole proprietors contributing a total of $900 million to our nation’s economy. Thus, while our businesses are small, they comprise well more than the majority of the apparel manufacturing businesses currently operating in this country.
In addition to small manufacturers who work with apparel industry contractors, consider the numerous home-based businesses that produce children’s apparel and sell directly to the consumer. These businesses are best characterized as "micro-manufacturers" who commonly produce custom and one-of-a-kind garments or several styles but in very small quantities. For these businesses to test for lead in every component of each and every style at a cost of $180 per test would increase the costs to produce a garment astronomically, resulting in a price far exceeding what the market will bear.
Every small manufacturer of children’s apparel shares the goal of the CPSC – ensuring that only safe products are permitted to reach the consumer. We believe this is best achieved by implementing and enforcing the CPSIA in a manner that focuses on risks.
While we believe there are some components in textile and apparel products that may fall under the lead standards, we believe the vast majority of products and components are inherently lead-free and should thus be excluded from the standards.
We urge the CPSC to issue guidance that makes clear that textiles and apparel are only subject to the lead and lead in paint requirements to the extent that a component presents a risk that it contains lead.
In addition, here are some real world examples of what is happening RIGHT NOW!
Burlington Coat Factory, has sent a letter to all of their vendors saying that anything they’ve shipped as of January 1, 2006 9two years ago!) must be compliant or they will be returning it. Two years ago! Wal-Mart hasn’t been quite as regressive as BCF but they’ve put their vendors on notice to supply LAB RESULTS (not GCCs) for any goods shipped over the past three seasons (which could span a time period of a year depending on a company’s seasonal calender) and if they can’t, to include an address where the goods can be returned. JC Penney’s is auditing their entire inventory; anything not meeting the August guidelines will be "marked down to zero". Bone chilling words as they typically charge back those discounts to vendors. Lastly, some retailers are abdicating altogether. QVC will not sell any children’s toys anymore, period.
It gets better and better. Here is an aspect of it that will affect every day care provider in the country - the law states that every crib used in daycare will have to be certified retroactively or replaced. In case you don't speak government, that means replaced.
This is a very complex law, and I am no lawyer, but see the devastating effects immediately. Go back to the petition data, 40,000 companies in the children's apparel industry, 28,000 of which are sole owner. This is a business that thrives on trade shows, web sales, sales in small boutiques that aren't big box stores, and employs a huge number of US citizens. The misapplication of this law written under the guise of making sure the Chinese have to use non-lead based materials in the goods we allow them to import at prices that undercut US made goods will result in the death of an entire industry in the US, and ironically only those same Chinese companies will be left standing.
We have contacted our Representative, and the Senators from our state. The KOS community is one that, when they put their shoulder to the wheel, can make things happen. Hell, we just elected a President. I am not an official representative of the thousands of small businesses that are closing right now, but they don't have a representative. They represent the American dream of trying to make your idea a reality by the sweat of your brow, using your own funds to make it work, and creating something to be proud of. If these companies don't get this law changed immediately, almost all of them will have to close. Not alarmist, just a fact. Please, sign the petitions online, call you congressional representatives, your senators. This group of entrepreneurs needs your help.