Estimated reading time: 5 – 8 minutes

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) mandates expensive, destructive, third-party testing for all products designed and marketed to children aged twelve and under. Large corporations can reasonably absorb the costs of such testing; however, it places an undue burden on small businesses or companies that produce limited quantities of unique or handmade goods for children. Ironically, many of these small businesses were founded by moms, dads, and grandparents in response to concerns about unsafe, mass manufactured toys flooding the market. As these small businesses – toy-makers, clothiers, artisans, publishers, and others – scramble to comply with the CPSIA, or face bankruptcy, Mattel quietly won a waiver from the CPSC that allows it to test its own products for compliance with the new lead and phthalates standards set by the CPSIA.

Have we forgotten who got us into this mess in the first place? There were six Mattel-related recalls in 2007 that involved more than 2 million toys. Mattel agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for violating the lead paint ban.

According to the AP, the CPSC approved seven Mattel labs, located in Mexico, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and California as “firewalled third party laboratories” ? the first to get that designation under the CPSIA. “Firewalled” means they are deemed to be “insulated from undue corporate influence.”? According to federal records, Mattel spent more than $1 million in 2008 on lobbying. It was instrumental in getting the “firewall” exception added to the law.

But there were laws in place to regulate permissible lead content prior to the CPSIA. If Mattel has the means to do all this rigorous safety testing in-house, why were 2 million toys recalled in 2007?

Why does Mattel get a pass, when Mom and Pop businesses whose products have never proven to be unsafe to children go bankrupt? This isn’t about “child safety.” This is about protecting corporate interests and shareholder profits.

It is becoming more and more important to me that corporations and governments adhere to ethical standards. And I’m going to vote with my wallet on this one.

Buy Old Children’s Books, Instead

The kids will thank you for it, when they’re older.

The CPSC interprets the law to include books. Although they have declared “ordinary books” printed after 1985 to be presumed safe, old and classic children’s books printed prior to 1985 must be removed from store shelves and libraries for testing. Or destroyed.

Read CPSIA and Vintage Books: A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Law. The CPSC cavalierly stated that “Children?s books have limited useful life,” estimated at approximately twenty years. Tell that to the books on my bookshelf.

So, let’s all buy “dangerous” old books that are past their “limited useful life,” and maybe some handmade toys and clothes this Christmas season, and take a pass on the “safe” mass-market toys out there. Want to do more?

How to Contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

Toll-free Consumer Hotline: 800-638-2772 (TTY 800-638-8270). Call to obtain product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products. Hotline staff may be reached from 8:30 am – 5:00 pm ET. Messages may be left anytime after these hours. Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Headquarters
General Information: (301) 504-7923 M-F 8:00 am – 4:30 pm ET
Fax: (301) 504-0124 and (301) 504-0025
E-mail: Please use our Contact Form

Street and Mailing Address
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
4330 East West Highway
Bethesda, MD 20814

How to Contact Mattel

Toys I Won’t be Buying this Christmas

More on CPSIA from this Blog:

I haven’t written on the CPSIA in a while. I naively hoped that sanity would prevail in Washington. Apparently, that’s not going to be the case.

• http://jahangiri.us/news/?s=cpsia

Want to Do More?

Check out these Web sites:

• Contact Congress
• CPSIA FORUM
• CPSIA Ning
• Fashion-Incubator
• Handmade Toy Alliance
• Rick Woldenberg
• The Toy Association
• Vote to influence Obama @ Change.org

I welcome your thoughts and ideas – that’s what Comments are for!