Has anyone heard about the new Law on handmade items?I just heard about this , and it sounds too crazy to really be true. Has anyone else heard it will be illegal to sell handmade items to kids? What will happen to all the WAHMS and other crafters? What about small businesses???
      Answer1:Wow! I just heard about this on the Clark Howard Radio show. Of course, the goal is to make sure only safe toys are made for kids. The unintended consequence is it bars small firms, or homemade stuff from selling.In reality, according to Clark Howard, there is no practical way for the federal govt to enforce this. This is really meant to be enforced on big toy manufacturers.
      Answer2:Yes, it does sound crazy BUT IT IS TRUE!Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more.Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste.This act going into effect February 10 2009 and so many people will be affected: Moms who sew beautiful handmade dolls out of home, artists who have spent decades hand-carving trucks and cars out of natural woods, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their goods. Not without investing tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that items that never had a single toxic chemical in them still dont have a single toxic chemical in them.-Vote for amending the law on Change.org if they get enough votes it will be presented to President Obama in January!
      Answer3:Its a new consumer product safety law designed to prevent people from selling toys (or any item for children) that contain unacceptably high levels of lead. Theyre trying to prevent a repeat of what happened a year or two ago, when the US was innundated with all those lead-painted toys from China.I think the people writing the law were in too much of a hurry to rush it into service and didnt think about all the different aspects of it too carefully. I wouldnt be surprised to see some revisions made before the law actually takes effect.I think the people launching petition drives, etc., against it are understandably opposed to the law, but theyre overreacting a little (IMO). The CPSC is a reputable organization and has a good track record for looking out for consumers. Im sure theyll work to make the law a little more reasonable. Just give them some time.