Makers of Small Toys - Arts & Crafts - HR4040

HR4040 DOOMSDAY FOR A&C MAKERS OF TOYS, CHILDREN'S CLOTHING, etc.

PLEASE HELP THESE PEOPLE AND VOTE AGAINST IT and if possible, contact your Congressman/woman. You may no longer be able to buy lovely hand-made toys and children's clothing at your favorite A&C Festivals and Events. PLEASE HELP THIS PEOPLE. Just take a few minutes.

Toy makers may win lead-testing exemptionRules on lead threatened to hurt those who create handcrafted items Dec. 24, 2008, 8:14PM SAN FRANCISCO — The makers of handcrafted toys received some holiday hope Wednesday with support from a federal agency for proposed exemptions from strict lead-testing regulations they feared could put them out of business.

Last year's discovery of lead paint in mass-market toys prompted the government to pass new safety rules requiring testing and labeling that mom-and-pop workshops and retailers said they could not afford.As a February deadline for complying with the law loomed, toy makers who use materials such as unfinished wood, organic cotton and beeswax sought exemptions from the rules.In a memo released Wednesday, Consumer Product Safety Commission staffers recommended that the agency exempt some natural materials from the lead testing requirements continue this story but please come back and read the rest of this important blog entry.

Here is more info on HR4040.For more information on this please check

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-4040 This is about the HR4040 bill that was passed in December.Here is what somebody wrote on their blog.

The following are from a couple fellow 'crafters' and is quite interesting to read.http://pinaforesandknickerbockers.blogspot.com/2008/12/disturbing-law.html

http://babyswagspr.wordpress.com/2008/12/23/supporting-small-businesses-cpsia-law-issues/

Help Save Handmade Toys in the USA from the CPSIA - Hand-made Toy Alliance. http://sites.google.com/site/handmadetoyalliance/ You can vote here or get info on contacting Congress about this matter.

Save Handmade Toys From the CPSIA http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

I can see a lot of people will be taking an interest in the toy issue as it involves the crafters. There are a number of people out there who make children's clothing for a living and sell at various events. Also affected could be the makers of children's toys or the vendors that import toys from China or anyplace else. Sounds like big problems for some vendors and if I were in their shoes, I would be mighty worried right now. As if the vendors don't have expenses already, they could possibly have to pay around $85 per test. I'll bet that the company that produces testing products is going to make a lot of money out of this and it would not surprise me if they put money in our Congressman's/woman's pockets.