MIRANDA!
Congratulations, Miranda! I always knew you were a winner!
Thanks to everyone who participated. All in all, nineteen of you wrote to your congresspersons on my behalf, which is about fourteen more than I had expected! I am deeply appreciative to those of you who took five minutes out of your YouTube time to participate.
AND the big news is that all of that pressure did help. We have been granted a stay of execution! The shop can remain open for at least a year, and hopefully that is enough time to get this mess sorted out in a way that ensures that products for kids are safe and free of dangerous chemicals without pushing little handmade goods out of business.
Here is the article about the stay:
Congratulations, Miranda! I always knew you were a winner!
Thanks to everyone who participated. All in all, nineteen of you wrote to your congresspersons on my behalf, which is about fourteen more than I had expected! I am deeply appreciative to those of you who took five minutes out of your YouTube time to participate.
AND the big news is that all of that pressure did help. We have been granted a stay of execution! The shop can remain open for at least a year, and hopefully that is enough time to get this mess sorted out in a way that ensures that products for kids are safe and free of dangerous chemicals without pushing little handmade goods out of business.
Here is the article about the stay:
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously
(2-0) to issue a one year stay of enforcement for certain testing and certification requirements for manufacturers and importers of regulated products, including products intended for children 12 years old and younger. These requirements are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which added certification and testing requirements for all products subject to CPSC standards or bans.
Significant to makers of children’s products, the vote by the Commission provides limited relief from the testing and certification requirements which go into effect on February 10, 2009 for new total lead content limits (600 ppm), phthalates limits for certain products (1000 ppm), and mandatory toy standards, among other things. Manufacturers and importers – large and small – of children’s products will not need to test or certify to these new requirements, but will need to meet the lead and phthalates limits, mandatory toy standards and other requirements.
The decision by the Commission gives the staff more time to finalize four proposed rules which could relieve certain materials and products from lead testing and to issue more guidance on when testing is required and how it is to be conducted.
The stay will remain in effect until February 10, 2010, at which time a Commission vote will be taken to terminate the stay.