H.R. 4040 sucks!

Some of you may be aware of the current legislation to deal with harmful chemicals in toys, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 4040). For info, see the CPSC's website. There are numerous problems with the legislation, as it is written, and my primary concern is that it mean's Bree's business, Hot Tea Apparel, will need to close shop.

Here's the disappointing letter I received from my Congressman, Jay Inslee, whom I enthusiastically vote for every chance I get:

January 14, 2009

Dr. Ted Scott
6211 145th Ave NE
Redmond, WA 98052

Dear Dr. Scott:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (H.R. 4040). I appreciate hearing from you and apologize for the delay in my response.

I would like you to know that I understand your concerns regarding H.R. 4040. Even though it may take time to meet new standards, I hope that we agree that the safety of children's products should be a top priority. I believe that the products on America's shelves should adhere to the safest possible requirements decided upon by scientific evidence.

As you know, H.R. 4040, which passed the House of Representatives by a vote margin of 424 to 1, was signed into law on August 14, 2008. Beginning February 10, 2009, this law bans the sale of children's products containing more than 600 parts per million total lead. It also outlines certain children's products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 that cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys. These regulations have been adopted to protect America's children from hazardous and sometimes lethal substances.

Additionally, H.R. 4040 mandates third-party testing before many toys go on the market. It also requires the CPSC to review voluntary safety standards for toys and, when found inadequate, requires that mandatory standards be adopted. You may be pleased to know that the new safety law does not require resellers (thrift or consignment stores) to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless the reseller has verification of testing or other information to indicate the products being sold has less than the new limit. Retailers must comply with the law and have verification that the children's products they sell are in compliance of the new law. Further, please know that I have asked my staff to convey your concerns regarding implementation issues of third party testing with the Energy and Commerce Committee as well as the CPSC.

Should you have any additional questions regarding the implementation of this new law, I encourage you to contact my office or visit http://www.cpsc.gov/ for the newest information. Please contact me via email, telephone, or fax, because security measures in the House cause delays in receiving postal mail. For more information on my activities in Congress, and for information on services that my office can provide, please visit my website at http://www.house.gov/inslee. If you would like to subscribe to my email updates, please visit http://www.house.gov/inslee/signup.htm.

Very truly yours,

JAY INSLEE
Member of Congress

Here's my response:
Thank you for the response, Congressman Inslee.

Actually, while I am happy that thrift stores are now given more leeway, I am not very happy with the remaining content of H.R. 4040. My wife is a small business owner - her business is creating clothing and accessories for children and adults, with the vast majority of her sales on the children's side. The input for her products are almost exclusively "upcycled" materials (previously manufactured and sold items like t-shirts, sweaters, bicycle inner tubes, Tyvek, to name a few), most of which are obtained from thrift stores or via Craigslist or Freecycle. She uses organic materials whenever possible. However, if H.R. 4040 is enacted as written (or at least as of the latest information available to the public), my wife will have to fold the children's side of her business, which effectively means the business will have to close. She cannot afford to have each and every item tested that would need to be tested.

What H.R. 4040 needs is an "out" for small businesses or those whose business falls under "crafts" created from raw, safe materials. I imagine that smart legislators, such as yourself, could come up with appropriate language that gives businesses whose gross sales fall under some specified amount (e.g. $250,000) or whose primary input capital is raw (fabric, wood) or previously sold material (the burden of testing would have fallen on the previous retailer of the item when it was NEW), a mechanism to stay in business and not require testing, or subsidize the testing to an extremely low cost.

Without changes to H.R. 4040, an enormous number of work-at-home moms and dads, children's furniture makers, publishers of children's books, etc., will be unable to continue working on what they love. In addition, small companies outside the US will be unable to market their goods in the US due to the increased cost. Case in point, Selecta Spielzug, maker of wonderful games for adults and children, has said they will no longer be able to sell in the US. Their games are constructed almost exclusively of wood, glass and paper, and already meet the standards for sale in the EU. We own several of their games, and they are family favorites. For reference, please see the post at Amazon.com about Selecta's decision:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/post/PLNK3CAM978F92K94

This post happens to be written by my wife.

Please reconsider H.R. 4040 as it has been written to allow for small businesses such as my wife's to continue operating. Please don't stifle the American dream of running a business for so many other work-at-home moms, dads, woodworkers and other crafters. Please ensure that the legislation serves more than just the giant corporate toy companies, especially in our current economic crisis.

Thank you,
Ted Scott