Amend the CPSIA Testimony

by Cecilia Leibovitz

Published April 10, 2009 @ 07:36PM PT

Following is my written testimony for the Amend the CPSIA website (you can view the recorded version here and other speakers here.

If you own a children's product company, please consider submitting your own testimony about how the CPSIA has affected your life and business.  Your testimony will serve as an important contribution to the growing body of evidence that shows why this law doesn't work. Please submit your testimony to webcontent AT amendthecpsia DOT com by April 15, and it will be published to the Amend the CPSIA website.

Guidelines for writing your testimony:

1- Introduce yourself and your business. Explain what you do, how long you've been in business, and any other significant facts.
2- Explain how the law has affected your business. What has been or will be the impact? Include economic repercussions and any stats.
3- If appropriate focus on the section of CPSIA that is causing you the most problems (lead, retroactivity, tracking labels etc.)
4- Call for Congress to fix the flaws in the law.

My testimony:

Craftsbury Kids is a retail company providing handmade toys, clothing, and gift items made by nearly 100  artists in the US and Europe. Most of the products we sell are made of natural fibers, in limited runs, or are one of a kind. By limited, I mean batches of 10 or less.  My business was founded around the concept that our product line would serve two important functions-
1- A livelihood for American crafters.
2- An alternative to mass-produced, fad-based items that dominate the children's marketplace.
It also happens to provide the sole means of income for my family of six.

Our customer base is made up of parents, grandparents, and gift givers who see the value in giving children quality handmade items that last. Even with the condition of the economy, our sales have remained steady.

Of the nearly 100 artists we represent, all but 3 will be forced to close their doors if changes are not made to CPSIA. And I will be left with almost nothing to offer my customers.

There is a marked difference between items produced in the home of a hand-crafter, and those made by machines, assembly line fashion in a large factory. For thousands of years adults have been making toys and clothing for children, sometimes out of necessity, but equally as important, from the kindness of their hearts, and the patient labor of their hands. And CPSIA requires that this kind of handwork, produced over many hours, be destroyed in order to be proven free of lead and phthalates. 

Ironically, the items I offer pose no lead or phthalates risk, yet it is required that they be tested.  This law literally makes it impossible for my business model to remain in existence. The process by which testing needs to be done destroys the sample. But in our case, there often is no sample because of the one of a kind nature of many of our products.  The outrageous cost of testing ensures that even handcrafters producing small runs, will be pushed out of the market.

CPSIA brings a tradition that has existed since well before any of us were here, to a complete standstill. This law is poised to render our society one which is void of creativity, individuality, and options for children. Is this the legacy we want to leave them? If the answer is no, then the CPSIA must be amended to allow small innovative businesses to remain in business.