More Information about the New Law

A reader provided us with another helpful link to a wealth of information over at Fashion-Incubator. Please note that this is a forum where readers can also post so don't forget there will be opinions and interpretations posted that are not those of the Fashion-Incubator staff. (You can see who the moderators and administrators are when viewing the posts so that helps.) However, there is a great area of postings with links and information about the law that can help guide you along with the links we provided previously. In order to know what is fact or falsehood in the many things you may read about this law, we advise that you view the law itself as it is written before reading articles where other people interpret it for you. There is a direct link to that law in the previous post below. We know this is overwhelming and confusing but hope we can all ban together to find a way to force change that will benefit all American businesses as well as consumers. We all agree we want our children better protected and now we can work toward a common goal. Feel free to continue to post here your thoughts on this situation.

Visit the forums at Fashion Incubator here.

Also note that there are some great links that will help you get your voice heard. The people at Fashion-Incubator have really done their homework and have put together very organized discussions that provide the most information we have seen on this law. You can have your voice heard in response to the law and get help doing so at this site. Take the time to read through the postings from the mods over there. It is worth your business to do so.

New CPSC/CPSIA in effect February 10, 2009

Many of you are already aware of this new law and how it will effect your business in some way. We know there is alot of information out there in the different chat groups and designer boards and some if it is very confusing. Honestly, we aren't sure ourselves about some of the facts or falsehoods being told about this law. What we do know is that the law covers products made for children under the age of 12. It covers all items, including handmade clothing and accessories. Therefore, we need to act fast to find out how we can be heard in getting this law amended.

The fact is, the law is very necessary in protecting our children from dangerous products. After the huge recall of products from China, we understand and agree with the necessity of a law to prevent something like that from happening again. However, from what we can see, the way original bill was written, the irony is that most American Manufacturers and small businesses will be out of business while the China based companies will most likely flourish. Many of you have been very proactive in writing to your local and state officials about this law and you need to keep doing so. We also need to become better educated on how this law will affect us. It appears this law has been amended several times since being passed. The question is how will the final law affect your business? That is something we are not equipped to answer for you. Since we are not attorneys who can interpret this law for you, we have found several resources we hope will help.

We found some great links posted in some of the discussion boards that may help you become better informed as well as offer help in getting your voice heard on this matter.

We hope this helps and will continue to search for information as it becomes available.

The Handmade Toy Alliance Organization

The CPSC Official Website & Current Legislation

Form Letter Help & Links to Your Legislators

Below is the actual law that goes into effect in February 2009. HR4040 was the Bill that was passed, however it is now a Senate Bill with the name and numbers listed in the documents linked below. This is link is to the actual law documentation.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

There are 6 versions of this Bill. The final version listed in this link appears to be the Improvement Act linked above. If you click on it, you will see a breakdown of each section of the law and it should read like the link above.

Versions of HR4040

Please note that the information we have provided to you is done so as a public service. We are not giving you legal advice and can not guide you in how to handle your business. But we will continue to update you on any information we find pertaining to this law. Feel free to leave a comment about this and share your insight for fellow designers.

Sugar Snap Launch with Trendy Textiles

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