The CPSIA was passed in 2008 as a reaction to the recalled toys with lead right before Christmas, 2007. The intent of the legislation was good--to put even stricter laws in place banning lead in toys. Of course, lead in toys was already banned by US law, and the percentage of toys recalled for lead content has been miniscule compared to the number of toys on the market. Nonetheless, the new law was passed.
The new law basically bans lead levels of over 600ppm for any children's toy (later down to 300ppm in August, 2009) AND requires that manufacturers have each component of every toy they produce, and every batch of toys they produce, independently tested and and certified, with certificates of compliance provided to retailers. Some of the compliance provisions of this law have been delayed until February, 2010.
Sounds great on paper...but the problems with this law are legion and may have the reverse effect of what the law intended. The intent of the law was to make it even harder for Chinese importers to sell toys with lead in them in the USA. Unfortunately, the only companies that can afford to test for lead in the manner that the law has provided are the very largest toy companies....which....you guessed it....produce all their toys in China.
Several toy manufacturers based in Europe have already dropped out of the US market due to this ill thought-out law (even though their toys already comply with strict European toy standards!). Most US manufacturers of toys and dolls are very small, and cannot afford to comply with this law at all.
Another big problem with this law is how poorly written it is. Many major issues regarding this law are so unclear that small toy retailers and doll artists and toymakers nationwide referred to February 10th, 2009 as National Bankruptcy Day! For instance, my family owns a small toy store. As of right now, we are still unsure whether or not some dolls and toys currently in our inventory are considered "banned Hazardous substances" under US law (not because these toys contain lead--we are sure they don't--but because they are made by small manufacturers that haven't provided us with compliance certificates. That's right--it doesn't matter that a toy is totally safe with zero lead--under this law, if the expensive testing hasn't been done, the item is a banned hazardous substance). If the law is interpreted as such, most small toy stores will be out of business, and there will not be enough room in hazardous waste dumps for all the now illegal toys.
What about a small, independent doll maker who makes rag dolls for children? How about a mom that makes Barbie doll clothing in her spare time? Thanks to this law, since they will not be able to afford the very expensive lead testing for items such as buttons and zippers, they are also out of business if the law stands as it currently is.
Do you want to have a garage sale and include some of your dolls? According to this law as currently written, resale is not exempt and you will also be breaking the law. How about vintage Barbie dolls? Those were manufactured for children originally. This law is supposed to apply to all dolls and toys manufactured for use by children under the age of 12 prior to February 10, 2009 (those Barbies might also be considered illegal thanks to the new phalates guidelines, another part of the CPSIA). Never mind that these vintage Barbies now cost hundreds of dollars each, displayed in cabinets and certainly never given to children. Antique and vintage dolls of all kinds are in a similar situation unless this law is amended/qualified to be clearer and given sensible exemptions.
Many of us in the industry were waiting for a ruling on exemptions to the CPSIA that came out today. Unfortunately, the exemptions that were promulgated were extremely narrow and exempt only certain electronic products plus certain natural products, such as wool, gems, pearls, and cotton. These exemptions do not go far enough for handcrafted and made in the USA items, and more clear clarifications regarding existing inventory and secondary sales of items manufactured prior to February 10, 2009 are sorely needed.
Many feel that the intent of this law is good, but the implementation is an over-reaction...like killing an ant with a semi-truck. This is not what the US economy needs, especially right now, during the worse economic conditions since the Great Depression.
If you are concerned about the CPSIA you should immediately contact your representatives in Congress. If you would like to read further about the CPSIA, there are many sites on the Internet with extensive information, including the handmadetoyalliance.org, Change.org, Etsy, and the Seller Central boards on eBay.com.
