Friday, January 16, 2009

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

I am not a very political guy. I pay attention, I vote, I am overwhelmed, so I think about furniture design or something.  Since I have had kids, I have been inspired to create things for them.  How could I not?  As a result I have had several products that I thought had legs and might work for me.  Jumping into the kiddie product market is no picnic.  I got bullied and spanked and sent to my room with no dinner by the industry and that was before the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act!  With this bill, we are looking at a major change in the proliferation and availability of any toys outside of the big hitters of the toy industry.  Guys like me will no longer be able to offer products for the under 12 year old set.  If you want to buy a hand made toy car you better be prepared to pay the $1500 it is going to cost the groovy toy maker to get it inspected for lead, even though he whittled it out driftwood.  The other option is to head to the seedy part of town and get them from some creep in an alley.  
"Yo, Psst... handmade wooden animals from Germany, check it out."


1 comment:

  1. I don't think many people outside the industry are aware of Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. This is a pernicious law, and it comes at a great time in our economic crisis...in a country where the vast majority of jobs are filled in small businesses. Collateral damage? Congress and the Senate are the enemy, possums.

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