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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The End of All Small Businesses That Produce Childrens Items??
Some of you may not be aware of all that is taking place currently within our governmental system in regards to legislation in process that may very likely shut down those of us who own small businesses that sell or manufacture items used by children ages 12 and under.
In a nutshell: most of you remember the concerns that were raised when in 2007, many children's toys and other products were recalled due to high levels of lead, said items having been manufactured in mass quantities in China, and sold to us by large companies here in the US who had outsourced their production of these childrens items. Rightly so, Americans were outraged, and the US Congress stepped in to protect us.
This from www.change.org, "they [the US Congress] passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children's products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number." (Italics mine).
While this appears to be a great step taken to protect American children from tainted products, there are myriad problems with the legislation and the way it currently is written.
Again, from www.change.org: "All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational companies to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each item have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their systems to include batch labels. Small businesses however, will likely be driven out of business by the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of as much as $4,000 or more per item. And the few larger manufacturers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.
Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more. Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste, and placing an enormous strain on our landfills.
There is a clear disconnect between the sweeping nature of this law, and the narrow range of products that were problematic in 2007. The CPSIA applies standards that were put in place in reaction to the sale of toys contaminated with lead paint and toxic plastics. Rather than focus on these materials, this law places a guilty until proven innocent mentality on all children's product producers by imposing mandatory testing and certification, and in the process will kill an entire industry."
This law, if enacted as currently written, will close down thousands of small businesses, including mine. In these economically difficult times, this will only serve to increase the hardships families are suffering from and increase the jobless rate. I encourage you to contact your senators and congress-people to implore them to provide exemptions for those of us whose products in no way violate these laws or impose and danger to our children.
FYI-- the fabrics that I currently use to craft the beautiful baby carriers available on my website, www.babysosmart.com, are already safe-- the levels of possible contaminants are well-under what the government is deeming acceptable and safe with these laws. However, if I continued to function and manufacture and sell baby carriers after February 10th, the government would state that I am violating the law by producing and selling "hazardous materials", which is NOT true, and I could potentially be fined up to $5 million and face jail time.
Please, please take the time to read the full explanation of all that will happen to America on February 10, 2009 by going to www.change.org, and then also contact those indivual senators and congress people who can grant us exemptions.
Thank you so much for reading this.
In a nutshell: most of you remember the concerns that were raised when in 2007, many children's toys and other products were recalled due to high levels of lead, said items having been manufactured in mass quantities in China, and sold to us by large companies here in the US who had outsourced their production of these childrens items. Rightly so, Americans were outraged, and the US Congress stepped in to protect us.
This from www.change.org, "they [the US Congress] passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) in August 2008. Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in children's products, mandates third party testing and certification, and requires manufacturers of all goods for children under the age of 12, to permanently label each item with a date and batch number." (Italics mine).
While this appears to be a great step taken to protect American children from tainted products, there are myriad problems with the legislation and the way it currently is written.
Again, from www.change.org: "All of these changes will be fairly easy for large, multinational companies to comply with. Large manufacturers who make thousands of units of each item have very little incremental cost to pay for testing and updating their systems to include batch labels. Small businesses however, will likely be driven out of business by the costs of mandatory testing, to the tune of as much as $4,000 or more per item. And the few larger manufacturers who still employ workers in the United States face increased costs to comply with the CPSIA, even though American-made toys had nothing to do with the toy safety problems of 2007.
Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more. Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste, and placing an enormous strain on our landfills.
There is a clear disconnect between the sweeping nature of this law, and the narrow range of products that were problematic in 2007. The CPSIA applies standards that were put in place in reaction to the sale of toys contaminated with lead paint and toxic plastics. Rather than focus on these materials, this law places a guilty until proven innocent mentality on all children's product producers by imposing mandatory testing and certification, and in the process will kill an entire industry."
This law, if enacted as currently written, will close down thousands of small businesses, including mine. In these economically difficult times, this will only serve to increase the hardships families are suffering from and increase the jobless rate. I encourage you to contact your senators and congress-people to implore them to provide exemptions for those of us whose products in no way violate these laws or impose and danger to our children.
FYI-- the fabrics that I currently use to craft the beautiful baby carriers available on my website, www.babysosmart.com, are already safe-- the levels of possible contaminants are well-under what the government is deeming acceptable and safe with these laws. However, if I continued to function and manufacture and sell baby carriers after February 10th, the government would state that I am violating the law by producing and selling "hazardous materials", which is NOT true, and I could potentially be fined up to $5 million and face jail time.
Please, please take the time to read the full explanation of all that will happen to America on February 10, 2009 by going to www.change.org, and then also contact those indivual senators and congress people who can grant us exemptions.
Thank you so much for reading this.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Thursday, January 1, 2009
You Inspire Us
Most of my fabric choices and combinations that I use to create all of our beautiful Baby So Smart slings and Mei Tais are inspired by something in my life-- my children, a favorite book, a beautiful natural phenomenon, friends-- and my customers.
In honor of all the inspiration in my life, I have decided to introduce the Baby So Smart "Inspiration" Slings. These slings will be inspired by YOU and will be available in several gorgeous combinations and price ranges, providing something beautiful for everyone.
These slings will be available as single layer slings in two separate but coordinating color combinations, or as one gorgeous reversible sling.
Here's a look at the "Avelyn Eithne" reversible silk sling, inspired by my oldest daughter-- Elegant and beautiful, but subtle. Two gorgeous layers of silk, one a silvery green, the other sugared plum, accented by an elegant coordinating cotton print. Two zippered pockets, to make the sling practical regardless of which way you choose to wear it. Available for $249.
And then the single layered versions:
The "Avelyn" sling (my daughter's first name) . . . a single layer of silvery green silk, accented with sugared plum silk and the coordinating cotton print . . . and the "Eithne" sling (my daughter's middle name) . . . a single layer of sugared plum silk, accented with silvery green silk and the coordinating cotton print.
Each of the single layer slings has one zippered pocket and is not reversible, and will be available for $125.
Here's where you, our customers, come in. I want your input to help inspire me with this astounding line of silk slings.
I invite you to send me your baby's name, along with your favorite color combination, a photo of you with your baby, and tell me a little bit about yourself and what inspires you. If I choose your color combination, that sling will be named after your baby, and you will receive a free reversible, double layer silk sling named for your baby in the color combination that you have suggested.
All entries must be received by midnight, Jan. 15, 2009. Winners will be notified by Jan. 31, 2009, and will receive their sling within 4 weeks. All entries must be submitted to tiffany@babysosmart.com. You may only enter once. Entrants may choose to honor one or more children by combining their children's names in an attractive manner. No more than two names and two color choices submitted per entry. Winning combinations will be chosen based upon: my appreciation of your child's name and my appreciation of the color combination you have chosen. Five winning combinations will be chosen from among entrant's suggestions, hence forming the base for 15 new slings.
Good luck, I look forward to hearing from you-- start submitting!
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