New lead limits big concern for small businesses
By JENNIFER C. KERR
The Associated Press
9:31 p.m. Thursday, August 13, 2009
WASHINGTON — Tighter limits on the amount of lead the government allows in children's products and a requirement for new tracking labels are stirring fear among small business owners, already hurting in a tough economy.
Starting Friday, the new limits and labels are required as part of a consumer product safety law passed by Congress last summer in the wake of dozens of recalls of lead-tainted toys.
Consumer advocates hailed the measures. But some small businesses, like American Educational Products in Fort Collins, Colo. — it sells classroom teaching aids like flash cards, animal models, globes and relief maps — say the testing and labeling costs are crippling to their operations even though their products are safe. They want the law amended to exempt products that present little or no risk to young children.
"The challenge as a small business is that I cannot do it all (the testing) immediately," said Michael Warring, president of AMEP. "I would have to spend a full year of revenue to test every product I sell."
Warring recently laid off four of his 70 employees. In his 15 years with AMEP, he has not had one safety recall or complaint about lead.
Even so, Warring says he is required to test samplings of all products he makes and sells for young children, which he said costs about $2,000 per product. The tracking labels will add another cost, he says, since they must be a permanent marking on each product.
The new chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez Tenenbaum, has tried to reassure businesses that the agency will work with them as it enforces the new requirements.
"We're going to take into account situations where businesses are making the right efforts to manufacture products safer," said her chief spokesman, Scott Wolfson. "We are going to continue to put out new rules and new guidance to help companies in that effort."
The law, known as CPSIA, sets strict standards for lead and chemicals called phthalates when used in toys and products for children 12 and under. Lead can cause irreversible brain damage,
and some studies have linked phthalates to reproductive problems.
The bill was signed into law one year ago. Since then, CPSC rules have been trickling out — explaining who must comply, and how, as well as announcements about delays in enforcement for certain industries.
But the guidance from the agency has been confusing and belated, says Jolie Fay, a mother who runs a home crafts business — Skipping Hippos — making children's jackets and fleece ponchos out of her basement in Portland, Ore.
"My products are mostly fabric, and they're safe," Fay said. "Mom-home sewers are being pulled into this law to meet the same standards as big companies like Fisher-Price. It's not right."
Fay's orders began drying up in February, when the lead limits first became effective. On Friday, the limits tighten further, with the amount of lead allowed in kids' products decreasing to 300 parts per million and 90 ppm for lead paint.
Fay had all the fabrics and buttons tested on her clothing, and she says there was no lead. Still, she says, boutiques stopped calling in orders, too worried that they might lose inventory if a test later turned up positive for lead.
CPSC has issued guidance that natural fabrics like cotton and silk are exempt from the rules, but zippers, buttons and snaps are not.
Wolfson says the agency is working hard to hear the concerns of small business. But, he added, they have a "responsibility to know their obligations and comply with these new safety requirements starting on Friday."
Showing posts with label April 1 Rally. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April 1 Rally. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
CPSIA - Carter Wood 6-24 Op-Ed in the Washington Times
Carter Wood of NAM published an excellent Op-Ed on the CPSIA in today's Washington Times:
Lead-footed safety issues
By Carter Wood
June 24, 2009
Washington Times
It's a safe bet that no member of Congress has ever given a speech proudly endorsing a bill to close mom-and-pop businesses, hurt low-income shoppers, cause libraries to discard children's books and ban products ranging from dirt bikes to ballpoint pens.
Last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that did all these things - forcing small businesses to close and punishing manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Yet the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) became law with few warnings - and no congressional floor speeches - about the serious economic harm it would cause.
To be sure, the CPSIA came in response to the public's legitimate concern about dangerous toys and products, especially those contaminated by lead paint. Reports in 2007 produced a media storm and political pressure. Manufacturers and retailers alike welcomed increased funding and staffing for the CPSC. But Congress went further.
The law mandates expensive, destructive products testing. All products intended for children 12 and younger must meet new lower-lead-content standards. All children's products also must include a permanent tracking label.
The first to discover the crushing impact of the law were makers of hand-crafted toys and baby clothes. These small companies and home-based businesses often emphasize their use of natural dyes and other organic components. Demand soared in the wake of reports of dangerous toys imported from China. Then the CPSIA delivered its blow.
At a Capitol Hill rally in April, a representative of the Handmade Toy Alliance detailed the impact. Jill Chuckas of Stamford, Conn, related how the children's clutch ball her Crafty Baby company sells for $16.50 would cost $1,500 to test - a test that destroys the product.
These same "safety" standards and testing requirements apply to used children's clothing, toys and pre-1985 books (potentially printed with lead-containing ink) sold or distributed secondhand. Unable to bear the testing costs and unwilling to risk the legal liability, many thrift stores are simply emptying their shelves. Libraries and used-book stores have packed away children's books.
The April rally also brought home the impact on motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles. Certain metal parts - AZ battery terminals, for example - are made of alloys that contain minute levels of lead. No realistic possibility exists that children will consume the parts, but the CPSIA still bans them.
The Motorcycle Industry Council estimates the law could cost manufacturers and retailers as much as $1 billion annually in lost inventory and sales. There's an individual impact, too. At the rally, champion Motocross rider Rod Yentzer said his family rides 52 weeks a year, but parts are getting hard to come by, threatening the family pastime. He then turned the podium over to his 6-year-old son, Chase. "Please let me have my dirt bike back, and I promise I won't eat my dirt bike," Chase said.
Earlier this month, the law hit yet another target: ballpoint pens. The pens are made with metal points that contain minute amounts of lead. They could never legitimately be considered a health risk, but the CPSC made it clear: Pens targeted for sale to children are banned.
Bound by the law's unambiguous requirements, the CPSC has rejected industry requests for exemptions. Instead, the commission has granted stays of enforcement - in effect, offering to look the other way for a year or two.
"The CPSC is buying you some time in which to go out of business and/or retool your production to meet their standards," commented Sarah Natividad, owner of Curious Workmanship, who produces handmade baby booties in Tooele, Utah. "They don't have the authority to rescind the Catch-22 in the standards, so they're doing the best they can."
Ms. Natividad is one of scores of owners of small, home-based businesses who have turned to online social networking to push Congress to reform the CPSIA. Unfortunately, no legislation is moving; some members have deflected the growing grass-roots criticism by blaming the CPSC's current leadership.
Last week, the Senate unanimously confirmed President Obama's nominee to chair the CPSC, Inez Moore Tenenbaum. Ms. Tenenbaum is well-qualified - a lawyer, former South Carolina superintendent of education and a 2004 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Business and consumer groups urged her quick confirmation.
Still, Ms. Tenenbaum is being put in a difficult position, asked to enforce a flawed law that is destroying businesses and depriving consumers of safe and useful products. Her tasks ahead include not just regulation and enforcement, but persuasion. She must convince Congress of what is already painfully clear to businesses large and small: It's time to fix the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
Carter Wood is a communications adviser for the National Association of Manufacturers.
Lead-footed safety issues
By Carter Wood
June 24, 2009
Washington Times
It's a safe bet that no member of Congress has ever given a speech proudly endorsing a bill to close mom-and-pop businesses, hurt low-income shoppers, cause libraries to discard children's books and ban products ranging from dirt bikes to ballpoint pens.
Last year, Congress overwhelmingly passed a law that did all these things - forcing small businesses to close and punishing manufacturers, retailers and consumers. Yet the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) became law with few warnings - and no congressional floor speeches - about the serious economic harm it would cause.
To be sure, the CPSIA came in response to the public's legitimate concern about dangerous toys and products, especially those contaminated by lead paint. Reports in 2007 produced a media storm and political pressure. Manufacturers and retailers alike welcomed increased funding and staffing for the CPSC. But Congress went further.
The law mandates expensive, destructive products testing. All products intended for children 12 and younger must meet new lower-lead-content standards. All children's products also must include a permanent tracking label.
The first to discover the crushing impact of the law were makers of hand-crafted toys and baby clothes. These small companies and home-based businesses often emphasize their use of natural dyes and other organic components. Demand soared in the wake of reports of dangerous toys imported from China. Then the CPSIA delivered its blow.
At a Capitol Hill rally in April, a representative of the Handmade Toy Alliance detailed the impact. Jill Chuckas of Stamford, Conn, related how the children's clutch ball her Crafty Baby company sells for $16.50 would cost $1,500 to test - a test that destroys the product.
These same "safety" standards and testing requirements apply to used children's clothing, toys and pre-1985 books (potentially printed with lead-containing ink) sold or distributed secondhand. Unable to bear the testing costs and unwilling to risk the legal liability, many thrift stores are simply emptying their shelves. Libraries and used-book stores have packed away children's books.
The April rally also brought home the impact on motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles. Certain metal parts - AZ battery terminals, for example - are made of alloys that contain minute levels of lead. No realistic possibility exists that children will consume the parts, but the CPSIA still bans them.
The Motorcycle Industry Council estimates the law could cost manufacturers and retailers as much as $1 billion annually in lost inventory and sales. There's an individual impact, too. At the rally, champion Motocross rider Rod Yentzer said his family rides 52 weeks a year, but parts are getting hard to come by, threatening the family pastime. He then turned the podium over to his 6-year-old son, Chase. "Please let me have my dirt bike back, and I promise I won't eat my dirt bike," Chase said.
Earlier this month, the law hit yet another target: ballpoint pens. The pens are made with metal points that contain minute amounts of lead. They could never legitimately be considered a health risk, but the CPSC made it clear: Pens targeted for sale to children are banned.
Bound by the law's unambiguous requirements, the CPSC has rejected industry requests for exemptions. Instead, the commission has granted stays of enforcement - in effect, offering to look the other way for a year or two.
"The CPSC is buying you some time in which to go out of business and/or retool your production to meet their standards," commented Sarah Natividad, owner of Curious Workmanship, who produces handmade baby booties in Tooele, Utah. "They don't have the authority to rescind the Catch-22 in the standards, so they're doing the best they can."
Ms. Natividad is one of scores of owners of small, home-based businesses who have turned to online social networking to push Congress to reform the CPSIA. Unfortunately, no legislation is moving; some members have deflected the growing grass-roots criticism by blaming the CPSC's current leadership.
Last week, the Senate unanimously confirmed President Obama's nominee to chair the CPSC, Inez Moore Tenenbaum. Ms. Tenenbaum is well-qualified - a lawyer, former South Carolina superintendent of education and a 2004 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Business and consumer groups urged her quick confirmation.
Still, Ms. Tenenbaum is being put in a difficult position, asked to enforce a flawed law that is destroying businesses and depriving consumers of safe and useful products. Her tasks ahead include not just regulation and enforcement, but persuasion. She must convince Congress of what is already painfully clear to businesses large and small: It's time to fix the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.
Carter Wood is a communications adviser for the National Association of Manufacturers.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
CPSIA- The Rally and the Democrats
The April 1 Fly-In, Rally and Congressional Briefing took place yesterday morning in Washington, D.C. in front of a Standing Room-only crowd. We had attendees who drove through the night to be there, and others that flew in from all over the country. In addition, we had many, many participants who joined us electronically, watching the streaming video or listening to the streaming audio online (http://www.amendthecpsia.com/) and "tweeting" and chatting all throughout the event. We know we had online participants from at least 43 States (Minnesota took the prize, in case you were curious), as well as Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, United Kingdom and Uruguay. This was a truly worldwide event involving an estimated 2,000 people (or more).
The speakers at the Rally included 16 small businesses or individuals (including an eloquent six year old dirt bike racer), one large business and three industry organizations (one was a last minute fill-in for a small business speaker who had to cancel for health reasons), three scientists, plus two Senators and six Representatives. Despite our efforts to entice their participation, we were disappointed to not have even one Democrat legislator as speaker. Notably, Mr. Waxman scheduled a last-minute committee meeting directly opposite our Rally, so presumably he was not favorably inclined to let his fellow Democrats visit HVC201 to be with us. His loss. . . .
Our impressive line-up of legislators engaged the attendees with news flashes like Rep. Joe Barton's announcement of the introduction of HR 1815 Consumer Product Safety Solutions Act of 2009 with 17 co-sponsors, and the revelation by Rep. Cliff Stearns that U.S. government scientists had admitted that the phthalates ban was an over-reaction and was unnecessary, as well as "Inside the Beltway" insights into the pending legislative process. Industry speakers made clear that the widespread and devastating gratuitous harm caused by the CPSIA criscrosses industry, regional and channel of trade lines, and the toxicologists were able to clarify that there is no public health "crisis" to solve or being solved by the CPSIA. Our individual speakers helped make clear that the law is making day-to-day life a lot less fun for many people, too - reducing our quality of life here in America. All together, our speakers made a compelling, reasonable, rational case against the misguided and misconceived CPSIA.
Bringing this convincing message to the Hill is only part of our challenge. Getting some legislative action is the goal. We have legitimized our stance, and proven that the ill effects are real and are not the imagination of easily dismissed "Mommy Bloggers" or "angry young men". Nonetheless, it remains our challenge to convince Democrats to act. Tragically, for reasons that are hard to comprehend, this has become a partisan mess, and the Democrats will not bend on the law, despite our efforts to expose the "unintended consequences" of this evil law. Despite Mr. Barton's entreaty that we can trust the Democrats to do the right thing for our country, the Dems remain resolutely, defiantly deaf to our pleas. Clearly then, our challenge post-Rally is to raise the din to higher and higher levels.
It is frustrating that our job is not done, but the reality is that it just isn't done. I believe that it is getting closer to the time when we must resort to more intensive political activism. If we cannot gain the cooperation of the Democrats, if they stick to their "Just Say No" policy while our businesses melt, our capital is depleted and our jobs are destroyed, our cherished family leisure activities are curtailed, our schools are deprived of needed supplies and teaching materials and our libraries become book prisons, we will have no choice but to identify better representatives and actively work on their behalf to send them to Washington to fix this mess.
The nonsense idea promoted by the Waxman/Rush/Rockefeller/Pryor axis is that the current CPSIA dilemma is somehow Nancy Nord's fault, and if she were replaced as Chairman of the CPSC, all would be well. This contention is hard to fathom in light of the last 23 decisions made by the two current Commissioners, all by a vote of 2-0. Yes, they have voted together 23 times in a row. Would a third vote change those outcomes or make the law any more coherent or flexible? The logic of this argument is baffling to many people - and the Democrats provide no details to back up their puzzling assertion. Perhaps the legislative leaders are looking for a Chairman that is willing to break the law . . . . The demands for a new Chairman are usually paired with a savaging of Nancy Nord for her "role" in this process. She apparently has had enough of the personal attacks, and sent a letter to President Obama dated April 1 (presumably not as an April Fool's joke) asking that he promptly appoint a new CPSC Chairman. In her letter, she helpfully documents the nasty mess the lucky candidate will inherit. No doubt that will be a handy recruitment tool for Mr. Obama. Not to worry though - Mssrs. Waxman, Rush, Rockefeller and Pryor have it all figured out, this next person will work miracles and we will all be delighted with the solutions they magically conjure up. Uh-huh.
The Democrats have a choice - fix the mess they created, or we will find somebody else to do it for them. As the old saying goes, Change the Man, or Change the Man. Henry Waxman, do you hear us?
Rick
The speakers at the Rally included 16 small businesses or individuals (including an eloquent six year old dirt bike racer), one large business and three industry organizations (one was a last minute fill-in for a small business speaker who had to cancel for health reasons), three scientists, plus two Senators and six Representatives. Despite our efforts to entice their participation, we were disappointed to not have even one Democrat legislator as speaker. Notably, Mr. Waxman scheduled a last-minute committee meeting directly opposite our Rally, so presumably he was not favorably inclined to let his fellow Democrats visit HVC201 to be with us. His loss. . . .
Our impressive line-up of legislators engaged the attendees with news flashes like Rep. Joe Barton's announcement of the introduction of HR 1815 Consumer Product Safety Solutions Act of 2009 with 17 co-sponsors, and the revelation by Rep. Cliff Stearns that U.S. government scientists had admitted that the phthalates ban was an over-reaction and was unnecessary, as well as "Inside the Beltway" insights into the pending legislative process. Industry speakers made clear that the widespread and devastating gratuitous harm caused by the CPSIA criscrosses industry, regional and channel of trade lines, and the toxicologists were able to clarify that there is no public health "crisis" to solve or being solved by the CPSIA. Our individual speakers helped make clear that the law is making day-to-day life a lot less fun for many people, too - reducing our quality of life here in America. All together, our speakers made a compelling, reasonable, rational case against the misguided and misconceived CPSIA.
Bringing this convincing message to the Hill is only part of our challenge. Getting some legislative action is the goal. We have legitimized our stance, and proven that the ill effects are real and are not the imagination of easily dismissed "Mommy Bloggers" or "angry young men". Nonetheless, it remains our challenge to convince Democrats to act. Tragically, for reasons that are hard to comprehend, this has become a partisan mess, and the Democrats will not bend on the law, despite our efforts to expose the "unintended consequences" of this evil law. Despite Mr. Barton's entreaty that we can trust the Democrats to do the right thing for our country, the Dems remain resolutely, defiantly deaf to our pleas. Clearly then, our challenge post-Rally is to raise the din to higher and higher levels.
It is frustrating that our job is not done, but the reality is that it just isn't done. I believe that it is getting closer to the time when we must resort to more intensive political activism. If we cannot gain the cooperation of the Democrats, if they stick to their "Just Say No" policy while our businesses melt, our capital is depleted and our jobs are destroyed, our cherished family leisure activities are curtailed, our schools are deprived of needed supplies and teaching materials and our libraries become book prisons, we will have no choice but to identify better representatives and actively work on their behalf to send them to Washington to fix this mess.
The nonsense idea promoted by the Waxman/Rush/Rockefeller/Pryor axis is that the current CPSIA dilemma is somehow Nancy Nord's fault, and if she were replaced as Chairman of the CPSC, all would be well. This contention is hard to fathom in light of the last 23 decisions made by the two current Commissioners, all by a vote of 2-0. Yes, they have voted together 23 times in a row. Would a third vote change those outcomes or make the law any more coherent or flexible? The logic of this argument is baffling to many people - and the Democrats provide no details to back up their puzzling assertion. Perhaps the legislative leaders are looking for a Chairman that is willing to break the law . . . . The demands for a new Chairman are usually paired with a savaging of Nancy Nord for her "role" in this process. She apparently has had enough of the personal attacks, and sent a letter to President Obama dated April 1 (presumably not as an April Fool's joke) asking that he promptly appoint a new CPSC Chairman. In her letter, she helpfully documents the nasty mess the lucky candidate will inherit. No doubt that will be a handy recruitment tool for Mr. Obama. Not to worry though - Mssrs. Waxman, Rush, Rockefeller and Pryor have it all figured out, this next person will work miracles and we will all be delighted with the solutions they magically conjure up. Uh-huh.
The Democrats have a choice - fix the mess they created, or we will find somebody else to do it for them. As the old saying goes, Change the Man, or Change the Man. Henry Waxman, do you hear us?
Rick
Friday, March 27, 2009
CPSIA - Will the Dems Show Up?
With only three business days to go before the Rally, no Democrats have agreed to be seen with us yet. This is both disappointing and surprising - as our message is not and never has been "anti-safety". No, in fact we have long advocated for strong safety. Our disagreement is the means for achieving strong safety. We insist that quantifiable risk of injury must be used to determine what constitutes a safety issue, not arbitrary standards that often are irrelevant to safety and lead to inefficient misallocation of resources. In addition, we have cried out against the negative economic incentives in the law - these rules will devastate our businesses, and as anyone in the "kids" business can tell, it hurts to know that families and schools won't be able to get our products now even though the products are safe. The Democrats publicly reply in Stepford Wives fashion, repeating the mantra that the law is fine as is, and it is the fault of the CPSC that "misinformation" has not been corrected or clarified. Ironically, the Republicans are quick to concede that the bill contains errors and misjudgments, so apparently the Democrats' infallability argument does not apply to everyone who supported the CPSIA in 2008!
I still find it amazing that safety has morphed into a partisan issue in America, where Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of "safety", each claiming the higher ground. In this case, Democrats are seemingly aligned behind arbitrary standards divorced from any assessment of risk of injury. They are also gleeful over heavy penalties and high legal risk, not to mention jackpot justice with independent State Attorney General enforcement of Federal law. On the other side, Republicans seem to be open to a risk-assessment legislative model and retain an open mind about the legitimate concerns of industry over the (many) negative incentives in this law.
The support our movement has enjoyed has largely been a Republican affair. There are ten Senators sponsoring bills to amend the CPSIA (one Democrat) and 32 Representatives sponsoring bills (five Democrats), with a total of ten bills pending. None of the Democrats sponsoring bills have agreed to attend the Rally, incredibly. These six members of Congress have made an important contribution by standing up for change, but their reluctance to be seen at the Rally is disturbing. Where are you, Democrats?
Other members of Congress are working back channels for change. One such person is Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Ms. Klobuchar wrote a detailed letter to Nancy Nord of the CPSC on January 26 outlining many of the familiar (important) flaws in the law. Her state has a high population of ATV users and also is the home of some important companies making products affected by the CPSIA. I happen to know Senator Klobuchar from student days and can attest to her character and intellect. Now we just need her to come to our Rally to learn more about how to fix this broken law.
The Rally will be a historic event, with or without Democrats. The open forum, Internet features, compelling content and public participation will set an example of how democracy is supposed to work. As the world watches our streaming video and audio feeds, poses interactive questions, tweets back and forth to let everyone far and wide know what's happening on the moment, we will be making legislative history. And history will record that no Democrats were there to support this true exercise of democracy in its highest form. Is that how you want to be remembered, Dems?
We'll leave the door open, just in case you change your mind.
Rick
I still find it amazing that safety has morphed into a partisan issue in America, where Democrats and Republicans are on opposite sides of "safety", each claiming the higher ground. In this case, Democrats are seemingly aligned behind arbitrary standards divorced from any assessment of risk of injury. They are also gleeful over heavy penalties and high legal risk, not to mention jackpot justice with independent State Attorney General enforcement of Federal law. On the other side, Republicans seem to be open to a risk-assessment legislative model and retain an open mind about the legitimate concerns of industry over the (many) negative incentives in this law.
The support our movement has enjoyed has largely been a Republican affair. There are ten Senators sponsoring bills to amend the CPSIA (one Democrat) and 32 Representatives sponsoring bills (five Democrats), with a total of ten bills pending. None of the Democrats sponsoring bills have agreed to attend the Rally, incredibly. These six members of Congress have made an important contribution by standing up for change, but their reluctance to be seen at the Rally is disturbing. Where are you, Democrats?
Other members of Congress are working back channels for change. One such person is Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). Ms. Klobuchar wrote a detailed letter to Nancy Nord of the CPSC on January 26 outlining many of the familiar (important) flaws in the law. Her state has a high population of ATV users and also is the home of some important companies making products affected by the CPSIA. I happen to know Senator Klobuchar from student days and can attest to her character and intellect. Now we just need her to come to our Rally to learn more about how to fix this broken law.
The Rally will be a historic event, with or without Democrats. The open forum, Internet features, compelling content and public participation will set an example of how democracy is supposed to work. As the world watches our streaming video and audio feeds, poses interactive questions, tweets back and forth to let everyone far and wide know what's happening on the moment, we will be making legislative history. And history will record that no Democrats were there to support this true exercise of democracy in its highest form. Is that how you want to be remembered, Dems?
We'll leave the door open, just in case you change your mind.
Rick
CPSIA - Update Letter of March 27
Dear Friend,
There is a lot going on in the CPSIA advocacy area. It's time for an update!
The April 1 Fly-In, Rally and Congressional Briefing:
When/Where: The Rally is set for Wednesday, April 1 at 10 AM EST at the Capitol Visitors Center in Rooms HVC201 A&B. Details on how to get there are found at http://amendthecpsia.com/2009/03/maps-directions-capitol-complex-and-event-room/. The Rally will last 1.5 - 2 hours, and afterwards many of us will go on legislative visits.
Who Will Be There? We have invited all 535 Congressmen and Senators, the CPSC, media and the public. At the moment, we have confirmed that five Representatives (Barton, Blackburn, Gingrey, Stearns and Whitfield), one Senator (DeMint) and Governor John Engler (CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers) will address the Rally. We are in discussions with others members of Congress, as well. The line-up of speakers is extensive, from many industries and will include scientists, as well. The list of Sponsors is growing every day - check the website for regular updates: http://amendthecpsia.com/2009/03/event-sponsors/.
Website: I urge you to explore our exciting Rally website, http://www.amendthecpsia.com/. This brand new, content-packed website is constantly being updated and has wonderful resources, blogs and links to put you in contact with the community of CPSIA protestors. You will be amazed at how diverse and committed the community is - explore and learn!
Subscribe and Register: To receive regular updates from the website, you need to SUBSCRIBE. This is easy - just complete this screen and follow the instructions: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=AmendtheCPSIARally&loc=en_US. If you are attending the Rally, we would appreciate it if you would kindly register: http://amendthecpsia.com/registration/.
How To Participate if You Cannot Attend in Person: We are providing a LIVE webcasting of the Rally at our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/. There will be a live video and audio feed direct from the Rally. If you must be away from the computer, we will also provide an audio feed by phone (call 312-878-0222, access code 656-413-666). [We will post the video and audio afterwards if you want to watch the Rally later.] The website will allow you to pose questions for the speakers (although Q&A time may be short, unfortunately). Another interesting event feature will be a Twitter.com dialog box on our website home page where Twitter reporters can post "tweets" about both the Rally as it happens, and meetings with legislators before and after the Rally. You can be a Twitter reporter, too - everyone experiencing this event can contribute. You may want to monitor the Twitter dialog box throughout the day to see reactions to the event, and to follow fast breaking developments and on-the-spot reporting. Finally, we are inviting written testimony from the speakers, as well as from any interested party (see http://amendthecpsia.com/call-for-testimony/). There are many ways to participate - this event is for EVERYONE.
It is worth noting that an inspiration for this Rally was our strong feeling of exclusion from the legislative process. Even getting our opinions on the record proved IMPOSSIBLE. Ultimately, it became clear that the only way we could get on the record was to create our OWN record. Thus, the Rally! It is interesting to reflect on this event as a demonstration of true democratic principles at work, a Civics lesson for those who would exclude us. The totally open platform, shared worldwide via the Internet LIVE for all to see and for all to participate in, is intended to set an example for involving interested parties in the legislative process. We are opening up our record for anyone to contribute written testimony - an open debate means an open record, so I hope you will avail yourself of the opportunity to go on record and be heard. Let this expression of true democracy, government by the People, be heard in Washington by the legislators who will determine our fate!
GEAR! You can support the event and show where you stand by purchasing Amend The CPSIA Gear at http://www.cafepress.com/AmendCPSIA. Thank you for showing your support!
Dingell Letters: You and many other people answered the call to respond to Rep. John Dingell's March 4th letter to the Commissioners of the CPSC. We met his short deadline of March 13 with more than 150 pages of replies. The honesty and compelling nature of these letters has certainly left Mr. Dingell with lots to think about. Thank you for participating in this important letter-writing process. We are posting some of these letters on our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/.
CPSC Calls for Comments: Please keep monitoring http://www.cpsc.gov/ for the CPSC's open calls for comment. The dreaded tracking label implementing rules are being considered right now, with a pending request for comments. Make your opinion heard!
Surveys: Finally, please be sure to follow up on the economic survey put out by the AAFA. I addressed this in my March 19 letter. The survey links are as follows and ARE DUE BY MARCH 31. The more participation, the better for all of us.
For Retailers:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Jms1V_2fuQ3VItF5sv7mbC8g_3d_3d
For Manufacturers/Wholesalers, etc:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JTkc_2bqp7JhD6pQjcLRBONg_3d_3d
Thanks.
Rick
There is a lot going on in the CPSIA advocacy area. It's time for an update!
The April 1 Fly-In, Rally and Congressional Briefing:
When/Where: The Rally is set for Wednesday, April 1 at 10 AM EST at the Capitol Visitors Center in Rooms HVC201 A&B. Details on how to get there are found at http://amendthecpsia.com/2009/03/maps-directions-capitol-complex-and-event-room/. The Rally will last 1.5 - 2 hours, and afterwards many of us will go on legislative visits.
Who Will Be There? We have invited all 535 Congressmen and Senators, the CPSC, media and the public. At the moment, we have confirmed that five Representatives (Barton, Blackburn, Gingrey, Stearns and Whitfield), one Senator (DeMint) and Governor John Engler (CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers) will address the Rally. We are in discussions with others members of Congress, as well. The line-up of speakers is extensive, from many industries and will include scientists, as well. The list of Sponsors is growing every day - check the website for regular updates: http://amendthecpsia.com/2009/03/event-sponsors/.
Website: I urge you to explore our exciting Rally website, http://www.amendthecpsia.com/. This brand new, content-packed website is constantly being updated and has wonderful resources, blogs and links to put you in contact with the community of CPSIA protestors. You will be amazed at how diverse and committed the community is - explore and learn!
Subscribe and Register: To receive regular updates from the website, you need to SUBSCRIBE. This is easy - just complete this screen and follow the instructions: http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=AmendtheCPSIARally&loc=en_US. If you are attending the Rally, we would appreciate it if you would kindly register: http://amendthecpsia.com/registration/.
How To Participate if You Cannot Attend in Person: We are providing a LIVE webcasting of the Rally at our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/. There will be a live video and audio feed direct from the Rally. If you must be away from the computer, we will also provide an audio feed by phone (call 312-878-0222, access code 656-413-666). [We will post the video and audio afterwards if you want to watch the Rally later.] The website will allow you to pose questions for the speakers (although Q&A time may be short, unfortunately). Another interesting event feature will be a Twitter.com dialog box on our website home page where Twitter reporters can post "tweets" about both the Rally as it happens, and meetings with legislators before and after the Rally. You can be a Twitter reporter, too - everyone experiencing this event can contribute. You may want to monitor the Twitter dialog box throughout the day to see reactions to the event, and to follow fast breaking developments and on-the-spot reporting. Finally, we are inviting written testimony from the speakers, as well as from any interested party (see http://amendthecpsia.com/call-for-testimony/). There are many ways to participate - this event is for EVERYONE.
It is worth noting that an inspiration for this Rally was our strong feeling of exclusion from the legislative process. Even getting our opinions on the record proved IMPOSSIBLE. Ultimately, it became clear that the only way we could get on the record was to create our OWN record. Thus, the Rally! It is interesting to reflect on this event as a demonstration of true democratic principles at work, a Civics lesson for those who would exclude us. The totally open platform, shared worldwide via the Internet LIVE for all to see and for all to participate in, is intended to set an example for involving interested parties in the legislative process. We are opening up our record for anyone to contribute written testimony - an open debate means an open record, so I hope you will avail yourself of the opportunity to go on record and be heard. Let this expression of true democracy, government by the People, be heard in Washington by the legislators who will determine our fate!
GEAR! You can support the event and show where you stand by purchasing Amend The CPSIA Gear at http://www.cafepress.com/AmendCPSIA. Thank you for showing your support!
Dingell Letters: You and many other people answered the call to respond to Rep. John Dingell's March 4th letter to the Commissioners of the CPSC. We met his short deadline of March 13 with more than 150 pages of replies. The honesty and compelling nature of these letters has certainly left Mr. Dingell with lots to think about. Thank you for participating in this important letter-writing process. We are posting some of these letters on our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/.
CPSC Calls for Comments: Please keep monitoring http://www.cpsc.gov/ for the CPSC's open calls for comment. The dreaded tracking label implementing rules are being considered right now, with a pending request for comments. Make your opinion heard!
Surveys: Finally, please be sure to follow up on the economic survey put out by the AAFA. I addressed this in my March 19 letter. The survey links are as follows and ARE DUE BY MARCH 31. The more participation, the better for all of us.
For Retailers:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Jms1V_2fuQ3VItF5sv7mbC8g_3d_3d
For Manufacturers/Wholesalers, etc:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JTkc_2bqp7JhD6pQjcLRBONg_3d_3d
Thanks.
Rick
Thursday, March 26, 2009
CPSIA - Safety is a Non-Partisan Issue . . . Isn't it???
We are busy organizing our CPSIA Fly-In, Rally and Congressional Briefing for next Wednesday, April 1 in Washington, D.C. Part of our effort is to include members of Congress in our line-up of speakers. We reached out to many members on both sides of the aisle looking for volunteers to appear in front of our group. So far, we have commitments from one Senator (DeMint), five Representatives (Barton, Blackburn, Gingrey, Stearns, Whitfield) and one ex-Governor (Engler) - all Republicans. No Democrats are apparently willing to speak in public to our group. One unnamed Democratic member of Congress even conveyed to us that he/she wanted to appear to tell us that we are being heard and help is on the way, but was told in no uncertain terms by "leadership" that an appearance would not be permitted. What's going on? I thought everyone was in favor of safety - it shouldn't be an issue that Democrats and Republicans disagree on.
Unfortunately, what's going on is that there is a major turf war underway, and we are caught in the middle. The CPSIA is being claimed as a hard-fought and emblematic achievement of the Democratic Party leadership and it thus appears that opposition to the defective law is seen as opposition to these leaders. Hence, Democrats aren't allowed to speak publicly with common sense on the CPSIA - they have to tow the Party line of infallibility, regardless of how strained it is. Any Democratic member of Congress daring to defy Party leadership by acknowledging the flaws in the law and calling for fixes, risks isolation or other punishments. This sad state of affairs only magnifies the significance of John Dingell's March 4 letter to the Commissioners of the CPSC which I interpret as a major breach in the ranks.
I have long had the sense that democratic principles were somehow sacrificed in the CPSIA debacle. The closed door bargaining, limited legislative investigation with sources certain to give convenient answers, cancelled hearings when opposing voices might be heard publicly, the generally frosty and sometimes rude reception to opposing viewpoints, all were signs that that fix was in, and our participation in the process was unwanted (and perceived to be unneeded). This is not right - the People are still Congress' employers and deserve a role in rulemaking that affects their destiny so directly. Hence, we felt the Rally was a necessary response to our permanent exclusion from the legislative process. Reaching this conclusion is both shocking and terrifying. We need to take our government back.
It seems to me that the Democratic leadership needs a Civics lesson. [Interestingly, we are told that at least one High School U.S. Government class will be watching our Rally and using it as course material to learn about democratic processes!] Apparently, the Democrats feel that an open exchange of views on the CPSIA is dangerous and out of the question. Isn't that pathetic? I guess the Obama Revolution didn't last too long. . . . To demonstrate how a truly transparent, democratic process functions, we expect to offer the following interactive, participatory features for the Rally through our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/:
1. Streaming audio and video LIVE during the event.
2. Interactive features allowing viewers to pose questions to the floor of the Rally.
3. A call-in number so you can listen to the speeches on your phone if you have to leave the computer.
4. A live Twitter.com "tweet" feed on the home page of the Rally website for on-the-spot reporting all day long.
5. Written testimony not only from speakers but also from all other interested parties. See http://www.amendthecpsia.com/ for more details if you want to submit testimony.
All of this will be provided free-of-charge to encourage wide public participation in our process.
It's time that Democrats join the democracy - come speak at our Rally and participate in an open and free debate on much-needed changes to the CPSIA. Avoiding the Rally won't make us go away, and it won't make all the information generated at the Rally go away either. That's what our website is for.
See you on Wednesday. It will be a big day for us and for our democracy!
Rick
Unfortunately, what's going on is that there is a major turf war underway, and we are caught in the middle. The CPSIA is being claimed as a hard-fought and emblematic achievement of the Democratic Party leadership and it thus appears that opposition to the defective law is seen as opposition to these leaders. Hence, Democrats aren't allowed to speak publicly with common sense on the CPSIA - they have to tow the Party line of infallibility, regardless of how strained it is. Any Democratic member of Congress daring to defy Party leadership by acknowledging the flaws in the law and calling for fixes, risks isolation or other punishments. This sad state of affairs only magnifies the significance of John Dingell's March 4 letter to the Commissioners of the CPSC which I interpret as a major breach in the ranks.
I have long had the sense that democratic principles were somehow sacrificed in the CPSIA debacle. The closed door bargaining, limited legislative investigation with sources certain to give convenient answers, cancelled hearings when opposing voices might be heard publicly, the generally frosty and sometimes rude reception to opposing viewpoints, all were signs that that fix was in, and our participation in the process was unwanted (and perceived to be unneeded). This is not right - the People are still Congress' employers and deserve a role in rulemaking that affects their destiny so directly. Hence, we felt the Rally was a necessary response to our permanent exclusion from the legislative process. Reaching this conclusion is both shocking and terrifying. We need to take our government back.
It seems to me that the Democratic leadership needs a Civics lesson. [Interestingly, we are told that at least one High School U.S. Government class will be watching our Rally and using it as course material to learn about democratic processes!] Apparently, the Democrats feel that an open exchange of views on the CPSIA is dangerous and out of the question. Isn't that pathetic? I guess the Obama Revolution didn't last too long. . . . To demonstrate how a truly transparent, democratic process functions, we expect to offer the following interactive, participatory features for the Rally through our website http://www.amendthecpsia.com/:
1. Streaming audio and video LIVE during the event.
2. Interactive features allowing viewers to pose questions to the floor of the Rally.
3. A call-in number so you can listen to the speeches on your phone if you have to leave the computer.
4. A live Twitter.com "tweet" feed on the home page of the Rally website for on-the-spot reporting all day long.
5. Written testimony not only from speakers but also from all other interested parties. See http://www.amendthecpsia.com/ for more details if you want to submit testimony.
All of this will be provided free-of-charge to encourage wide public participation in our process.
It's time that Democrats join the democracy - come speak at our Rally and participate in an open and free debate on much-needed changes to the CPSIA. Avoiding the Rally won't make us go away, and it won't make all the information generated at the Rally go away either. That's what our website is for.
See you on Wednesday. It will be a big day for us and for our democracy!
Rick
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
CPSIA - If We Can Meet the Standards, Why Do I Still Hate This Law?
An interesting question comes up from time to time: If our company can easily meet the new lead and phthalates standards, why am I so uptight about the CPSIA? It is true that our products will be basically unchanged under the new law, and the few products which we will modify slightly are being changed mainly to avoid ambiguities in the law. My strong position against this law has apparently given some people the impression that we are having trouble with the standards. This was demonstrated most recently at the ICPHSO meeting when I asked a question about reporting compliance, and received a response that implied that my concern must be based in the "difficult nature" of our products. Not so. If we don't perceive a serious issue with complying with the standards for our company, why am I kicking up a fuss?
a. The New Law Changes the Economics of Our Products. Under the new law, we will incur tremendous new costs over time. Each of the following costs will materially affect the economics of each product we sell: (i) testing costs (and we don't even know the required frequency of such testing yet), (ii) tracking label costs on both packaging and product, (iii) administrative costs incurred to monitor legal compliance with a myriad of rules, plus advertising requirements, labelling requirements and reporting requirements, and (iv) legal risks including enforcement actions by State Attorney Generals and the risk of large fines for non-compliance. Risk equals cost (think of sub-prime loans) so even uncertain future expenses must be included in our calculations on some discounted basis. When we calculate the profitability of each item, we must account for all of these (and other) costs. Since the perceived value of our products is inelastic (little pricing power), profitable revenue is very dependent on selling at the right price for us. In addition, having reduced our operating costs significantly to survive the current severe economic downturn, our ability to absorb these additional costs through productivity gains and efficiencies is rather limited. Many items will go from profitable to unprofitable in a blink as this law phases in. This is a non-mass market phenomena, of course. Companies selling in high volumes will not experience many of the problems that we face. Their economics are more favorable since they spread costs over many more units. Companies like ours will be beset with a major Darwinian process devouring their product lines.
b. The New Law Changes the Economics of our Business. The complexity and risk of this law creates new and irresistable incentives to change our business model. The legal risks/costs under this law tend to rise exponentially with the complexity of the tasks one must take on. In other words, the more you try to do (in our case, products we offer for sale), the more likely you are to violate the law. Why? Because of the sheer number of requirements for each item to be compliant, FULLY-COMPLIANT, with the law, the odds of properly complying with the law goes to ZERO with a big product line. And, as the number of tasks rises, focus on what's important will certainly be lost (remember the old saying, when everything's important, NOTHING'S important) which suggests that serious safety issues will RISE even as resources devoted to compliance increase exponentially. A surprising result? No, the more complexity, the more predictable (the more likely) is spectacular failure. This is essentially a statistical argument, which cannot be countered by good intentions, great organization or legions of saints working on your team. "Cops on the beat" won't matter, either (thanks, David Arkush). In another delicious irony of this law, owing to overarching complexity, legal infractions will rise, which consumer groups and regulators will chalk up to low character among children's product companies and call for tougher enforcement . . . . Yes, this will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The risk of failure, and the SEVERE (and ridiculous) penalties possible for failure under the law, makes it foolhardy to stick with a model requiring thousands of items to be sold. Again, the economics won't support that model. The CPSIA wants our company to sell 50 items, not our current 2,000, and wants us to sell them in lots of 50,000 units, not 500-10,000 as we do currently. The longer we defy the CPSIA and its economic incentives, the worse we will do financially. This will also create real disincentives against being a distributor of children's products. It's only a matter of time before these incentives work their magic - the market always responds. Wal-Mart should love it!
c. The New Law Turns Our Business Into A Tedious Bureaucracy - And We Don't HAVE To Do This. Under the CPSIA, we must undertake a number of urgency, zero-tolerance activities that are essentially bureaucratic in nature. For instance, we need to monitor warning labels in our catalogs and on our websites, manage test reporting on multiple standards and posting of such material on a ftp site, manage the perpetual changing of tracking labels on product and packaging throughout the year (estimated to be not less than 20,000 product changes per year at our company - and that could be a low estimate), train and re-train dozens of people annually on a long list of crucial compliance issues, closely manage the evolving regulatory environment (with ever-changing rules, regulations, laws, FAQs, interpretations, seminars, webinars, postings, requests for comments, etc.), and so on. Please note that none of this has anything to do with designing our products, maintaining their basic saleability or safety (yes, safety), marketing our brands or products, investments in infrastructure or people, etc. It's a major diversion of resources to pure paper-pushing.
Why do you think we work so hard at being a great educational company? Why do you think we get up early and stay late, work weekends, go to tradeshows, take calls late into the night? It's not so we can keep busy. Our mission is not to stack paper to the Moon - we want to make the world a better place. I can tell you - the prospect of turning our company into a big CETA project, a bureaucractic branch of the U.S. government, is repellent to me. This vision of our company leaves me feeling short of breath. Can we be expected to keep working as hard or with as much commitment if this happens? I think we would find better things to do with our time and capital. Nothing is more chilling than the thought that our business would be ruined by this terrible diversion of resources and mission.
d. I Cannot Abide the Lack of Trust Implicit in the Law. The CPSIA brands all children's product companies as untrustworthy. We must prove that we comply with law before we enter the chain of commerce, and are never paroled from this over-reaching and terrible requirement. Put into a different context, that's like requiring all American businesses to be audited for compliance with labor laws before being allowed to transact business. Why stop there? Why not require that Starbucks have each cup of coffee tested before handing it over at the drive-through window? There is simply, plainly no reason to be so distrustful basically of ourselves. Who do you think the Children's Product Industry is? It's Wal-Mart and Target, it's Toys R Us, but it's also the local clothing store, the shoe store, the bike store, the ATV rental facility, the jeweler, the schools, the electronics store, many restaurants, the office supply store, the school supply store, and all of their suppliers, and many more institutions. Have I named the employer of 60% of your block yet? The Children's Product Industry is . . . YOU and ME and ALL OF YOUR NEIGHBORS. Are we all really that untrustworthy? I find this insulting and illogical. I bristle under the burden of that slur.
The impact of the CPSIA is far-reaching. The sound bites that sum it up neatly miss the point entirely. There is nothing neat about the law. It's impact will be felt for years in devastation that only slowly manifests itself. This is not an episode of CSI-Miami that gets resolved in 60 minutes. It's more like the slow destruction of an eco-system. That eco-system is your community. It's time to stand up for our rights - this can't happen on our watch!
See you at the April 1 Rally in Washington, D.C. You can get all the details on www.AmendTheCPSIA.com. We also hope to have online streaming if you can't join us in person.
Rick
a. The New Law Changes the Economics of Our Products. Under the new law, we will incur tremendous new costs over time. Each of the following costs will materially affect the economics of each product we sell: (i) testing costs (and we don't even know the required frequency of such testing yet), (ii) tracking label costs on both packaging and product, (iii) administrative costs incurred to monitor legal compliance with a myriad of rules, plus advertising requirements, labelling requirements and reporting requirements, and (iv) legal risks including enforcement actions by State Attorney Generals and the risk of large fines for non-compliance. Risk equals cost (think of sub-prime loans) so even uncertain future expenses must be included in our calculations on some discounted basis. When we calculate the profitability of each item, we must account for all of these (and other) costs. Since the perceived value of our products is inelastic (little pricing power), profitable revenue is very dependent on selling at the right price for us. In addition, having reduced our operating costs significantly to survive the current severe economic downturn, our ability to absorb these additional costs through productivity gains and efficiencies is rather limited. Many items will go from profitable to unprofitable in a blink as this law phases in. This is a non-mass market phenomena, of course. Companies selling in high volumes will not experience many of the problems that we face. Their economics are more favorable since they spread costs over many more units. Companies like ours will be beset with a major Darwinian process devouring their product lines.
b. The New Law Changes the Economics of our Business. The complexity and risk of this law creates new and irresistable incentives to change our business model. The legal risks/costs under this law tend to rise exponentially with the complexity of the tasks one must take on. In other words, the more you try to do (in our case, products we offer for sale), the more likely you are to violate the law. Why? Because of the sheer number of requirements for each item to be compliant, FULLY-COMPLIANT, with the law, the odds of properly complying with the law goes to ZERO with a big product line. And, as the number of tasks rises, focus on what's important will certainly be lost (remember the old saying, when everything's important, NOTHING'S important) which suggests that serious safety issues will RISE even as resources devoted to compliance increase exponentially. A surprising result? No, the more complexity, the more predictable (the more likely) is spectacular failure. This is essentially a statistical argument, which cannot be countered by good intentions, great organization or legions of saints working on your team. "Cops on the beat" won't matter, either (thanks, David Arkush). In another delicious irony of this law, owing to overarching complexity, legal infractions will rise, which consumer groups and regulators will chalk up to low character among children's product companies and call for tougher enforcement . . . . Yes, this will be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The risk of failure, and the SEVERE (and ridiculous) penalties possible for failure under the law, makes it foolhardy to stick with a model requiring thousands of items to be sold. Again, the economics won't support that model. The CPSIA wants our company to sell 50 items, not our current 2,000, and wants us to sell them in lots of 50,000 units, not 500-10,000 as we do currently. The longer we defy the CPSIA and its economic incentives, the worse we will do financially. This will also create real disincentives against being a distributor of children's products. It's only a matter of time before these incentives work their magic - the market always responds. Wal-Mart should love it!
c. The New Law Turns Our Business Into A Tedious Bureaucracy - And We Don't HAVE To Do This. Under the CPSIA, we must undertake a number of urgency, zero-tolerance activities that are essentially bureaucratic in nature. For instance, we need to monitor warning labels in our catalogs and on our websites, manage test reporting on multiple standards and posting of such material on a ftp site, manage the perpetual changing of tracking labels on product and packaging throughout the year (estimated to be not less than 20,000 product changes per year at our company - and that could be a low estimate), train and re-train dozens of people annually on a long list of crucial compliance issues, closely manage the evolving regulatory environment (with ever-changing rules, regulations, laws, FAQs, interpretations, seminars, webinars, postings, requests for comments, etc.), and so on. Please note that none of this has anything to do with designing our products, maintaining their basic saleability or safety (yes, safety), marketing our brands or products, investments in infrastructure or people, etc. It's a major diversion of resources to pure paper-pushing.
Why do you think we work so hard at being a great educational company? Why do you think we get up early and stay late, work weekends, go to tradeshows, take calls late into the night? It's not so we can keep busy. Our mission is not to stack paper to the Moon - we want to make the world a better place. I can tell you - the prospect of turning our company into a big CETA project, a bureaucractic branch of the U.S. government, is repellent to me. This vision of our company leaves me feeling short of breath. Can we be expected to keep working as hard or with as much commitment if this happens? I think we would find better things to do with our time and capital. Nothing is more chilling than the thought that our business would be ruined by this terrible diversion of resources and mission.
d. I Cannot Abide the Lack of Trust Implicit in the Law. The CPSIA brands all children's product companies as untrustworthy. We must prove that we comply with law before we enter the chain of commerce, and are never paroled from this over-reaching and terrible requirement. Put into a different context, that's like requiring all American businesses to be audited for compliance with labor laws before being allowed to transact business. Why stop there? Why not require that Starbucks have each cup of coffee tested before handing it over at the drive-through window? There is simply, plainly no reason to be so distrustful basically of ourselves. Who do you think the Children's Product Industry is? It's Wal-Mart and Target, it's Toys R Us, but it's also the local clothing store, the shoe store, the bike store, the ATV rental facility, the jeweler, the schools, the electronics store, many restaurants, the office supply store, the school supply store, and all of their suppliers, and many more institutions. Have I named the employer of 60% of your block yet? The Children's Product Industry is . . . YOU and ME and ALL OF YOUR NEIGHBORS. Are we all really that untrustworthy? I find this insulting and illogical. I bristle under the burden of that slur.
The impact of the CPSIA is far-reaching. The sound bites that sum it up neatly miss the point entirely. There is nothing neat about the law. It's impact will be felt for years in devastation that only slowly manifests itself. This is not an episode of CSI-Miami that gets resolved in 60 minutes. It's more like the slow destruction of an eco-system. That eco-system is your community. It's time to stand up for our rights - this can't happen on our watch!
See you at the April 1 Rally in Washington, D.C. You can get all the details on www.AmendTheCPSIA.com. We also hope to have online streaming if you can't join us in person.
Rick
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
CPSIA - April 1 Rally UPDATE
I have reproduced the latest version of our Fact Sheet for the April 1 Rally below for your information. A few supplemental bits of info:
a. The Rally is expected to take place in the morning of April 1 from 10-11:30 AM. The location is expected to be the Congressional Visitors Center. The precise location will be confirmed shortly. The afternoon will feature visits to Capitol Hill to see members of Congress to lobby on amending the CPSIA.
TO PARTICIPATE IN A VISIT TO CAPITOL HILL, WE WILL NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, AS WELL AS YOUR ZIP CODE (NINE DIGITS IS BEST). Please email us at AprilRally@AmendTheCPSIA.com with this info ASAP. Thanks. We will then get back to you with details. It will be very helpful to know in advance how many people we should expect at the Rally.
b. We have established a special website for this event, www.AmendTheCPSIA.com. We are creating it now and expect it to go live in a few days. The website is expected to be full of useful content, as well as information about the Rally and events of the day. We will also use the website to allow those of you who want to participate but cannot attend in person. I hope we will be able to announce some nifty democracy-in-action technology soon!
c. The best way to communicate with us is via email at AprilRally@AmendTheCPSIA.com. We are interested in hearing from you and getting your ideas. Please support us by attending the Rally!
This is a fluid situation, please watch this space for updates. I expect to be able to make some announcements about special guests and speakers soon.
Thanks.
Rick
________________________
OVERKILL: HOW THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT IS DAMAGING AMERICAN BUSINESSES
FLY-IN, RALLY AND CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
TO FIX FLAWS IN NEW PRODUCT SAFETY LAW
Washington, DC - April 1, 2009
Implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is following a worst-case scenario for manufacturers, retailers and charities. Thanks to the flaws in this law, millions of perfectly safe products are in the process of being destroyed, costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars in the midst of one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history. Charitable organizations and thrift stores are being forced to pull inventory from their shelves at a time when American families need them more than ever. The supply of science supplies to schools is being curtailed. Youth model ATV and dirt bikes are no longer available creating a safety issue because more than 90% of injuries to kids on ATVs occur on large adult size models. Even libraries are at risk of legal liability for lending children’s books. All of these violations of common sense are being done in the name of “safety”.
From unrealistic compliance deadlines that made it impossible for industry or the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adequately prepare before the law went into effect, to the unprecedented decision to retroactively apply the new lead standards and phthalates ban to inventory already sitting in stores and warehouses, CPSIA is causing massive disruptions to industries across the board, particularly small and medium-sized businesses.
So far, Congress has ignored the calls of thousands of small businesses, charities, parents and teachers to fix the flaws in this legislation, refusing even to hold public hearings on the problem. That’s why business and charitable groups are organizing a fly in, rally and Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress, provide information and bring attention to the CPSIA crisis. Wide participation is anticipated in this unique event to call upon Congress to urgently fix the CPSIA.
Date and Location: April 1, 2009, Capitol Hill [Room TBD]
Speakers will include Members of Congress and representatives from:
· Charitable Organizations
· National Association of Manufacturers
· Small Business owners from various industries affected by CPSIA
· Motorcycle and ATV dealerships
· Publishers and Library Associations
· Product safety and lead experts (to discuss science-based risk assessment)
Confirmed Participating Organizations (as of March 16, 2009)):
· Alliance for Children’s Product Safety
· American Apparel and Footwear Association
· American Motorcycle Association
· Fashion Jewelry Trade Association;
· Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
· Handmade Toy Alliance
· International Sleep Products Association
· Motorcycle Industry Council
· National Association of Manufacturers
· National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops
· National Bulk Vendors Association
· Specialty Vehicle Institute of America
· Toy Industry Association
For additional information, please contact the Alliance for Children's Product Safety at 202-828-7637
a. The Rally is expected to take place in the morning of April 1 from 10-11:30 AM. The location is expected to be the Congressional Visitors Center. The precise location will be confirmed shortly. The afternoon will feature visits to Capitol Hill to see members of Congress to lobby on amending the CPSIA.
TO PARTICIPATE IN A VISIT TO CAPITOL HILL, WE WILL NEED TO KNOW THAT YOU PLAN TO ATTEND, AS WELL AS YOUR ZIP CODE (NINE DIGITS IS BEST). Please email us at AprilRally@AmendTheCPSIA.com with this info ASAP. Thanks. We will then get back to you with details. It will be very helpful to know in advance how many people we should expect at the Rally.
b. We have established a special website for this event, www.AmendTheCPSIA.com. We are creating it now and expect it to go live in a few days. The website is expected to be full of useful content, as well as information about the Rally and events of the day. We will also use the website to allow those of you who want to participate but cannot attend in person. I hope we will be able to announce some nifty democracy-in-action technology soon!
c. The best way to communicate with us is via email at AprilRally@AmendTheCPSIA.com. We are interested in hearing from you and getting your ideas. Please support us by attending the Rally!
This is a fluid situation, please watch this space for updates. I expect to be able to make some announcements about special guests and speakers soon.
Thanks.
Rick
________________________
OVERKILL: HOW THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY IMPROVEMENT ACT IS DAMAGING AMERICAN BUSINESSES
FLY-IN, RALLY AND CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
TO FIX FLAWS IN NEW PRODUCT SAFETY LAW
Washington, DC - April 1, 2009
Implementation of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is following a worst-case scenario for manufacturers, retailers and charities. Thanks to the flaws in this law, millions of perfectly safe products are in the process of being destroyed, costing U.S. businesses billions of dollars in the midst of one of the worst economic crises in U.S. history. Charitable organizations and thrift stores are being forced to pull inventory from their shelves at a time when American families need them more than ever. The supply of science supplies to schools is being curtailed. Youth model ATV and dirt bikes are no longer available creating a safety issue because more than 90% of injuries to kids on ATVs occur on large adult size models. Even libraries are at risk of legal liability for lending children’s books. All of these violations of common sense are being done in the name of “safety”.
From unrealistic compliance deadlines that made it impossible for industry or the Consumer Product Safety Commission to adequately prepare before the law went into effect, to the unprecedented decision to retroactively apply the new lead standards and phthalates ban to inventory already sitting in stores and warehouses, CPSIA is causing massive disruptions to industries across the board, particularly small and medium-sized businesses.
So far, Congress has ignored the calls of thousands of small businesses, charities, parents and teachers to fix the flaws in this legislation, refusing even to hold public hearings on the problem. That’s why business and charitable groups are organizing a fly in, rally and Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress, provide information and bring attention to the CPSIA crisis. Wide participation is anticipated in this unique event to call upon Congress to urgently fix the CPSIA.
Date and Location: April 1, 2009, Capitol Hill [Room TBD]
Speakers will include Members of Congress and representatives from:
· Charitable Organizations
· National Association of Manufacturers
· Small Business owners from various industries affected by CPSIA
· Motorcycle and ATV dealerships
· Publishers and Library Associations
· Product safety and lead experts (to discuss science-based risk assessment)
Confirmed Participating Organizations (as of March 16, 2009)):
· Alliance for Children’s Product Safety
· American Apparel and Footwear Association
· American Motorcycle Association
· Fashion Jewelry Trade Association;
· Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association
· Handmade Toy Alliance
· International Sleep Products Association
· Motorcycle Industry Council
· National Association of Manufacturers
· National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops
· National Bulk Vendors Association
· Specialty Vehicle Institute of America
· Toy Industry Association
For additional information, please contact the Alliance for Children's Product Safety at 202-828-7637
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
CPSIA - Rally and Open Hearing April 1 in Washington, D.C.
I am pleased to announce that on April 1 there will finally be an opportunity to go to Capitol Hill to tell Congress directly about the terrible impact of the CPSIA on our lives and businesses. Having been repeatedly denied the opportunity to explore the issues created by the CPSIA in public hearings by both the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Small Business since December, we have elected to organize our own rally and open hearings for this purpose. This unprecedented event is a true demonstration of democracy at work - the People will not be denied their say in this vitally important matter. The date - April Fool's Day - is ironic but the open hearing and rally are quite real and will be held on time with a full slate of speakers and a wide range of participants. This event will include support from numerous trade organizations and is expected to feature remarks by Members of Congress as well as scientists and representatives of various organizations affected by the legislation such as small businesses, libraries, charities and thrift stores. This event will also be open to the media.
The CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008 and radically transformed the administration of children's product safety under U.S. law, converting a system based on risk assessment to one of precaution and fear of the unknown. The damaging unintended consequences of this change in law are being felt throughout the marketplace, and despite loud protests from many quarters, House and Senate leaders remain resolute in their support of an unmodified CPSIA. Public hearings on the negative impact of this law are long overdue, despite repeated requests for hearings from the CPSC, Members of Congress (including Reps. John Dingell, Joe Barton and George Radanovich of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Senators Bob Bennett, Carl Levin and Jim DeMint) and various other interested parties. The situation is intolerable and devastating. By calling this rally and open hearing, we are announcing an end to old school "closed door politics" and shining a light on a matter of critical public importance during a severe economic downturn.
The details of the rally and open hearing are still being finalized. The location is expected to be on Capitol Hill, and will include question and answer periods, as well as submission of written testimony. We will establish a website for this event, and will make the written materials available online. We hope to broadcast the hearings and rally live online and to provide interactive capabilities for public and media participation.
Please watch this space for updates. If you would like to help the team organizing this event, please write me at this special email address: hearings@cpsiahearings.com. [This email address may not be active for a day or two, so please resend your message if it does not go through.]
I hope you will join us at the rally and open hearings on April 1. The bigger the crowd, the bigger the statement to Congress. It’s time to openly discuss the problems in the CPSIA – see you in Washington in April!
Your Friend,
Rick Woldenberg
Chairman
Alliance for Children’s Product Safety
The CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008 and radically transformed the administration of children's product safety under U.S. law, converting a system based on risk assessment to one of precaution and fear of the unknown. The damaging unintended consequences of this change in law are being felt throughout the marketplace, and despite loud protests from many quarters, House and Senate leaders remain resolute in their support of an unmodified CPSIA. Public hearings on the negative impact of this law are long overdue, despite repeated requests for hearings from the CPSC, Members of Congress (including Reps. John Dingell, Joe Barton and George Radanovich of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Senators Bob Bennett, Carl Levin and Jim DeMint) and various other interested parties. The situation is intolerable and devastating. By calling this rally and open hearing, we are announcing an end to old school "closed door politics" and shining a light on a matter of critical public importance during a severe economic downturn.
The details of the rally and open hearing are still being finalized. The location is expected to be on Capitol Hill, and will include question and answer periods, as well as submission of written testimony. We will establish a website for this event, and will make the written materials available online. We hope to broadcast the hearings and rally live online and to provide interactive capabilities for public and media participation.
Please watch this space for updates. If you would like to help the team organizing this event, please write me at this special email address: hearings@cpsiahearings.com. [This email address may not be active for a day or two, so please resend your message if it does not go through.]
I hope you will join us at the rally and open hearings on April 1. The bigger the crowd, the bigger the statement to Congress. It’s time to openly discuss the problems in the CPSIA – see you in Washington in April!
Your Friend,
Rick Woldenberg
Chairman
Alliance for Children’s Product Safety
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