Bloggy Giveaways: CPSIA Protest Giveaway

As part of the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival, Goodies for Mom is hosting a Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) Protest Giveaway of the wonderful baby products below.

For those of you who may not be aware, congress passed a law last August called the "Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act," and the first phase goes into effect on February 10. The goal of this act is very noble: to provide safe toys and products to children under 12.

So what is the problem, right? Who does not want our children to be safe? Why the protest? Well, the problem is that this law mandates expensive testing for lead on batches of each individual component of products and puts the legal liability on the US manufacturer, importer, handcrafter, and small business. This is a problem because small businesses and handcrafters have very small batches of items and very low profit margins. Some products would cost thousands of dollars to test because of their complexity. It is also requiring retesting of components already tested at the supplier level. In addition, it is requiring testing of organic or natural items and all fabric, all of which have a low chance of containing lead.

This testing requirement is causing many small businesses and handcrafters to eliminate products, sell off inventory at a large loss, dispose of unsold inventory that will end up in landfills, and many more to close their businesses. These businesses are a vital part of our economy and help to put food on tables and roofs over the heads of thousands of small business owners. Adding to this already desperate situation for many is that the law is written so ambiguously that many are still confused if their products are included, what is required exactly of them and what is their liability come February 10. The law also leaves much of the interpretation up to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), an already overburdened, understaffed agency, and who has been very slow to respond to the situation.

Why was this law needed? Unfortunately it was needed because according to the CPSC website between 2006 and 2009, slightly more than 200 products were recalled due to dangerous levels of lead in them. Let us look at these statistics a little closer. Of those recalls, 184 were from China. Guess how many were from products manufactured in the United States? ZERO!! What about recalls on products using dyed or printed fabric? Only one, which was a vinyl screen printed product, and again produced in China. Yes, expensive testing is being forced upon US manufacturers who appear to have done nothing wrong.

How does this affect you? Many innovative children's products will be eliminated, product lines will be drastically cut, boutiques will close, prices will rise, and handcrafted items will no longer be produced for you to purchase.

Here are just a couple quotes from businesses in regards to this new legislation:

"The moms who are behind the products offered on Mom 4 Life are ambitious, hardworking, driven and creative. They have invented or crafted quality products that solve real needs. Unfortunately, the more creative the product is, the less likely that we will be able to continue selling it...Protecting our children and supporting our mom inventors should not be an oxymoron." Heather Ledeboer, Owner of Mom 4 Life

"I have been thrilled to take the leap into doing my business full time. Recently I was awarded a Grant through the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center to help me grow my business. Basically all signs are pointing towards taking my business to the next level, but if I can't produce & sell the line of baby & toddler clothes I've been working on, this business as I know it will have to shut down." Willo O'Brien, Owner/Designer, WilloToons

"At the moment I am doing whatever I can to stay open, and if I can manage to do that I will have to eliminate many items from my line and possibly raise prices." Kim Evans, Girl Party Tutu's

"Babycapes was determined to produce our garment in the United States, putting Americans to work, despite the fact that it was close to three times more expensive than had we gone overseas to China or India. If the law goes into effect as it stands, we will either be forced to increase our prices, limit the number of choices, move production from the U.S. to overseas, or close our business entirely." Suzi Crowder, Babycapes

Update: CPSC Grants One Year Stay of Testing and Certification Requirements for Certain Products
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HOW TO WIN
Just leave us a comment on this post before midnight EST on January 31, 2009. (Open to US Only)

Extra Chances to Win
1.) Visiting the giveaway sponsors and leave a comment here with your favorite product on their site (one chance per sponsor) 2.) Blogging about this giveaway and/or the CPSIA and its effect on many mom-owned businesses 3.) Twitting about the giveaway or CPSIA (Leave a comment for each up to 5 extra entries.)

All the items included in this giveaway will be impacted by the CPSIA:

• Tagless Flawless Infant Gift Set from Happy Panda
  The entire set is tagless and made in America of 100% soft combed cotton baby rib fabric. Our hats have an adjustable top knot and the bib features a Velcro closure. The lap t design on the gown makes it easy to get on and off your Happy Panda. (Testing for this $35 item will be $1350.00.) [Read more]


• Probreastfeeding Infant Onsie from Cushie Pushie Company
  Babies love creepin', crawlin' and sleepin' in our super comfy, 100% cotton jersey knit Infant Creeper. Infant clothes shouldn't be hard to change, so our three-snap bottom helps ease those nasty diaper changes. Great baby stuff for your special little one. (These are printed on a custom basis from CafePress, so testing would be thousands for each individual piece printed so these will be no longer produced unless the law changes.)
  
• Babycapes Outerwear for Little Ones
  Bulky coats and blankets can impede the effectiveness of your child's car seat harness. Keep your child snug, comfortable, warm, and most importantly, safe with Babycapes, Innovative Outerwear for Little Ones! Babycapes unique, patents-pending back opening allows you to transition baby from the house to car to stroller or front carrier without unbundling. Because it goes on over the harness straps, Babycapes does not interfere with the effectiveness of the restraints in any way. (Babycapes will either be forced to increase prices, limit the number of choices, move production from the U.S. to overseas, or close business entirely.) [Read more on their blog]
• Cushie Pushie Breast Support Pillow for Nursing Moms
  The Cushie Pushie Breastfeeding Pillow is made for breastfeeding mothers by a mother. It is a pillow designed to help you gain the correct breast position for easier breastfeeding. This breastfeeding pillow pushes your breast upward in order to allow easy latching by your nursing baby, while maintaining correct positioning throughout the feeding. (Still unsure the impact because it is actual made for moms but it could be classified as "facilititates feeding" due to the many ambiguous wordings in the law. This would then include nursing bras, nursing tops, breastfeeding pillows, and more.Testing is way too cost prohibitive so we would close if something is not changed from current status.)
• Tie Onesies by My HodgePodgerie (new addition)
  (courtesy of Mom 4 Life)
  These are Carters 100% cotton super soft onesies with My HodgePodgerie's tie applique fused onto the onesie and then machine stitched for added durability. (Created by a small mom-owned business that creates small quantities of lots of different items, hence the name of the company.)
• octohug (embroidered) onesie from WilloToons (18-24 mos.) Sometimes you have to give yourself a big hug! And sometimes you’ll find it impossible to resist giving your cutie pie a big squeeze or eight when they’re wearing this adorable onesie. WilloToons is the creative venture of well-known designer, illustrator and music lover Willo O’Brien. (As mentioned above, there is a good chance Willo will have to stop producing her baby line.)

Here are some other great blogs hosting CPSIA giveaways, so stop by and support them too:

• Penguin Puppet Set from Kid-N Around Creations [My Charmed Life] (Ends 1/31)
• Gift Set from Just Add Charm [My Charmed Life] (Ends 1/31)
• Eli's Lids [Penny Pinching Diva] (Ends 1/31)
• Child Locators [Growing Up Fast] (Ends 2/2)
• Gown and Bib Set [Happy Panda] (Ends 2/1)
• Whimsical Walney Giveaway [Busy Mom] (Ends 2/4)
• Custom Clips [Lady Bug Limited] (1/30)

If you have a product affected by the CPSIA and you'd like to help by joining our giveaway or you are hosting a CPSIA giveaway on your blog, e-mail me at lois(@)goodiesformom(dot)com to be included.

Visit our Beating the Winter Beauty Blues Gift Pack giveaway too!

Make sure to stop over to the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival for lots more chances to win!!!