Wednesday, January 28, 2009

New Spring Design

This great design is perfect for that Easter Egg Hunt. The bottom skirt has a pleated ruffle at the bottom. The bow is pinned and removable. All seams are professionally serged and top-stitched where applicable. This dress is fully lined and could be worn with a white shirt underneath it for cooler weather. I will be listing this dress on ebay just as soon as Mason decides she will model it for me :D

Just what is the CPSIA gonna do?

There are two videos out now. They are quite lengthy, but essentially, manufactures were there to present evidence that would allow their products to be excluded from the CPSIA.

The basics: 
1. We are considered crafters, not manufacturers (Boutique sewers, bow makers, etc.). 
2. JCPenny & TCP both submitted Evidence that fabrics do not contain lead. 
3.Buttons, zippers, snaps, screen prints, grommets, do sometimes contain lead. 2 zippers from the same lot can have different test results.
4. Coats & Clark submitted evidence that even the thread with the most lead in it is insignificant. 
5. National Cotton Council says cotton has 0 lead.
6. TCP showed that elastic has no lead. 
7. Puff paint currently has 600ppm. Manufacturers are trying to lower this amount now. 
8. Supply chain testing was recommended for small manufacturers and crafters. - this means 
components are tested only once and the certificates are passed down. 
9. There may be a stay issued on the feb. 10th deadline.


My Opinion
I think they will end up excluding all fabric, however if the garment or bow has anything hard on it, the whole item will have to be tested (zippers, buttons, barrettes). Hopefully they will implement chain testing. If I understand correctly, this means you can use the component in your final product if you know it was tested further up the chain.

Something to ponder....
Think about a pair of jeans.... Zipper, button, snaps, & rivets! All of those items fail... Soooo, I guess every kid in America is gonna be wearing sweats & elastic waistbands ???

Links to the videos if you have nothing better to do:

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Riley Smiles!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

CPSIA Commentary

Commentary

Scrap The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Walter Olson01.16.09, 04:21 PM EST

Self-congratulation makes for bad law.

If someone you know volunteers at a thrift store or crochets baby hats for the crafts site Etsy or favors handmade wooden toys as a baby shower gift, you've probably been hearing the alarms about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA).

Hailed almost universally on its passage last year--it passed the Senate 89 to three and the House by 424 to one, with Ron Paul the lone dissenter--CPSIA is now shaping up as a calamity for businesses and an epic failure of regulation, threatening to wipe out tens of thousands of small makers of children's items from coast to coast, and taking a particular toll on the handcrafted and creative, the small-production-run and sideline at-home business, not to mention struggling retailers. How could this have happened?


Read the rest....

Monday, January 12, 2009

CPSIA Clarification

CPSC Clarifies Requirements of New Children’s Product Safety Laws Taking Effect in FebruaryGuidance Intended for Resellers of Children’s Products, Thrift and Consignment Stores

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In February 2009, new requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) take effect. Manufacturers, importers and retailers are expected to comply with the new Congressionally-mandated laws. Beginning February 10, 2009, children’s products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead. Certain children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.
Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.
The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.
The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.
When the CPSIA was signed into law on August 14, 2008, it became unlawful to sell recalled products. All resellers should check the CPSC Web site (www.cpsc.gov) for information on recalled products before taking into inventory or selling a product. The selling of recalled products also could carry civil and/or criminal penalties.
While CPSC expects every company to comply fully with the new laws resellers should pay special attention to certain product categories. Among these are recalled children’s products, particularly cribs and play yards; children’s products that may contain lead, such as children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; flimsily made toys that are easily breakable into small parts; toys that lack the required age warnings; and dolls and stuffed toys that have buttons, eyes, noses or other small parts that are not securely fastened and could present a choking hazard for young children.
The agency has underway a number of rulemaking proposals intended to provide guidance on the new lead limit requirements. Please visit the CPSC website at www.cpsc.gov for more information.

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