CPSIA – Why Do Dems Want to Ban Rhinestones?

Why indeed. The Democrats apparently have it in for rhinestones and are so uptight about this “menace” that they are willing to write an outright ban into the CPSIA, via Mr. Waxman’s new amendment. No more bling for you!

Have we finally entered the land of the looneys?

The Dems’ rallying cry on rhinestones goes way back. On September 10, 2009, Rep. Bobby Rush welcomed Inez Tenenbaum to the one CPSIA hearing since August 2008 by commending her for bravely banning rhinestones.

Let’s think about the basics here:

• Rhinestones are simple embellishments. They are found in inexpensive jewelry, on clothing and shoes, in craft kits, used in scrapbooking, are decorations on kids’ pageant and athletic costumes, adorn hair bows and barrettes, etc. They are bling.
• Rhinestones have no history of causing lead poisoning.
• Rhinestones are even okay to sell under the obnoxious Proposition 65.

Chairman Tenenbaum has conceded in writing that the stones are not dangerous: “Commission staff recognized that most crystal and glass beads do not appear to pose a serious health risk to children . . . .” Of course, CPSC Staff are just scientists and Ph.D.’s, not lawyers writing important laws.

Unfortunately, Tenenbaum recanted her stance in Congressional testimony on September 10, 2009. On September 17, I wrote a letter to Chairman Tenenbaum about her rhinestone testimony . . . but never received a reply. The letter asks her to back up her assertion in testimony that swallowing rhinestones presents a lead poisoning risk. This is an unsupportable contention and perhaps this is why my letter was never accorded a response. In particular, I made the following point about the literal “danger” of rhinestones:

“[T]he Exponent study submitted [by the FJTA] on February 2 indicates that the FDA has determined that six micro-grams of lead per day is required to produce a one micro-gram of lead per deciliter change in blood lead levels in children six years old or younger. Thus, to produce such a change in blood lead levels from jewels would require sustained daily ingestion of 12 grams of stones (roughly 4,000 stones or hundreds of pieces of jewelry) or mouthing of 42 grams of stones (roughly 14,000 stones or more than 1,000 pieces of jewelry). Clearly, this is unlikely to occur, particularly accidentally.” [Emphasis added]

As noted, Tenenbaum never answered this letter.

[See also my posts of July 21, July 21 (no. 2), September 10 and September 12.]

Of course, the natural ally of the Dems, the consumer groups, bang the drum mindlessly for banning rhinestones, too. In my September 20 post, I recounted the attack of Nancy Cowles on the rhinestones “menace”. Here is Ms. Cowles’ suggestion for those who value their bling:

“In an interview with BNA, Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, praised the commission’s July decision on fashion jewelry accessories. Cowles told BNA that lead is a severe toxin with no safe level. She added that while more common sense could be applied to determining which products are hazardous, consumers overall do not want products containing lead. ‘People will come up with other ways to put [jewelry] on children’s clothing that isn’t toxic. Whether the lead [in rhinestones] leaches out fully, it’s hard to know, but we don’t want lead in our children’s products. We will come up with other ways to decorate our clothes,’ Cowles said.”

It’s okay, they just want to protect you.

At this point, I have to ask – what on Earth happened to our country? How did we get to this point? I can’t say for myself, I don’t know how this kind of stridency and absence of BASIC common sense took over our nation. Politics no longer makes sense to me. In today’s New York Times, Senator Evan Byah blasts this theme as he explains why he is dropping out of the Senate after 12 years. It’s a depressing read.

More depressing still is how the Democrats are making such a mess of things and disillusioning so many people, myself certainly included. In yesterday’s Barron’s Magazine, the Dems’ ability to actually govern is questioned. That’s a “wow”. This small article details how Senator Max Baucus’ jobs bill (written in response to President Obama’s call for more economic stimulus), was gutted by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for “speedy” passage:

“So Reid selected four provisions that he believes all Senate Democrats and Republicans can agree on: tax breaks for small-business investment; more money for highway construction; expansion of the Build America Bond program, and a payroll-tax exemption for employers hiring someone who’s been jobless for at least 60 days. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is openly opposing the payroll-tax exemption, a stance which has fiscally conservative Democrats near despair. ‘Democrats are in danger of demonstrating they cannot govern on the most basic level,’ a progressive Democratic party leader said last week.”

That’s right – the Dems are failing at the most basic level. The CPSIA saga and the politics/populism infecting CPSC leadership and policy these days are part and parcel of the same phenomenon. Rhinestones are this week’s victim. Who is next in line – you?

When are you going to say “ENOUGH”?!

Read more here:
CPSIA – Why Do Dems Want to Ban Rhinestones?

CPSIA – Consider the Source (Part II)

From an article in today’s BNA entitled “Need for CPSIA Changes Debated”, “In an interview with BNA, Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids in Danger, praised the commission’s July decision on fashion jewelry accessories. Cowles told BNA that lead is a severe toxin with no safe level. She added that while more common sense could be applied to determining which products are hazardous, consumers overall do not want products containing lead. “People will come up with other ways to put [jewelry] on children’s clothing that isn’t toxic. Whether the lead [in rhinestones] leaches out fully, it’s hard to know, but we don’t want lead in our children’s products. We will come up with other ways to decorate our clothes,” Cowles said.” There are other quotes from consumer groups in this article that set my blood ablaze, but I thought this one deserves special “heralding”. I should note that I have written about rhinestones extensively, and debunked the opinion expressed by the estimable Ms. Cowles thoroughly. [See my "Jewelry" tags.] You may wonder, why do I care so much about rhinestones. Our business does not use rhinestones, so what’s the big deal for me? Rhinestones is a poster child for the stupidity of the law. The impact of the CPSIA on rhinestones is the impact that is bedeviling the entire children’s product industry, from toys to books to shoes to bedding to what-have-you. If rhinestones go down, safe as they are, we all go down. If we can save rhinestones on a rational and fair basis, perhaps the rest of us will get fairer treatment. That said, I have a couple comments on Ms. Cowles’ remarks. First of all, she is fear mongering, not advocating for you and your children. She says rhinestones are “toxic” – I say “prove it”. The people behind the CPSIA are left with few options to save their precious law but to deceive the general public about health risks. The case on rhinestones is out there to be examined by Ms. Cowles. Why not attack rhinestones with data and analysis? Because no data or analysis exists to weaken the case FOR rhinestones. The “there’s no safe level of lead” mantra is faulty. We already consume plenty of lead in our air, our food and our water daily. The rationale that trace presence of lead in children’s products is somehow the health “tipping point” has never been proven and frankly cannot be asserted on a reasoned, scientific basis. The lead we consume in our normal daily activities dwarfs the lead you might ingest from casual contact with children’s products. If there really is “no safe level for lead”, then our wise Congress should attack the big sources of lead first, and leave the rest of us for later. Second, Ms. Cowles is sending a lot of people down the river with her casual condemnation of rhinestones. I would note that many industries use rhinestones in their products. The people who run those companies, are employed by those companies, are supported by income from those companies, trade with those companies or value those products in their lives, will ALL lose if the likes of Ms. Cowles get to run our society. Does that make ANY sense to ANYONE (besides Ms. Cowles)? I keep thinking of the prescription she offers for living a safe and wondrous life. She says we will (and should) find something else to decorate our products with. Perhaps Ms. Cowles decorates herself with the jewels from Pretty, Pretty Princess . That’s what she is suggesting, that we get used to plastic jewelry. Perhaps Ms. Cowles can live with getting gifts for her kids from a vending machine, but that’s not how I want to live. As I have noted before, inexpensive stones are a way for people to bedeck kids with jewelry inexpensively. Rhinestones are important to a lot of people, some of whom may not have the economic wherewithal to switch to diamonds and rubies. In addition, it’s an inexpensive way to let little kids have a bit of bling. If you are trying to make your little kids look special for social, cultural or religious reasons, I think Palladium earrings may be somewhat impractical for most people. Little kids to tend to outgrow their clothing and shoes quickly. Parents can’t really afford to buy and rebuy clothing and jewelry using precious stones as their kids grow, and may never warm up to Pretty, Pretty Princess jewelry. If this is the way it has to be, I think we should think more insightfully about who is writing the rules for our society. Increasingly, the recommendations of consumer advocates are ringing more and more hollow. How crazy has the world become? Consider this quote from the November 2008 “Trouble in Toyland” report issued by the Vermont PIRG: “Some children’s toys, jewelry and cosmetics may contain toxic chemicals, especially lead and toxic phthalates. . . . PHTHALATES AND OTHER CHEMICALS Avoid toys made of PVC plastic; which often contains phthalate softeners. Choose unpainted wooden or cloth toys instead.” Yes, PIRG wants us to use cloth toys and plain unpainted wooden toys to be “safe”. But how “safe” are these toys? The CPSC, after due consideration, has informed us in their new phthalates testing standard : “Examples of materials that do not normally contain phthalates and, therefore, might not require testing or certification are . . . Natural wood [and] Textiles made from natural fibers, such as cotton or wool . . . .” Uh-oh! PIRG is telling you to buy products that MIGHT contain phthalates! Ouch. [To be fair, I have no idea how phthalates would get in there, but heck, the CPSC says they MIGHT. They must know something I don't.] So PIRG has it wrong – we can’t even play with cloth toys or wood. What’s left? Rocks. Oh, no – rocks need to be tested for lead, phthalates and sharp points! Well, perhaps after the Residential Rock Roundup is wrapped up, we will all be safe to move into caves to play with our rocks. Ms. Cowles, get your own cave – you can’t play with my rocks.

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CPSIA – Consider the Source (Part II)