Calling All Retailers Who Sell Children’s Products!

Marianne of Polkadot Patch Boutique is vocal about a retailer’s responsibility as it relates to CPSIA and has allowed us to cross-post the entry below.

It’s time to rally up on April 1st and support the cause to Amend the CPSIA.

With the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), now more than ever, children’s retailers need to band together with their manufacturers and suppliers. Retailers need to be fired up and supporting manufacturers to get the CPSIA law amended in order to save their wholesale businesses, and subsequently many retail businesses.

There is an underlying belief that retailers are out of the loop on this law or that it doesn’t affect them. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. Although some retailers may still not fully comprehend the ramifications of this law on their businesses, they all need to know how much this law directly affects their business via their manufacturers.

Right now more than ever, retailers need to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their manufacturers, holding up signs, calling and writing Congressional committee members and spreading news to media outlets and blogs about the far-reaching implications of this poorly written law. Without supporting change for manufacturers, ALL retailers in the children’s industry are in jeopardy.

Whether a retail store is 1000 square feet or 10,000 square feet, the shelves need to be stocked. It doesn’t matter if a store niche is traditional, new age, contemporary, punk, or urban; a variety of products will be needed from numerous manufacturers.

Retailers in traditional brick and mortar stores and in e-commerce stores should be letting their manufacturers know how they will fight to amend this law with them because retailers want products that will appeal to their customer base. Successful business partnerships should strengthen during good…and bad times. And right now, manufacturers need the voices of retailers lobbying for change.

It is mutually beneficial for both retailers and manufacturers to preserve the variety of products being sold. While at this time the general public is largely unaware of the impact of this law on them, it will become apparent to them when their favorite stores are no longer offering a variety of children’s products.

Without an amendment to this law, every children’s retail store stands to become a clone of each other because they will all be left with just a limited selection from the same pool of “compliant” manufacturers and products. That also translates to many niche retailers closing their doors rather than compromising their unique selling proposition to become just another children’s store selling only the same “compliant” products. Imagine the lack of diversity of products on the shelves if the law isn’t amended.

What can retailers do NOW?

1. Communicate with your manufacturers and vendors. Share how you are working alongside them to amend the law. Ask them how you can support them with CPSIA. Discuss with manufacturers what you will need as a retailer to sell their products. There is a lot of confusion with the current stay but retailers are still liable for non-compliant products as well as the manufacturer. Let your manufacturers know AS SOON AS POSSIBLE if you are requiring GCC’s (General Certification of Conformity) or “proof” in the form of an official documentation that their products are in compliance with the lead and phthalates requirements. Have a conversation regarding the manufacturer’s products and determine where each stands in regards to testing, labeling, and general compliance. Be informed and expect your manufacturers to be as well.

2. Be vocal. Tell your customers about CPSIA and spread the word with small manufacturers and fellow retailers who may not be fully aware of the implications of the law. Send them links to the Amend The CPSIA website and other online resources (Ning, Facebook, Change.org) . Encourage everyone to share their concerns regarding the law as loudly and frequently as their voices can be heard.

3. Attend the Amend the CPSIA rally on April 1st if you are able. If you are unable to attend, watch the live video stream on Amend the CPSIA website on April 1st at 10:00 AM EST.
4. Share two correspondences a day and share how this law will affect your business and that of your manufacturers. Use statistics and numbers as much as possible to make the story even more real!

5. In fact, do everything on this list!

The CPSIA rally and briefing on April 1st are critical to get bi-partisan support to amend the law as well as bring even more attention to the cause through media outlets. The collective voices of manufacturers, trade associations, and retailers WILL be heard by Congress.

Each person at the rally will represent hundreds of small businesses (manufacturers and retailers alike) who couldn’t attend in person and the voices will be loud and strong. This rally and briefing will empower many to continue the charge to amend the CPSIA, and we are looking forward to being a part of it

Exercising our Rights as US Citizens

I might be one of the most unlikely actors behind the growing momentum to amend the CPSIA.

I was born in France many years ago and grew up in and around Paris until my adulthood. I moved to the United States in the late eighties and a job opportunity after graduate school started the path from which I have not deviated since. In 2002, after 10 years of permanent residency and the attacks on 9/11, I decided to apply for citizenship. It was clear to me that I could have easily been one of the victims that day (I had been in one of the Towers a couple of weeks before for a business meeting), so these attacks were not only on America but, for me at least, they became much more personal: an attempt to destroy me and my family (my wife and I have two boys). In July 2002, I became a proud US citizen surrounded by my family and about 150 other applicants representing over 120 nationalities! I can still visualize the room in one of the federal building downtown Chicago and the words of the judge as we completed the oath of all allegiance: “As of today, you now have the same rights and duties as any other US citizens, thanks to the constitution of the United States”.

When I joined Learning Resources and Rick Woldenberg in 2005, my focus was on a very different goal. I wanted to find a place where I could use my business experience and leadership skills to help a group of highly committed individuals while trying to make a positive contribution in the world (in our case providing high quality and innovative products to create engaging learning experiences in the classroom for young kids and their teachers). I also wanted a very different working environment than what I had experienced up to that point. It was a big risk and a challenging experience at times, but after three years working with Rick and the entire team at Learning Resources, I can honestly say that I could not have made a better decision.

I have also been increasingly active in various local communities. Among other things, I actually got involved early on in the Obama presidential campaign. So, it was a real disappointment for me to see some members of the Democratic Party unwilling to dialogue or listen to our point of view on the CPSIA simply because it does not fit with their agenda. The last few months have been extraordinary challenging for all of us with the combined effect of this poorly written and unnecessarily overreaching law and the dramatic slow down in our economy. So far we are surviving these combined ‘tsunamis’ but the pressure and stress are extreme. Yet, despite all that tension, I feel more energized and alive today than I have ever been.

Next Wednesday as we express our grave concerns about the unintended consequences of the CPSIA and share our suggestions on how we can provide safe products without destroying a huge part of our economy, we might at times feel that the mountain is too steep or the challenge too great. However, I have learned over the years and from personal experience that our country is truly unique. While imperfect at times, we all try to live by Lincoln’s words: “the government of the people, by the people, for the people”. The fact is that, next Wednesday, we are going to be able to demonstrate to the entire country what a true democratic debate really is. This is possible because of the enduring persistence of a few and the openness of many to guarantee our freedom of speech. Notably, this will happen despite repeated pressures from a few politicians who think in terms of “us and them” or “if you are not with me than you are against me”. And like in the “not so distant” past, these type of politicians will fail because they do not understand, wrapped up in their self-righteous arrogance, that they stand against the very principle upon which our country has been founded and has thrived for over 200 years: they are here to serve the people and not some special interest group, which ever it might be. And in order to serve the people they would be well advised to listen and dialogue with them.

I remain optimistic and confident that, in the end, better judgment will prevail. But it is essential that a meaningful and sincere dialogue be allowed. I always knew that our country was very special and proud to be a part of it. But today, I feel incredibly grateful to have a chance to truly exercise my right of free expression as an American citizen, to be a model to my children and to fulfill my pledge of alliance to the constitution, honor the words of encouragement from ‘my’ Chicago judge and strengthen my bond to each one of you.

Sincerely,
Etienne Veber