CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week December 7

The Alliance for Children’s Product Safety’s “CPSIA Casualty of the Week” highlights how the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is disrupting the U.S. marketplace in order to draw attention to the problems faced by small businesses, public institutions, consumers and others trying to comply with senseless and often contradictory provisions of the law. These provisions do nothing to improve product safety, but are driving small businesses out of the market.

Congress and the CPSC need to address the problems with CPSIA implementation to help small businesses by restoring “common sense” to our nation’s product safety laws.

CPSIA Casualty of the Week December 7

GOODGUIDE BIDS GOODBYE TO THE GOOD REPUTATION OF ZHU ZHU PETS

Cepia LLC, a small business that manufactures Zhu Zhu Pets, the hottest-selling toy of this holiday season, learned the high cost of success in the toy business last week when its reputation was smeared by an over-zealous consumer group, GoodGuide. The California-based consumer group launched a public relations attack on the “Zhu Zhu Pet” on December 5, claiming its “Mr. Squiggles” toy contained tin and antimony above federal standards outlined in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Word spread quickly via the media and blogosphere that Zhu Zhu Pets were “dangerous”, sending Cepia into a business and public relations nightmare through no fault of its own.

Credit the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for acting swiftly. By Monday evening (December 7), the agency had investigated and cleared Zhu Zhu Pets and Cepia. Also on Monday, GoodGuide backtracked on its findings, acknowledging that it had inappropriately used an XRF gun to test the surface but failed to use the proper federal wet test methods.

While this product safety frenzy is soon to be forgotten by most, its cost and consequences for Cepia, a small business with fewer than 50 employees, are large. Yet this entrepreneurial shop has no recourse against GoodGuide, which clumsily seized on the wrong test data to create an illusion of toy company irresponsibility designed to scare consumers. There are no penalties under the law for unsupportable or misleading accusations by consumer groups – although manufacturers themselves are always at risk of CPSC penalties which can range as high as $15 million and which can be increased for perceived bad behavior.

Self-appointed consumer advocate attacks on children’s products have proliferated this Christmas season. This self-destructive atmosphere was, in part, created by the CPSIA and its reckless disregard for the use of risk in assessing safety. Yet Congress to date refuses to acknowledge problems with the law, and in a sad twist, these consumer groups who pushed to make the law as far-reaching possible in their zest to ‘protect our children’ now fight to keep common-sense from being written back into it. It’s time to set an example for the perpetrators of consumer group false alarms: Chairman Tenenbaum needs to tell Congress to allow CPSC to conduct risk assessment in implementing the CPSIA.

For more information, visit http://www.AmendTheCPSIA.com.

For more information, please contact Caitlin Andrews at (202) 828-7637 or e-mail caitlin.andrews@bgllp.com/

Do not accept the status quo! Tell Congress and the CPSC to restore “common sense” to our nation’s product safety laws.

Call CPSC and Congress.

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CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week December 7

CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for November 16

The Alliance for Children’s Product Safety’s “CPSIA Casualty of the Week” highlights how the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is disrupting the U.S. marketplace in order to draw attention to the problems faced by small businesses, public institutions, consumers and others trying to comply with senseless and often contradictory provisions of the law. These provisions do nothing to improve product safety, but are driving small businesses out of the market.

CPSIA Casualty of the Week for November 16:

“Pockets of Learning” Emptied by CPSIA
Special Needs Products Being Driven from Market By Testing Costs

Pockets of Learning is a Rhode Island-based company that for 20 years has designed, manufactured and sold unique heirloom-quality cloth toys and gifts, many of which offer skill-building experiences to children such as tying, matching, buttoning and counting. The company helps fill niche markets, including special needs, religious and independent retailers. Pockets of Learning has an impeccable safety record, and has never offered a product to the marketplace that had not been tested according to CPSC requirements.

On November 10, 2009, Pockets of Learning informed its customers that thanks to CPSIA, it will no longer sell its “How Do I Feel Today?” wall hanging, a bear-themed product sold for young children with special and emotional needs. The company told its customers that it “can no longer afford to manufacture and offer these products, due to the over 500% increase in safety testing cost…The annual volume of the product does not allow for the investment required to properly safety test under the new CPSIA guidelines.”

The loss of this item was made known to us by a leading distributor of therapy tools and other products for educational professionals and psychologists who had his order cancelled.

Pockets of Learning President Jack Grant told us in an e-mail that this product loss is only the “tip of the iceberg.” Due to the financial impact of CPSIA testing, Pockets of Learning is planning to reduce its product line from about 65 products to approximately 22 because of “the reality that CPSIA testing would typically add 30% or more to the cost of each item” made in small production runs.

Large multinational manufacturers who make high volume items can absorb higher testing costs imposed by CPSIA. But the thousands of small businesses across the country that fulfill specific, niche markets are the untold casualties of this law. Worse yet, kids in need are losing access to essential teaching materials. “How Do I Feel Today?”, indeed!

For more information, please contact Caitlin Andrews at (202) 828-7637 or e-mail caitlin.andrews@bgllp.com

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CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for November 16

CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for November 9

The Alliance for Children’s Product Safety’s “CPSIA Casualty of the Week” highlights how the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is disrupting the U.S. marketplace in order to draw attention to the problems faced by small businesses, public institutions, consumers and others trying to comply with senseless and often contradictory provisions of the law. These provisions do nothing to improve product safety, but are driving small businesses out of the market.

Congress and the CPSC need to address the problems with CPSIA implementation to help small businesses by restoring “common sense” to our nation’s product safety laws.

Read more here:
CPSIA – CPSIA Casualty of the Week for November 9