An Assement of CPSIA from Lizi, age 11

The below is the first part of a two-part series by Lizi, age 11. She will also be reporting for us and sharing her views after watching the rally online at home with her mother Kim.

My name is Lizi, and I’m 11 years old.  My mother previously sold toy stuffed animals on Etsy.com.  Although they are probably lead-free, she is unable to test them to prove it, because the testing  price is more than her yearly income. I also had plans to open my own shop, with my mom’s help.  My hope was to sell clothes and other items for kids my age.  For a few weeks, I bought plain shirts, decorated them, and planned to sell them.  When I first heard about the CPSIA (The Crappy Pointless Stuff Invading America, as I call it), I actually cried.  I didn’t see how they could pass something so stupid.  My dream was either impossible, or a lot more complicated.  I couldn’t sell clothes, Mom couldn’t sell toys, and come on – as if the economy wasn’t bad enough already!

As an avid reader, I think that the effect that the CPSIA has on libraries and book stores is just horrible.  A lot of my favorite books when I was little were definitely printed before 1985.  I thought everyone was concerned about kids not reading enough! I also love to shop at thrift stores.  You can find great deals, unique things, and it’s better for the environment.  Now, because of the CPSIA, all of the cool kids’ stuff is gone.  I’m getting big enough now that I can fit into the women’s clothing sizes, but what’s my three-year-old little sister supposed to do?

In school, I am studying American History.  It’s interesting to me that our government, which started out so great, could turn into…this.  From my studies, I thought that Congress was supposed to represent us, the Americans.  Now, when people ask them to change the CPSIA, they don’t even listen.

It seems to me that a better solution would be to ban everything– or at least test– everything from countries whose exports have proven harmful.

CPSIA Casualties

Image from thephoenix.com

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act has already caused what some have estimated to be billions of dollars in business losses. Some have discontinued product lines, while others have closed their doors, or been forced to discard vast amounts of inventory. Here is a sampling of these CPSIA casualties. 

European Company Simba Toys pulls out of American market
http://challengeandfun.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/03/simba-toys-pulls-out-of-usa-thanks-cpsia.html

Amazon removing thousands of SKUs from toys and games category
http://www.amazonsellercommunity.com/forums/thread.jspa?messageID=2037414&tstart=0

Youth motorcycle and ATV Ban
Dealer left with $118,000 in inventory he cannot sell.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/05/motorcycles-lead-law-pain_n_172109.html

Makers pushing back on toxic-toy law
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123621357629835121.html?mod=rss_US_News

Rules on toxin stall mini-bike sales
$100 Million worth of child size bikes unsalable, $1 Billion annual loss to industry
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009903150333

Gymboree shares down 40%
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSBNG44760220090305

PTA Shop removes all children’s items from shelves
http://chapelhill.mync.com/site/chapelhill/community/story/28612/PTA_Thrift_Shop_Affected_by_Recent_Toy_Regulations/

Suspension of children’s soft toy line + Thrift shop worries
http://www.poststar.com/articles/2009/02/22/business/local/14440956.txt

Hands and Hearts Homeschool History Kits Discontinued Indefinitely
http://handsandhearts.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=99

Hawaii doll shop closes
http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=9799062&nav=menu55_2

German Toymaker Selecta pulls out of US Market
http://www.playthings.com/article/CA6620437.html