Toy Fair Attendees Hopes to Raise Awareness, Encourage Reform, of New Consumer Product Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) February 12, 2009 --

(Ashland, MA) February 12th, 2009— A joint press conference among retailers, distributors, and manufacturers is scheduled for Monday February 16th at the American International Toy Fair in New York. The event aims to clarify misconceptions about the impact of the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) on the children’s products market. In response to the continued confusion and misinformation regarding the law, Massachusetts-based importer Challenge & Fun will dedicate a portion of its booth to an educational exhibit “CPSIA-Central.” The press conference is scheduled for 1:30pm February 16th at the Challenge & Fun booth #1249.

Expected in attendance are Rob Wilson, Vice President of Challenge & Fun, and creator of CPSIA-Central, Rick Woldenberg, Chairman of Learning Resources, Cecilia Leibovitz, Owner of Craftsbury Kids, and Kate Glynn, owner of natural children’s store A Child’s Garden. There will be an additional press conference by the Handmade Toy Alliance on Sunday, February 15th also at 1:30 pm with a similar theme, at the same location.

The message they want to get out is two-fold. According to Rob Wilson, owner of the Challenge & Fun, and the founder of the social networking CPSIA-Central website dedicated to generating discussion about the CPSIA, “There are a lot of myths surrounding CPSIA, and we feel it is urgent that retailers, manufacturers, and the media have the full, correct story. We also want the industry to know the importance of talking with our legislators to reform this law to ensure safety and a children’s products industry. With a well-written law we can have both.”

Since its passage in August 2008, the controversial new law has caused massive confusion in the children’s products industry. Passed in response to highly-reported product recalls in 2007, CPSIA broadly regulates the amount of lead and phthalates in all children’s products. Many in the toy industry initially applauded the law, but overly burdensome testing, reversals on planned deadlines and other non-safety related requirements have lead to business closures and serious financial loss for others.

For instance, the law currently requires third party testing of each finished product, at costs starting at a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Small companies have complained that they already control the materials and process, and given the small production runs, expensive tests per item will force them to eliminate less popular products at best, and close their business at worst.

Many small businesses that sell or make children’s products still don’t know about the law, or don’t believe that it impacts them. Cecilia Leibovitz added, “Efforts to understand the law have been further hampered by changes in deadlines, reversals of key CPSC decisions, and the general complexity of the law. It’s a confusing mess.”

Originally the CPSC had ruled that the phthalate ban did not apply to existing inventory. Businesses were focused on certifying that their products met the lead rule. However, they were taken by surprise last Thursday when the District Court of Southern New York overturned the CPSC opinion, and ruled that the CPSIA regulations apply to existing inventory. Thursday's court ruling gave businesses 4 short days to determine if their inventories contain phthalates. Testing for phthalates typically starts at over $1,000 per product.

The problem is not just that of expense. Educating the industry and deciphering which products are subject to the law’s rules are paramount. “When I tell retailers about the change in the law, some say ‘What law?’ and ‘What’s a phthalate?’” said Jennifer Grinnell, owner of Massachusetts-based retail store LivingPlaying.com.

The CPSC has announced that they will abide by the court's decision. The ruling has caught the CPSC off guard as well. They have yet to issue appropriate guidelines for compliance or the scope of enforcement.

Rick Woldenberg of Learning Resources, has expressed his disbelief at the court’s decision, “Is this fair? Essentially, on two business days’ notice, the U.S. government imposed a retroactive ban on a broad class of merchandise brought into this country in compliance with law and which had not previously been the subject of product recalls or reported injuries.”

Woldenberg continues, “The notion that this law only adversely affects a limited group of Americans or businesses is, in my opinion, ludicrous. This affects us all, and will deprive us of diversity of products and vitality in our local economies.”

Although a January 30th ruling by the CPSC granted a one-year stay in the testing and certification requirements for lead and phthalates in specific products, the new standards will still remain in force, and retailers are still demanding certificates. This means that suppliers must still test their product to ensure compliance, and retailers must know what they are selling. This is troublesome for companies who are struggling to complete their testing in time, and at a cost that won't put them out of business.

But, according to Grinnell, “we also are trying to promote a more reasonable testing program based on component testing. We hope Congress is listening. It will keep the high safety standards the same, yet allow small business to be able to afford to comply with the new law and stay in business.”

Component testing and certification, would allow component suppliers certify that their materials meet new lead and phthalate limits, and would eliminate the need for costly duplicative testing. The idea for component testing programs is supported by a broad range of children’s products groups.

With all this talk about lead and phthalates, it may seem odd some of the strongest resistance to the law is coming from suppliers & retailers of natural baby products. According to Kate Glynn, owner of the Massachusetts-based A Child’s Garden, "our number one concern has always been, and remains to be, the safety and integrity of our products. Yet the excessive compliance requirements of this law will push many of our small scale suppliers over the edge into bankruptcy. If we no longer have access to natural toys, we are no longer in business.”

This is a real problem for importers of natural products from Europe. Rob Wilson recently returned from Nuremberg, Germany where he spoke with many suppliers of natural toys, including Selecta Spielzeug and Sina Spielzeug. Both of these companies stopped shipping to the US market last month due to the CPSIA. He stated, "in addition to general confusion about the law, these European companies were concerned about complying with the permanent marking requirement coming into effect in August, and which will be very expensive for small production runs. They are also worried that the 3rd party testing requirements will force them to greatly narrow their product offering or stop selling to the USA altogether."

Indeed, it is not only natural products that seem to be in danger. Children’s products including plastic toys, clothing and books are quickly doing a disappearing act at thrift and second hand stores across the country.

In response to those that may question the motives of this coalition reforming the CPSIA, Wilson said, “If we want to ensure that children’s products are safe, and meet strict standards, the regulations need to be focused on the real risks, and be clear enough that each part of the supply chain is 100% certain to get it right every time. In contrast the CPSIA is a blanket approach that treats high and low risks with the same weight, with complicated rules and administration. We have to be able to do better than this.”

CPSIA-Central is a 650+ member social networking group that is a forum for concerned businesses to exchange information and work together for constructive changes to the CPSIA.

Rob Wilson
Vice President, Challenge & Fun (Ashland, MA)
Tel. 774-289-1531
cpsia@challengeandfun.com
www.CPSIA-Central.ning.com
www.challengeandfun.typepad.com

Rick Woldenberg
Chairman, Learning Resources (Vernon Hills, IL)
Tel. 224-436-0265
cpsia@learningresources.com
http://learningresourcesinc.blogspot.com/

Kate Glynn
Owner, A Children’s Garden (Northampton, MA)
Tel. 413-584-2242
kate@achildsgarennoho.com
www.achildsgardennoho.com

Cecilia Leibovitz
Owner, Craftsbury Kids
Tel: 802.223.7143
itslittleida@gmail.com
www.craftsburykids.com

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More information can be found online at http://www.CPSIA-Central.ning.com

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