Take action! Save handmade.

Remember Christmas a year ago? Hundreds of toys were being recalled for having dangerously high lead levels, small parts that could detach, and unsafe components. Toys had magnets that could be ingested and dangerous chemicals that could and were making our children sick. By and large, these recalled toys were from major toy manufacturers who outsourced their labor to China and other developing nations.

Fast forward to August, 2008, when Congress, recognizing that the Consumer Product Safety Commission lacked the people-power to stop dangerous toys from coming into the US, passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, or CPSIA. Among other things, this Act bans pthalates, lead, and other dangerous chemicals in toys, mandates that all toys be tested for these things, and requires a date and batch number be placed on each toy.

Sounds good, right?

Well, it is if you're a large toy manufacturer with the money and means. For small American, Canadian, and European toy makers who haven't been a problem in the first place? Not so much.

The costs per toy are going to be upwards of $4,000. Per toy.

That's an impossible sum for the dad in New England carving wooden cars, or the mom in the country making dolls, or even Selecta, a German company who has already announced its plans to withdraw from the US market.

It's not too late. The CPSIA can still be modified to exclude a class of toymakers that have never abused the consumers' trust--small American, European, and Canadian toymakers.

Take Action!
Find your congressperson here, and your senator here. Write to them. The Handmade Toy Alliance has a great sample letter here, as well as a more thorough explanation here.

You can also sign an online petition here.

Save handmade!