Save the Small Natural Toy Makers

We the undersigned are concerned about the unfair testing regulations being enacted with the passing of the new toy safety laws.  Of course parents want their children%u2019s toys to be safe and free from toxic chemicals.  However, the testing protocols are too rigid and will hurt and undermine the one group that has been a toy safety advocate for children all along.  They do not allow for small, mom-and-pop, or handmade purveyors of natural toys, to sell their toys in America.  If the testing protocols are not amended, small natural toy companies and toy makers, such as stay-at-home-moms who sell handmade toys on such sites as Etsy.com, will no longer be able to provide parents with much needed alternatives to the giant toy makers like Hasbro, Fisher Price, and Mattel.  Instead of having to test each individual toy, toy makers should be able to use paint that has been tested and proven safe, or sew dolls from fabric bought in a US store, or use other natural materials that are purchased through fair trade programs that benefit people in small, needy villages.

For example, Sarah's Silks is a beloved and popular source for playsilks, canopies, and more. They produce their silks in a Chinese village within a program that allows mothers to be work-at-home-moms. Sarah's Silks also runs a Waldorf school in China with the proceeds from its business. They would need to test each color silk four times, given the four components of the playsilk.  This would harm the company and their efforts to be responsible, principled, stewards of the world.

Here%u2019s another example: Holztiger is a beloved German toy company that produces wooden animals and figures, painted with clean, non-toxic paints. If they were to meet this new law%u2019s testing requirements, instead of only having to test a vat of paint, which could be applied to 300 different animals, they have to test each animal or figure individually. A small company like Holztiger would have to spend $150,000 to $450,000 to test 300 toys. And this would need to be done on a regular basis%u2014at least annually, but possibly with each production run.