Save the Small Natural Toy Makers

Target:

parents, mothers, fathers, children, handmade toy makers, crafters,

Sponsored by:

We have been victorious in getting toy safety laws enacted to require testing of toys to prevent our children from being exposed to toxic chemicals. But now our favorite small, creative, mom-and-pop natural toy companies like Selecta, Haba, Sarah's Silks, and Etsy toys are in danger. That's because the testing protocals are too rigid, and ironically will end up hurting and undermining the very group that has been a toy safety advocate all along. The toy makers we as parents have turned to for creative, natural, non-toxic toys cannot bear the cost of individually testing each toy they make, as the new law requires.

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.

Please, please reconsider the details of this legislation. Please keep the wonderful, aware, protective elements while finding ways to do so without cutting toy businesses off at the knees. At a volatile point in the economy, the effect would be devastating for thousands of hardworking mom and pop toy makers, toy sellers, and the millions of children who will be deprived of beautiful, artistically rendered, safe and lovely wooden and cloth toys, and left with the big, mind-numbing beeping plastic toys of the few companies who can afford to comply with the testing.

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We signed the "Save the Small Natural Toy Makers" petition!

# 111:

11:25 am PDT, Jun 4, Richard Smith, Arizona
For more impact, add a personal comment here

# 110:

6:05 pm PDT, May 7, Ken Tower, Arizona
Our woodworking club has made and donated approximately 2000 wooden toys to underpriveleged schools for the past 10 years or so. This legislation threatens this good effort and the joy at Christmas for these children. There is no threat from lead or any other chemical in the paint we buy at the Home Depot for this project.

# 109:

4:06 pm PDT, May 7, Mary Howard, Arizona

# 108:

11:36 am PDT, May 7, Ivan Hanna, Arizona
Why do indiduals and small manufacturers who make wooden toys for sale or charity have to pay for large, greedy manufacturers who import toys especially from China with known dangerous chemicals and materials. Why can't the law just be written to have testing only on toy products originating in China and other Asian countries instead of penalizing Americans.

# 107:

11:10 am PDT, May 7, Name not displayed, Texas

# 106:

10:25 am PDT, May 7, Catherine Addison, Arizona
WE NEED YOUR HELP to get HR 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act(CPSIA)of 2008 amended. THIS LAW NEEDS TO BE CHANGED. I belong to a small non-profit group of woodworkers in Tucson AZ,that provides about 2000 toys at Christmas time every year to school children in disadvantaged areas. Individual woodworkers carefully handmake these toys with specific attention to safety, using materials that have already been tested. No toys are sold. We can not afford independent lab testing, and marking requirements are also a problem since many individuals do not want recognition for their donations. If this law remains as written, thousands of underprivileged children will lose out on a special gift, handmade by someone who wants to brighten their Christmas. The law needs to provide exemptions for small and non-profit organizations. The large corporations, who have created this problem by importing dangerous, hazardous toys and materials, should still be held responsible for testing and marking the products they mass produce and import.

# 105:

1:13 pm PDT, Apr 15, Molly SAHNER, Pennsylvania
I am a mother and artist concerned about how restrictive these laws will be for independent artists and toymakers who have been supporting the natural toy/clothing movement for years. Why are strict labelling requirements not sufficient for smaller, one of a kind businesses. If all of an artist/toymakers materials already come from companies who provide ingredient/content info and are proven non-toxic, then I believe a parent should have the right to choose.

# 104:

3:33 pm PDT, Apr 4, Denise Omdahl, Arizona
I belong to a small woodworkers club in Arizona. Every year we make toys which are then donated to thousands of children at Christmas time. Our club cannot afford any type of testing equipment and this ridiculous law will put an end to the joy of giving and the spirit of Christmas. Thousands of needy children who look forward to Santa delivering these toys will now go without. We do not make these toys for money, we make them so the less fortunate can look forward to a handmade toy created just for them.

# 103:

3:10 am PDT, Mar 27, Kyara Panula, Delaware
Dear Sir or Madam, Please take understand that any new policy needs to be attended to as an as-necessary basis. Yet again, we are fooled into thinking that what is best for one person is best for all; a small, family-run toy shop is nowhere near Matel, in stature or finances as well as the legal issues that no one wants to speak of. We should keep it that way, and run tests only for companies who DESERVE them. cogitate, meditate, understand the situation, not the money. best kyara panula mother of a happy, unburdened three year old.

# 102:

7:01 am PST, Jan 25, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 101:

5:05 am PST, Jan 20, Marta Nowicki, Texas

# 100:

8:20 pm PST, Jan 19, Jeff Weimer, Texas

# 99:

10:01 am PST, Jan 18, Kathleen Stringer, Texas

# 98:

7:31 am PST, Jan 18, Deb Bishop, Illinois

# 97:

6:02 am PST, Jan 17, Name not displayed, Armed Forces Europe

# 96:

7:50 pm PST, Jan 16, Susanne MacMullen, Massachusetts

# 95:

6:50 am PST, Jan 13, Mary Eld, North Carolina
I am a stay at home mom selling high quality handmade toys to help support my family. I work with natural fibers as much as possible. There is no possible way that I could afford the testing process; I would be unable to sell my toys as "toys" any longer. I do not believe this bill has been well thought out- as currently worded it punishes those toymakers and parents who are committed to handmade toys and clothing and are avoiding mass produced items from China already. The health risks this law is trying to avoid come almost EXCLUSIVELY from large, unscrupulous factories- not from cottage industries. Most small business hold themselves to a very high standard and are scrupulous about age and safety warnings. Please, please, rewrite this law. Thank you for your time.

# 94:

3:45 am PST, Jan 13, Beverly Waddell, Georgia
It will be a travesty if the handmade clothes, toys and accessories we love to buy for our children and grandchildren are basically eliminated because of the ridiculous terms of this new law!! Yes, large toy companies need to be held accountable for safe products for our children, but to extend that same testing requirement to those who handmake crocheted hats, hairbows, wooden toys, blankets, etc. is just ludicrous!!

# 93:

3:12 pm PST, Jan 8, Name not displayed, Georgia
SMALL BUSINESSES ARE SURVIVING ON THE SMALL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE MAKE ON THESE ITEMS. We grew up on toys that were NOT tested for this! Just STOP buying stuff from China and we can avoid this problem! Items like clothing are how I afford to dress my children. I buy from thrift shops and yard sales. I could never afford all brand new clothes. I will probably have to learn how to make their clothes from now on.

# 92:

12:52 pm PST, Jan 8, Name not displayed, Texas

# 91:

12:00 pm PST, Jan 8, Lesley Christopher, California
Many of the small production toymakers, are stay at home mothers trying to raise their children themselves and contribute to their families income. If you do not ammend this bill you will send them further into the downward spiral of the economy, many may have to start looking outside the home for more employment, competeing for those scarce jobs that are available. We are in the united states buying our materials in the US, we shoul be exempt from this law. The materials should already be lead free and us having to have our small products tested would put an undo burden upon us forcing us to stop production.

# 90:

11:54 am PST, Jan 8, Name not displayed, Illinois

# 89:

11:19 am PST, Jan 8, Sue Scott, Oregon

# 88:

8:45 am PST, Jan 8, Melissa Warburton, Wisconsin

# 87:

7:09 am PST, Jan 8, Reesa Ammons, Texas
I need to be able to buy childrens clothes and toys from resale shops and ebay in order to not go broke and help recycle clothes that are still in great condition.

# 86:

5:52 am PST, Jan 8, Rosie Chapman, Michigan
I am a grandmother and a doll artist. I make toys and dolls for children and this law will mean that I will not be able to that anymore if this law is in effect. I think that is wrong for homemakers, Secondhand stores like Goodwill and Salavation Army facilities.

# 85:

5:27 am PST, Jan 8, Name not displayed, Minnesota
This law has not been thought out and will drastically impact struggling families and small businesses!

# 84:

3:58 am PST, Jan 8, Beth Lawrence, Tennessee
This law is not thought out at all and it is only going to hurt the already unstable economy. Several businesses that I support have already alerted their customers that they must get rid of their inventory before the law goes into effect!

# 83:

9:36 pm PST, Jan 7, Bernadette Lindberg, Minnesota
If not for small home based mommy/daddy run businesses many children wouldn't get to be have a parent around. This impacts more then just safety. These parents are doing right by their children by not only being there but putting food on the table. It's wrong to police the little guy!

# 82:

8:17 pm PST, Jan 7, Amber Reddinger, Pennsylvania

# 81:

7:33 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Iowa

# 80:

2:03 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, California

# 79:

1:37 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, New Mexico
This law is too strict and I do not think anyone looked at all of the ramifications before they drafted this law.

# 78:

1:34 pm PST, Jan 7, Susan Deady, Michigan

# 77:

1:34 pm PST, Jan 7, Kelly Baylie, Missouri
While I understand the original purpose of this bill, it has simply gone too far. We need to keep our kids safe, but in a manner that will not further kill our economy. Please re-evaluate this bill! Buying second hand is often the only way some parents can clothe their children. Buying from small businesses (specializing in organic items) is often the best approach to avoiding many of the toxins this bill is attempting to eliminate in our children's lives.

# 76:

1:30 pm PST, Jan 7, JL Moore, Maryland
This is all about money for the big guys and keeping the little guys from becoming economically independent. This is ridiculous. This law is garbage and must not pass as is! Sure, children should be protected, but let's please use some common sense!

# 75:

1:29 pm PST, Jan 7, Melissa Rupe, Idaho

# 74:

1:25 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Washington
for heaven's sake, everyone wants children to be safe but lets be sane about it too. All this law does is force people to purchase mass marketed stuff from sweat shops and increase the amount of junk that goes into landfills. And what about families who have lost their jobs and can't afford to buy things new? Face it, this is a poorly written law that doesn't meet its purpose. ITS JUST PLAIN WRONG!!!!

# 73:

1:11 pm PST, Jan 7, Allison Mcdowell, Texas

# 72:

1:08 pm PST, Jan 7, Amy Martin, New Mexico

# 71:

12:44 pm PST, Jan 7, Bekah Rhoades, California

# 70:

12:01 pm PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Michigan

# 69:

9:55 am PST, Jan 7, Denyse Weigum, Missouri

# 68:

9:43 am PST, Jan 7, Sarah Waller, Michigan

# 67:

9:29 am PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, California
this is just nuts many familys can only afford to buy 2nd hand clothing so what will there familues have to go with out since they have to buy all new now food, heat, what in many cases you know this will happen.

# 66:

8:55 am PST, Jan 7, Michelle Adams, California

# 65:

8:46 am PST, Jan 7, Ashley Klein, Arizona
Ridiculous...

# 64:

8:25 am PST, Jan 7, Claudia Moon, Florida

# 63:

7:38 am PST, Jan 7, Lori Brenizer, Armed Forces Europe

# 62:

6:52 am PST, Jan 7, Michelle Martinez, Texas

# 61:

6:11 am PST, Jan 7, Seneca Fox, Ohio

# 60:

5:49 am PST, Jan 7, Gavin Smith, Texas

# 58:

4:55 am PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Armed Forces Europe
This is not good for the resale industry either, or low income individuals who buy and sell used items.

# 59:

4:55 am PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Armed Forces Europe
This is not good for the resale industry either, or low income individuals who buy and sell used items.

# 57:

4:21 am PST, Jan 7, Bridget McNamara, Wisconsin

# 56:

3:53 am PST, Jan 7, Angela Tilsher, Armed Forces Europe

# 55:

2:48 am PST, Jan 7, Tiffany Harris, Armed Forces Europe
I am a stay at home mother to two little ones stationed in Germany with my husband who is in the army. If this bill is passed it will bring many hardships to military families that rely on each other for second hand clothing and toys. We can't just go buy everything while stationed overseas especially with the exchange rates from the dollar to euro.

# 54:

2:39 am PST, Jan 7, Danielle James, Armed Forces Europe
This sounds like an attempt to stomp out the little guy. Big businesses are the ones who have time and again brought lead filled toys into our country and homes and have gotten PASS after PASS. This will affect such a large market of people who choose to buy natural, buy American, buy things that support families. Most of the cloth diaper's I own are made from mothers just like me. The larger diaper companies outsource their production just for the bottom line. Yes we need regulations. Yes we need penalties for lead soaked toys. No this isn't the way to go about it.

# 53:

12:48 am PST, Jan 7, Name not displayed, Washington

# 52:

9:26 pm PST, Jan 6, A H, California

# 51:

9:08 pm PST, Jan 6, Name not displayed, Wisconsin

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