Challenge the CPSIA Act: it likely affects *you*!

If you think you're not affected, guess again. Odds are, you are.

Recent Forbes article: Scrap the CPSIA

I see this as another form of big business using our fears to wipe out the competition. Odds are you don't remember the Consumer Product Safety Commission's warning against co-sleeping. At a basic level, they are responsible for products, not the use of products. Add to that, they skewed the statistics (like so many to when they have an agenda). Oh, and the JPMA co-launched the campaign. Who, you might ask, is the JPMA? Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association. No conflict of interest there. They couldn't possibly have an interest in crib sales, could they?

We're seeing this conflict again with the CPSIA: Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It is intended to assure that all items meant for children under 12 years of age is tested for lead and other safety issues. Toys, books, clothes, even my small corner of the world, one of a kind baby carriers. Oh yes, they want to keep our children safe. Unfortunately, they are applying a blanket law when a targeted act would do better. Most of the items that caused concern were manufactured in China. Most of the products being affected will be small companies, including crafters and thrift stores. Eventually, you won't even be able to give something away that hasn't undergone hundreds to thousands of dollars worth of testing. Be careful handing down that Christening gown or old rattle- it could open you up to a world of trouble.

The big manufacturers are on board. This is a blip in their manufacturing process. With the high volumes they manufacture, it will not break the bank to get the tests done for every batch. Every component of every batch. For a hobbyist (like myself) or a small business? Some are closing up shop now rather than to be left with stock they can't even give away. Personally, I have a stock of carriers in various stage of decoration being held back, praying common sense will prevail.

Not only are the large manufacturers not financially burdened by this act, it actually benefits them. Wiping out the cheaper competition from China? Check. Bringing mom and pop competitors to their knees? Double check! Bonus- if even used items must be tested, more people will have to buy new!

This reminds me of a lesson my father tried to teach me about writing laws.
"Think of a law you think everyone should follow," he told me.
"Everyone should wear their seatbelts."
"Ok, what about motorcycles?"
"Everyone in an enclosed vehicle should wear their seatbelts."
"Ok, what about cars that were made before seatbelts existed? Do we install seatbelts for the law? What if it devalues the antiques?"

And so on. Laws should be well thought out. They should benefit the maximum number of people while impeding the least amount of people possible. To me, the CPSIA is just another of those acts that might as well be called what it is- a gift to big business. Just like the CPSC campaign against co-sleeping and the Ad Council being forced to water down the National Breastfeeding Campaign. Where was our concern for childrens' health then? Seems to me offending the parents was more important than informing them of the risks...yes risks associated with formula feeding. It's not that breast is best, it's that formula is inferior. Those with the interest, power and money wanted to keep that from the public. Just like they want to keep the option of local or handmade goods off the shelves. After all, ethics and ideal rarely ever make enough money to reach the bottom line.

I share with you with a series of items that, if I held strict adherence to the act, I would not be able to make as gifts for my children or any others again.





What can you do to fight the death of creativity? Check out the Handmade Toy Alliance. Take action. It may seem a small thing, but it affects you too.

saying goodbye

One more post for the day (on a roll, huh?)

Recently I left a group I have been in for years. I got to the point that seeing interactions/non-interactions was a negative experience to me. Let me emphasize: to me. It's all about my perception and what I could handle. Individually, they are fantastic women. Even as a group, just wonderful. But the particular dynamics weren't something I could handle in my life at this point.

I didn't want to leave in a huff of drama, like I have seen others leave email loops. The melodramatic good-bye posts are often really a ploy to get others to beg them to stay. So I just quietly left, figuring nobody would notice/comment for awhile.

What was there to say? No matter how I say it, it would seem like an accusation. Ya'll aren't meeting my needs at this point and I would like to move on instead of trying to live in the past and recapture the golden years. But that reads wrong, since (as the old break-up line says) its not you (all), it's me. It's my lack of the social ins and outs that other women seem to have. It's my fear of asking for help while intensily longing to have very close connections. I don't expect anybody else to meet my needs as I often don't even know what my needs are.

I just wanted to leave while leaving was a strength for me. While I was doing it for the right reasons, to decrease the negative feelings I have. The only problem, is because I have seperated myself so quietly, and I already have a habit of not reaching out, I fear that I have cut myself out of their lives completely rather than just this aspect of it. And par for the course, I don't know how to fix it.

Exchange Rate for Friends

What are friends worth to you? What do you expect out of them? What do you expect to give to them?

Me, I have always wanted people to feel close to, but so many times I thought I was there and things fell short of my expectations that I just hold back now.

What would be my dream friendship? That I could come to a person in any state of mind and be assured that I am not wasting their time or getting in the way of their life. I suppose that would mean I would be a part of their life. I wouldn't have to hold back about fears, dreams, plans, finances, religion, beliefs and so on. I could say, "I need help." And the friend would say, "You got it."

What could a friend expect from me? The same. To be treated like someone as important to me as family (who, BTW, I also long for a closer relationship with).

Right now, I have quite a few friends. And I am ready to give them what they need to make them stronger and happier if I can. But I still hold back because I am afraid of it all being one sided.

It is you know. I've reached out and said I NEED THIS to certain friends, and have gotten no response. I honestly expected more. So I reached out again, to more people. Response this time, but not anything that helped me continue to hold my head above water.

Part of the reason I agreed to move 2hrs away is because I knew that near or far, they weren't the people I needed to go to for help. Now of course I still need the help I wasn't getting before and have to find a more nearby social circle.

Maybe I just need to be more selective. I am so starved for meaningful interaction it's hard though. I do notice that some of my friends are also getting their needs ignored. That's what prompted me to start this particular rant. In my opinion, when a friend needs you, you drop everything you can to be there. If there's something going on in their lives that is a once in a lifetime thing- you participate. Even if you have other plans. If your plans are once a year type thing- well, still hands down for me. It's once a year, you've got next year.

If a friend suggests ways to get closer, you brainstorm what works. Not harp on what doesn't.

And if a friend calls out and says I need people to talk to, you open those ears and listen.

When I friend says I need a life preserver, you throw them ten.

But, maybe it's just me. Maybe the friends I expect are a dying breed.

I Can't!

I was supposed to go hang out with a friend today, but I can't. I just keep coming up with reasons why I can't leave the house. I'm honestly trying to force myself, but I just can't seem to. J is sick, but that's just part of it. She's acting ok, just a cough.

I am so down, and it is such a habit to be alone I just can't seem to break it. How do you break a habit that's been years in the making when it's easier to remain status quo? How do you punch through that emotional barrier that makes you scared, sad, stressed and angry all at once?

I just don't want to be me anymore, but I don't know how to fix it if I can't even take that first step out of the front door.