Great news!
The CPSC has granted a one-year stay on the requirements for testing certain products.
This is the result of the actions of countless people making their voices heard. What a great country we live in!
Read more about it at the CPSC Website. In short,
"The stay of enforcement provides some temporary, limited relief to the crafters, children’s garment manufacturers and toy makers who had been subject to the testing and certification required under the CPSIA. These businesses will not need to issue certificates based on testing of their products until additional decisions are issued by the Commission. However, all businesses, including, but not limited to, handmade toy and apparel makers, crafters and home-based small businesses, must still be sure that their products conform to all safety standards and similar requirements, including the lead and phthalates provisions of the CPSIA.
Handmade garment makers are cautioned to know whether the zippers, buttons and other fasteners they are using contain lead. Likewise, handmade toy manufacturers need to know whether their products, if using plastic or soft flexible vinyl, contain phthalates."
So while it's not necessarily a done deal permanently, this allows for enough time to put in additional feedback and make sure the law is written correctly.
Showing posts with label stuff. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stuff. Show all posts
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Slightly OT: Like supporting small home-based business? Yeah, me too...
Ever since I found out I was pregnant with Fiona, I've been addicted to the Web and all the glorious shopping opportunities it offers. There must be millions (ok, maybe just thousands) of small, home-based businesses out there that make awesome, unique, beautiful, and reasonably-priced stuff for babies and mommies. And that's pretty valuable in a world of the cookie-cutter, generic crap you'll find in Babies R Us and other such stores.
I'll be honest, I have done my fair share of shopping at BRU - heck, I even had a baby registry there. But that was more out of a sense of ease. I was able to find most of the basics of baby-rearing at BRU, and people who wanted to give gifts from a registry had it easy between the stores and the online option. But I wasn't super-psyched about it. Most mass-produced stuff for babies is garish, frilly, or just outright ugly. And that's fine if you like that kind of thing. M and I do not.
So back to the glorious shopping opportunities. When I was researching cloth diapers, I found a small affordable producer and bought a bunch of her adorable flannel all-in-ones. When I couldn't stomach the price of a sexy Hotsling or Mayawrap - especially without knowing how Fiona would respond to a sling - I went on eBay and found a woman who makes beautiful, simple slings. And Fiona and I loved it. When it came to The Great Bedding Search of 2007, I managed to track down a company that made cute, semi-affordable stuff that was made in the U.S.A. What's not to like about that? And a co-worker makes the most adorable sock monkeys you've ever seen, selling them on Etsy (incidentally, the best site EVER).
OK, so I have a point to all this. The point is early next month on February 10th, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act goes into effect, and this spells very bad news for a huge number of these small home-based businesses. It sounds like a fine idea. After all, who among us doesn't want to strengthen the requirements for testing and ensuring the products our kids wear, play with, and use don't contain toxic chemicals?
The problem with the CPSIA is that it requires every component of every toy, article of clothing, or other item intended for use by children under the age of 12 for lead and phthalates, and this can be a very expensive process. A process only large producers of these types of goods can afford. It's a well-intended law that was clearly created without much forethought. The cost of testing will be too much of a burden on small businesses, and they will be forced out.
Which means no more adorable bibs from craft fairs (like my mother-in-law bought Fiona for Christmas). No more cool jackets, like this one that I am coveting like crazy. No more adorable and affordable cloth diapers. To that I say, "BOOOOOOOOOO!"
What can you do to help? Contact your representatives. Tell them this law is great in theory, but really screws the little guy. Check out CoolMomPicks for some excellent resources and even more information. And thanks for your consideration!
I'll be honest, I have done my fair share of shopping at BRU - heck, I even had a baby registry there. But that was more out of a sense of ease. I was able to find most of the basics of baby-rearing at BRU, and people who wanted to give gifts from a registry had it easy between the stores and the online option. But I wasn't super-psyched about it. Most mass-produced stuff for babies is garish, frilly, or just outright ugly. And that's fine if you like that kind of thing. M and I do not.
So back to the glorious shopping opportunities. When I was researching cloth diapers, I found a small affordable producer and bought a bunch of her adorable flannel all-in-ones. When I couldn't stomach the price of a sexy Hotsling or Mayawrap - especially without knowing how Fiona would respond to a sling - I went on eBay and found a woman who makes beautiful, simple slings. And Fiona and I loved it. When it came to The Great Bedding Search of 2007, I managed to track down a company that made cute, semi-affordable stuff that was made in the U.S.A. What's not to like about that? And a co-worker makes the most adorable sock monkeys you've ever seen, selling them on Etsy (incidentally, the best site EVER).
OK, so I have a point to all this. The point is early next month on February 10th, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act goes into effect, and this spells very bad news for a huge number of these small home-based businesses. It sounds like a fine idea. After all, who among us doesn't want to strengthen the requirements for testing and ensuring the products our kids wear, play with, and use don't contain toxic chemicals?
The problem with the CPSIA is that it requires every component of every toy, article of clothing, or other item intended for use by children under the age of 12 for lead and phthalates, and this can be a very expensive process. A process only large producers of these types of goods can afford. It's a well-intended law that was clearly created without much forethought. The cost of testing will be too much of a burden on small businesses, and they will be forced out.
Which means no more adorable bibs from craft fairs (like my mother-in-law bought Fiona for Christmas). No more cool jackets, like this one that I am coveting like crazy. No more adorable and affordable cloth diapers. To that I say, "BOOOOOOOOOO!"
What can you do to help? Contact your representatives. Tell them this law is great in theory, but really screws the little guy. Check out CoolMomPicks for some excellent resources and even more information. And thanks for your consideration!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Cute stuff
OK, so while I said I want to start the Weeble off on as non-consumerist a foot as humanly possible, it is really, really difficult to not love all the incredibly cute baby stuff out there. I spent weeks - maybe months - trying to decide on the bedding alone because there were so many great options. Granted, most of the stuff I tend to be attracted to is WAY out of my league price wise. Honestly, paying upwards of $400, no matter how much I love it (and I do) strikes me as asinine. Especially considering there shouldn't really be much of anything in the crib with the baby, including baby bumpers, quilts, and sleep positioners. So unless you find a company that will sell pieces separately, you'd be paying a lot of money for a lot of stuff you couldn't really use.
As for us, we decided on a ridiculously cute and happy set called Birdhouse by Pixel Pieces, which arrived last week much to my delight.
Now, with bedding in hand, furniture awaiting delivery, and the spare bedroom being gradually cleared out to make room for the new family member, I am ready to go.
M and I aren't really baby decor types. We love animals and alphabets and bugs as much as the next person, but frilly-baby-cute isn't really our thing. So we wanted the kid's room to be pretty, fun, but most of all, cool. So after picking out the boring stuff like the carpet and paint (both will be neutral), I'm on a mission to find cool-baby-cute elements that will turn her room from a utilitarian nursery to totally sweet digs.
So far, my favorite find (after the bedding and the furniture) is Wallcandy's
Dottilicious kit of 80 multi-colored dots in different sizes. These nifty little dots peel and stick so they can be moved around at will without damaging wall paint. How bright and fun are these things??
My next mission is to find a crib mobile. I remember having one over my crib (or at least, I think I remember one) as a baby, and I've heard babies think they're just the neatest thing since sliced bread. So far, I've found only one I even remotely liked. Too bad it's $90. Yikes! Needless to say, I'll be putting on my crafty-lady hat and trying to make something myself.
Beyond the dots and the homemade mobile, there's not much left to pick out for cool-baby-cute. Then it's back into utilitarian mode. Figuring out what kind of bottles to go with, which waterproof sheet to get, how many pacifiers we'll need.
Ah, but in the end, that is going to be one damn cool room our kid gets to live in. And hooray for us, the cool digs will be right across the hall from our own bedroom. Perhaps our room will absorb some of that cool just by way of proximity. Or maybe I'll just get TWO sets of dots - one for Weeble's room, one for ours.
As for us, we decided on a ridiculously cute and happy set called Birdhouse by Pixel Pieces, which arrived last week much to my delight.
Now, with bedding in hand, furniture awaiting delivery, and the spare bedroom being gradually cleared out to make room for the new family member, I am ready to go.
M and I aren't really baby decor types. We love animals and alphabets and bugs as much as the next person, but frilly-baby-cute isn't really our thing. So we wanted the kid's room to be pretty, fun, but most of all, cool. So after picking out the boring stuff like the carpet and paint (both will be neutral), I'm on a mission to find cool-baby-cute elements that will turn her room from a utilitarian nursery to totally sweet digs.
So far, my favorite find (after the bedding and the furniture) is Wallcandy's
Dottilicious kit of 80 multi-colored dots in different sizes. These nifty little dots peel and stick so they can be moved around at will without damaging wall paint. How bright and fun are these things??My next mission is to find a crib mobile. I remember having one over my crib (or at least, I think I remember one) as a baby, and I've heard babies think they're just the neatest thing since sliced bread. So far, I've found only one I even remotely liked. Too bad it's $90. Yikes! Needless to say, I'll be putting on my crafty-lady hat and trying to make something myself.
Beyond the dots and the homemade mobile, there's not much left to pick out for cool-baby-cute. Then it's back into utilitarian mode. Figuring out what kind of bottles to go with, which waterproof sheet to get, how many pacifiers we'll need.
Ah, but in the end, that is going to be one damn cool room our kid gets to live in. And hooray for us, the cool digs will be right across the hall from our own bedroom. Perhaps our room will absorb some of that cool just by way of proximity. Or maybe I'll just get TWO sets of dots - one for Weeble's room, one for ours.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Decisions, decisions
Living in this ultra-consumerist world should have prepared me for the sheer volume of baby crap available. From Babies 'R' Us to Target to online superstores to the countless local storefronts both tacky and quaint, there is no need that should go unfulfilled when it comes to your baby. From the looks of it, we may need a second home to hold all the stuff we apparently need for the Weeble.
Our first foray into the baby-stuff frontier was a few weeks ago when we took our first trip to the superstore that is Babies 'R' Us to get a lay of the land. I had found some furniture online that I liked and wanted to see it in real life to decide if it was as good as it seemed. No such luck: half the stuff found on their website isn't necessarily found in the store. True for most of the furniture, if not all of it.
That evening at BRU was mind-numbing at best. For starters, there must be approximately 487 different types of baby bathtub available. 209 different crib mattresses. And no fewer than 1,763 strollers, carseats, and playpens. Everything does something slightly different, and has slightly different features. And that's just the useful stuff. There are $40 shelves with painted-on bumblebees, which are cute, but anywhere else (and without the baby-decor designer's name attached) that same dinky shelf would cost $7. There are the coordinating valances, lamps, rugs, diaper stackers, curtains, sheets, quilts, wall hangings, trash bins, toy chests, and clothes hampers to ensure that nothing, but NOTHING in your baby's room isn't perfectly matched. Then there are the binkies, bibs, onesies, crib sheets, stuffed animals, and baby socks - each numbering into the millions.
How does one even begin to decide what they want? I say "want" because "need" plays very little part in all of this. I think about when I was a baby (not that I have an extensive memory of this time in my life), and it's pretty clear my mother got away with about 1/100th of what is sold as necessary objects in this day and age. Do I really need a bottle warmer? Or even better, a baby wipe warmer?? Is it absolutely necessary for me to have a matching set of pillows that can't even go into the crib (for fear of suffocation), or a crib CD player that will soothe our little Weeble to sleep?
M and I still have at least one BRU trip left in us to pick out stuff like the stroller, the carseat, and other very utilitarian items that, for all intents and purposes, we actually need. But in an effort to get Weeble started off on the path of less consumerism, we may as well lead by example.
Of course, I say this as I panic about all the projects we have yet to complete (painting, new carpeting, closet reorganization) so there's a suitable place for all the stuff we will be putting into her room. Namely, a new furniture set. Anti-consumerist my ass. Weeble gets all new. We decided at least someone in this house should get a nice, matching bedroom set, and it certainly isn't M and me. And, I have to be honest: there will be some coordinating decorative items in the baby's room. That's right, I said it. Stuff will match. Now, excuse me while I go hang my head in shame. And think gleefully about how awesome my kid's room is going to be.
Our first foray into the baby-stuff frontier was a few weeks ago when we took our first trip to the superstore that is Babies 'R' Us to get a lay of the land. I had found some furniture online that I liked and wanted to see it in real life to decide if it was as good as it seemed. No such luck: half the stuff found on their website isn't necessarily found in the store. True for most of the furniture, if not all of it.
That evening at BRU was mind-numbing at best. For starters, there must be approximately 487 different types of baby bathtub available. 209 different crib mattresses. And no fewer than 1,763 strollers, carseats, and playpens. Everything does something slightly different, and has slightly different features. And that's just the useful stuff. There are $40 shelves with painted-on bumblebees, which are cute, but anywhere else (and without the baby-decor designer's name attached) that same dinky shelf would cost $7. There are the coordinating valances, lamps, rugs, diaper stackers, curtains, sheets, quilts, wall hangings, trash bins, toy chests, and clothes hampers to ensure that nothing, but NOTHING in your baby's room isn't perfectly matched. Then there are the binkies, bibs, onesies, crib sheets, stuffed animals, and baby socks - each numbering into the millions.
How does one even begin to decide what they want? I say "want" because "need" plays very little part in all of this. I think about when I was a baby (not that I have an extensive memory of this time in my life), and it's pretty clear my mother got away with about 1/100th of what is sold as necessary objects in this day and age. Do I really need a bottle warmer? Or even better, a baby wipe warmer?? Is it absolutely necessary for me to have a matching set of pillows that can't even go into the crib (for fear of suffocation), or a crib CD player that will soothe our little Weeble to sleep?
M and I still have at least one BRU trip left in us to pick out stuff like the stroller, the carseat, and other very utilitarian items that, for all intents and purposes, we actually need. But in an effort to get Weeble started off on the path of less consumerism, we may as well lead by example.
Of course, I say this as I panic about all the projects we have yet to complete (painting, new carpeting, closet reorganization) so there's a suitable place for all the stuff we will be putting into her room. Namely, a new furniture set. Anti-consumerist my ass. Weeble gets all new. We decided at least someone in this house should get a nice, matching bedroom set, and it certainly isn't M and me. And, I have to be honest: there will be some coordinating decorative items in the baby's room. That's right, I said it. Stuff will match. Now, excuse me while I go hang my head in shame. And think gleefully about how awesome my kid's room is going to be.
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