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We are honored to be featured on ZapRoot for discussing the Consumer Product Saftey Information Act (CPSIA); however, we have new information to share.  Today, members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce submitted a letter to chair Henry Waxman requesting a hearing to explore how CPSIA will affect small business, according to Z Recommends.

The emails, letters, and phone calls we have received from constituents about the unintended consequences of certain provisions and deadlines in CPSC’s implementation plan now number in the thousands. Many involved in CPSIA’s creation were passionate to improve the safty of our children’s products, but surely no one expected or wanted to drive thousands of home-based and small businesses out of operation and turn thousands of Americans into surprise victims of a brutal recession. For example, it seems obvious to us tha t the hand-knitted sweaters and homemade hair bows sold by artisans on eBay are highly unlikely to endanger children’s health.

The situation is urgent. On February 10, in less than three weeks, these tiny toy producers will be out of business. Their products, regardless of innocence and safety, will have to be removed from store shelves and the websites of their home businesses.

You have urged the Commission to deal with the problem by issuing new guidance. Regrettably, the kind of modifications to existing requrements needed to prevent a broad collapse of home-based businesses may take months to achieve. We are advised that even if the CPSC devotes full staff attention and moves at the most expeditious speed, it will be unable [to] issue the necessary guidance prior to February 10 without violating Federal rulemaking requirements.

The full text of the letter to Waxman is available on the Handmade Toy Alliance wiki.