I got this information off a web forum run by Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart Clark and I wanted to share. This may effect some people here who sell things through etsy or ebay. I usually don't really think much of these sort of posts or hype, but this is the sort of thing that could really effect craftspeople, and I have friends that make a living selling things they make and one day I hope also. Please Pass this onto your friends!!

Friends, there's a big thing coming down the line here in the US that everyone needs to be aware of, and act on.

In a poorly-thought-out backlash to all the problems with adulterated imports in the last 18 months, the US legislature has pushed through a nasty bit of paperwork called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). While it is ostensibly aimed at increasing the thoroughness of safety inspection and accountability for law breakers, the unintended consequences of the legislation are far reaching and potentially devastating.

The law mandates expensive testing for *each batch* of each component and materials used in products for children. It goes into effect 9 February 2009. If changes are not made, there are a great many companies, from micro-businesses at home to large corporations, who are currently producing safe, useful items for families, who will be forced out of business by the economic burden of this testing requirement on 10 February 2009.

For a very good summary, and some excellent contact information, view here:

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For those who are in the professional world here, please acquaint yourself with the issues laid out here:

[link]

Kathleen Fasanela is working hard to organize the grass roots of design and sewing professionals, from the micro-producer, to the small-scale manufacturer.

While it may not seem this legislation has an impact on the living history world, it does.

Those fanastic toys the Meschers make available? The makers will be in the same boat as the fellow at Greco Woodcrafting, and may not be able to continue. The woman who puts together child-sized hoops in her spare time? She'll have to pay for lead and pthalate testing on *each new batch* of every component of her product. People who make knit items, some of which may go to children? They'll have to pay to have every batch of yarns tested, every time. People making children's clothing on a ready-to-wear basis? Same thing... $500 of testing for *each component* of *each size* of *each product*, *each time* they start a new bolt or batch. (For an $80 child's dress, that's $500 each for the lining, the dress fabric, the threads, the fasteners, and the trim... for each size, and each style, and each time a new "batch" or "lot" of a component is opened. Yeah. Not workable for any business.)

So--get educated. Get active. Let your legislative representatives know that you want them to make the repeal of the 2008 CPSIA their first priority in the legislative session in January. The big players in the manufacturing world are getting involved, but the legislators need to know, from us, and in numbers, that *We The People* think they messed up, and they need to fix it.