What is the CPSIA? » impact of cpsia

Why are some small businesses closing because of CPSIA while others seem to be just fine?

wackyhermit — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 18:21:25 +0000

In the absence of clear guidance from CPSC on many important issues, each business will have to decide for itself how to deal with CPSIA. Many businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach. Others are closing because the possible consequences should they guess wrong are too great. Still others are trying to comply as best they can with the provisions of CPSIA in spirit, even if they can’t comply to the letter of the law.

Some businesses will close or already have, some will stay open and do business as usual, and others will change their product line. It depends on how each individual business is run and how comfortable its owners are with the risk of litigation. For example, a crafter who sells only in her hometown might be more comfortable staying in business than someone who sells her products wholesale internationally. A business that can afford to hire an attorney might be comfortable taking the attorney’s advice, while a business that can’t afford an attorney might not be comfortable taking a risk of litigation. An apparel manufacturer might figure he’s less at risk than a manufacturer of jewelry.

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Why shouldn’t I support CPSIA?

wackyhermit — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:01:15 +0000

Suppose Congress was worried about preventing rape, so they passed a law saying that every man in the country had to register as a sex offender or be locked up in prison if he refuses. You would probably say that this was unfair, that most men aren’t rapists, and that it was cruel to lock someone up in prison for not committing a crime. You might also say that this would not prevent any rapes, since women on the lookout for potential rapists wouldn’t be able to tell which of the newly registered men was really a sex offender. If you are a woman, would you feel safer knowing that all men had registered as sex offenders, or would you become suspicious of everyone? If you are a man, would you want to register because you feel that any action should be taken that might possibly stand even a tiny chance of preventing a horrible crime?

This is how businesses feel about CPSIA. Most of the businesses affected have done nothing wrong; they have never broken any laws or sold any unsafe products and have even taken many precautions to make sure their products are safe, long before CPSIA became law. But they are faced with either extinction or extremely high costs from testing. The fact that all manufacturers have to do the testing makes consumers suspicious that all products have poisonous amounts of lead in them, which makes them feel less safe. And the real kicker is that all this effort is entirely wasted. CPSIA will not prevent most cases of lead poisoning, which are caused by lead in old house paint and in contaminated soil– items that are not covered by CPSIA. It is simply not true that we should go to any lengths at all, including doing demonstrable harm to children, to potentially protect one single child from the slightest chance of lead poisoning. It is not worth destroying the industry that clothes, amuses, and educates all our children so that one child can “safely” eat 10,000 rubber duckies without poisoning himself with lead.

Some manufacturers will still choose to break the new law by selling safe but untested or unlabeled products, hoping they won’t get caught or that if they do get caught, the fact that their products are safe will protect them in court. But when people go around breaking laws, this lessens respect for the rule of law. Think for a minute about a law almost everybody breaks. Do you speed? Do you have respect for the speeding laws? No, because everybody around you is breaking them too. Imagine if all laws were disrespected like speeding laws. Nobody would care if they committed a crime, because everyone else does it too. When we look at places in the world where there is no respect for the rule of law, we see drug lords and warlords take over. This is not a recipe for civilization. Of course CPSIA won’t result in warlords taking over the country, but it is one step toward that path– a step we should not take, for fear the next one will be easier.

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Why should I care about big corporations who outsource labor and take shortcuts?

wackyhermit — Sat, 16 May 2009 02:36:40 +0000

Large corporations are only a tiny percentage of the businesses that are affected by CPSIA. They are better able to afford expensive testing and compliance hassles because they can spread the costs over millions of products.

Small and tiny businesses with fewer than 20 employees are the majority of the businesses affected by CPSIA and are in danger of being closed altogether in the midst of a recession. Small businesses that don’t outsource production are in more danger from CPSIA than large corporations that do outsource production.

If you are angry at large corporations and would like to do something about it, I’m sure you’d agree that a law that barely grazes them while taking down many small businesses in the process is not the best way.

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Why does CPSIA affect thrift stores?

wackyhermit — Fri, 15 May 2009 12:02:59 +0000

Many of CPSIA’s requirements, particularly the lead content and phthalate content, apply retroactively to goods that have already been manufactured. Because it is illegal to sell any item that doesn’t meet the standards, thrift store owners must make sure their items meet the standards.

Some types of items (e.g. cloth) usually meet the standards, but other types (e.g. zippers) sometimes do not. Thrift store owners are not required to test their items, but with many common items it is impossible to know if they meet the standard without testing.

Some thrift store owners find they cannot make enough money selling only items that are known to meet the standards, and that the cost of testing for other items is too high, so they are choosing not to sell children’s items.

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What is this law doing to businesses that make and/or sell children’s products?

cmmjamie — Sat, 02 May 2009 03:08:32 +0000

Many businesses that make or sell children’s products have already closed because of CPSIA, and many others are doing everything they can to hold on in these tough economic times, but may fall also have to shut their doors. There has already been an impact to the variety and availability of children’s products in the market and it will only continue to decrease the longer this law goes unchanged.

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