What is the CPSIA? » small business

Can I see some examples of what tracking labels look like?

wackyhermit — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:38:42 +0000

Looking for inspiration for your own tracking labels? Here are some tracking label solutions that small businesspeople have come up with.

Apparel/Textile

Danielle Elizabeth Designs tweeted a link to a picture of her tracking/care label. Apparel is already required under other laws to have labels. CPSIA tracking information can be added to existing labels; the tracking label does not have to be a separate label.

Barking Dog Designs has a two-label solution; one with the business name, the other with the care instructions and other info. Pictures here and here. Remember, the information on tracking labels does not all have to be physically in the same spot. Barking Dog Designs also uses an RN number, which enables customers to look up the business name and location in the FTC’s database.

Challenge And Fun reports that one of their vendors uses small, ready-made size labels to indicate their batch numbers on fabric dolls.

Sue of Ecoleeko has a unique method. She uses an inexpensive set of rubber stamps to ink her tracking info onto fabric tape, then heat-sets the ink. If you’ve been considering hand-writing info on your tags, you should look at her idea; the results are very professional looking.

Yarn crafts (crochet, knit)

Curious Workmanship glues tracking labels printed on a laserjet to her hand-crocheted baby booties. Description here; picture here.

Hair Bows

InfantBows is not using tracking labels, since small unlabelable items are not required to have labels.

Toys

Greco Woodcrafting has their tracking label info laser-etched onto their wooden toys, and recommends collaborating with local businesses if you can’t do an in-house labeling solution.

A business that wishes to remain anonymous stamps their info onto wooden toys using permanent inks.

Books and paper goods

Lunasea Studios incorporated their tracking info into the copyright page of their Little Vampires books.

Hilary of Blynken and Nod has to hand-write her info onto her scavenger hunt card sets, but makes it look more professional by also signing and numbering each set.

Companies that make labels in small quantity, that have been recommended by small businesses:

Namemaker

Custom Couture Label Company

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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 don’t crafters and small businesses just ignore the law?

whimsicalwalney — Tue, 26 May 2009 12:19:11 +0000

Crafters and small businesses are not ignoring the law because the risks are too great. There is a fine of $100,000 and potential prison time of five years for each “incident.” Considering that an “incident” is a single, non-compliant product fines could total several hundreds of thousands of dollars and the potential for far too many years in jail.

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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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What is the economic effect of CPSIA?

wackyhermit — Fri, 15 May 2009 21:42:27 +0000

Because CPSIA affects a decentralized network of businesses, no organization or government office can keep track of all of them. However, there is a list being compiled here of known losses definitely attributable to CPSIA, based on media reports and businesses’ self-reports. At the time of this writing, the amount is over $4 billion.

The list includes businesses of all sizes from large publicly traded companies to tiny microbusinesses, as well as charitable organizations such as Goodwill.

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Why are businesses having trouble complying with CPSIA?

wackyhermit — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:29:46 +0000

When we think of “businesses” we usually think of large companies, but actually about 2/3 of businesses in the U.S. are very, very tiny– they have less than 5 employees. Only a tiny fraction of businesses have more than 100 employees.

The testing required by CPSIA on a small business’ products can easily cost more than the price of an employee. The CPSIA law is so complicated that a business would also have to have an employee to study the law, find out what is required, and make sure it gets done. If a business already has hundreds of employees, this cost is more affordable. But for a business with only one person or a handful of employees, this costs too much.

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