On Sun, 11 Jan 2009 13:14:31 -0500, "Arcturus" <Arcturus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >Yeah, and they want to require the Amish toymakers to have >thier wooden products tested and certified against lead content. Oh honey... it's not just the Amish. It's ALL of us, including little ol'grannies who knit baby sweaters or afghans and all the good people on Etsy who hand make toys and other items to supplement their incomes. We're talking about things like yarn, wool and cotton fabrics, wooden boards or pieces and other items that have NEVER contained lead or phthalates. It will soon be mandatory for each crafter or craftsman to submit a piece of everything they make (each color of each piece of fabric or skein of yarn, for example) to an independent lab for very expensive testing and analysis IF those products are intended for children 12 years of age and under. (I guess if you are a dog or someone over the age of 12, you can just die for all the gubment cares!) Go Google CPSIA for more info. Or go here for a quick overview: http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia http://sites.google.com/site/handmadetoyalliance/ As I said and as Arcturus stated, many in the handmade communities, the very same people who make REALLY GOOD quality stuff, are extremely concerned. Most will probably end up going out of business because they will be unable to sell or even transfer (i.e., give away) any non-tested items. That means no Ebay or garage sales either! This law could make potential criminals out of many or all of us. Like so many things in our time (can we mention the asinine new rule about public pool drains!), this is legislation with the best of intentions - that being protecting young children from dangerous substances - that has gone terribly wrong and has the potential to do great economic harm to many innocent ordinary citizens if it is not amended and made right in the next 29 days. :( Think about how it be when you can no longer buy any lovely handmade toys or items of clothing for your young children? Or make them yourself to give as presents?? How soon until you can't buy them for ANYONE - dogs included?? -- Karen C. Email: kmc@xxxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2008. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================