tired of the CPSIA? we sure are.

If you follow me on Twitter or simply follow any #cpsia tweets, or if you're lucky enough to know someone in the business of creating products for children then you've probably had an earful by now about the CPSIA or Consumer Product Safety Improvment Act. But even an earful isn't enough as the possible effects of the law are felt by more and more businesses (think Etsy), organizations (think the ALA--American Library Association) and you, the end customer (think less choices and higher prices).

Today has been designated as a CPSIA Blog-in, a virtual sit-in of sorts. Perhaps if we inundate the Web with what we know about this badly written law, we will finally be heard. I'm not sure Henry Waxman, Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee, will ever listen to the message I left on his voicemail. (As someone said on Twitter, he probably has an assistant sitting nearby with one of those bus-driver clickers keeping count.) But as seen from the recent Motrin fiasco, we do know the power of bloggers--it's a force to be reckoned with!

I have already posted about the CPSIA with some of my favorite links but here are a few more just in case you thought you, the end customer, wouldn't be affected by its reach.

• The CPSIA: Soon to bar kids from libraries? (Yes, your toddler may not be able to thumb through those board books after February 10th.)
• Ten predictions for the CPSIA's effects on children's products for 2009
• "Say No to the CPSIA" Blog-In (I love this one as it breaks down those affected by groups, from the entrepreneur to the second-hand shopper.)
• CPSIA Series: Business is Personal (You too should take it personally!)
  
• CPSIA Links (Probably the most comprehensive list of resources out there: articles, videos, contact information and posts from experts)
• The Ballad of the CPSIA (This is quite possibly the pièce de résistance of the posts for today. I much prefer to laugh than cry...)
  

LeShan and I are doing our own protest of sorts and have yet to take an XRF gun to our line of infant apparel. Though the law does not allow us to use certificates of compliance from our suppliers (American Apparel for our tees and a local screen printer for designs), we will have their certificates stating both tees and inks are lead free. For us, that is enough. As our local American Apparel distributor said, and I quote, "Don't they know there's no lead in apparel?" And by "they" I'm pretty sure he meant the idiots behind the CPSIA.

We feel confident our infant wear is lead free and will continue to sell it on our site. We are also confident that change is in the air. We will be offering a really great sale in the next few days in "honor" of the CPSIA, so keep your eyes out for that announcement. (We are still working out the details.) Because we did not do our own testing, though it would've cost us only a few hundred dollars, you will not see our infant line on some of our online boutiques. Hopefully the law will be resolved soon and we can all get back to work. I know for many of us this CPSIA has caused more than a few gray hairs and more than a few added pounds due to stress-related eating.

We would love your help in spreading the word about the CPSIA and the possible National Bankruptcy Day on February 10th. If you don't feel up to contacting your local congressman perhaps you'd be willing to link to this post from Twitter, Facebook or even your own blog. If you've never participated in a sit-in, or blog-in in this case, now's your chance! --Emily