WASHINGTON — Small-business owners called on Congress Thursday to ease child-safety policies they say are too burdensome.
Business owners say the regulatory costs imposed by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 are forcing some companies to close their doors — even if their products pose no danger. But some lawmakers say the stringent rules are needed to keep kids safe.
Right now, the law requires testing and documentation of all products marketed to children under age 12 and limits the level of lead in those products. A vast array of merchandise falls under the law’s scope, including clothing, furniture, sports gear and toys.
The CPSIA was created as a response to 172 recalls and 24 child deaths in 2008, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 2009, deaths were cut in half, to 12, and recalls dropped to 50. Read more on how toys are getting safer — more or less.
Lawmakers have proposed amendments to CPSIA, including a requirement for third-party testing at a certified laboratory and even-lower safety levels for toxic substances such as lead.
“As we enter the holiday season, it is critical to ensure that the toys on our shelves are safe,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, of Arkansas. “No child should be harmed by a gift that is supposed to bring him or her joy.”
Costly regulation versus children’s safety
But small-business owners say they can’t afford to comply with the new regulations.
“When Congress first spoke of toy-safety legislation, I applauded your efforts,” said Jill Chuckas, owner of Crafty Baby LLC in Stamford, Conn. Chuckas is also on the board of directors of the Handmade Toy Alliance.
“But then I began to read the fine print. I became acutely aware that this law…could effectively put me out of business,” she said. “Not because my products are unsafe, but because I simply could not afford the mandatory third-party testing and labeling requirements.”
According to Chuckas, some small businesses have been forced to close down because they can’t afford to comply with the rules.
But, Pryor said, “just because a toy is made by a small company, perhaps one person, one toy at a time, does not mean it is safe.”
Anne Meagher Northup, commissioner for CPSC, which regulates and monitors the CPSIA, said the law should be better defined to rule out unnecessary products.
“Children do not live in a bubble,” said Northup, describing how children have access to many products not made specifically for them. “They crawl into the kitchen and open a drawer with a handle that contains a small amount of lead. It is not dangerous to have lead in a child’s [bicycle] handlebars. We need to distinguish between bad lead that can be ingested, such as charms, and lead that cannot be ingested.”
Parents can play a vital role in ensuring safety, but Congress still needs to regulate unknown dangers, said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel at the Consumer Federation of America.
Weintraub rejects efforts to “open a series of gaping loopholes in the CPSIA that would allow more lead into a host of children’s products. Allowing more lead in children’s products and carving out products from the scope of the CPSIA is not what children are asking for this holiday season.”