Say Good-bye to Handmade Toys

Yep. And I don't like it one bit. It makes me sad to think that there will be no more handmade toys sold because of the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It's great in theory: no more lead-laden toys from China. They have to be tested by a third party before they can be sold. But this isn't just for China...it's for everyone making and selling handmade toys and clothes. This includes my husband's cousin's husband (that sounded way more confusing that it really is). He makes wooden toys and it would be too expensive ($4000 per individual item) to have testing done on them, so it's likely that he won't be making toys anymore.

Here are a few posts by other bloggers about this topic:

Heard In the Slammer: "I Used To Make Homemade Toys."
We Need Your Help to Save Handmade Toys
Handmade Toys Alli

I don't want my kids ingesting lead, but I want them to be able to play with handmade toys too. There has to be a better way. Please consider writing to your congress persons and senators to add an amendment to this law. I'm not one for writing to government officials, but I will do it this time. There are even sample letters if you're not sure what you're supposed to say. Follow the instructions on Cool Mom Picks. (You can add the button to your webpage/blog as well.)

Thanks! I'll get off my soapbox now.