Toymakers: Up in Arms Over Product Tests

Micro producers of children's products have launched a grassroots campaign to win exemptions in the new law that requires product testing

By John Tozzi

The idea for "Toymakers: Up in Arms Over Product Tests" came from BusinessWeek reader Jennifer Taggart, an author, attorney, and consultant (thesmartmama.com) in Los Angeles.

Story Tools

• post a comment
• e-mail this story
• print this story
• order a reprint
• suggest a story
• digg this
• save to del.icio.us

Few small craft shops and artisan toymakers noticed last summer when Congress passed a sweeping new product safety statute known as the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. The law, drafted after millions of lead-tainted imports were recalled in 2007, mandates strict testing for lead and other hazards in any product aimed at children, from toys to clothes to kids' books, starting Feb. 10. But small producers say the change, while well-intentioned, will force them out of business by requiring costly testing for small batches of goods. Now they're mounting a massive campaign online to change the regulation—the only way many producers see to save their businesses.

How big is this grassroots effort? A proposal to amend the law on Change.org, an independent site identifying priorities for the Obama transition, was voted among the top 10 proposals, garnering 12,280 votes. A Facebook group for the cause has more than 10,000 members. They've got the attention of lawmakers and national media—The Wall Street Journal (NWS) ran an editorial embracing their cause. While some trade groups, such as the Toy Industry Assn. and the National Federation of Independent Business, are also working on the issue, a loose confederation of self-organized business owners is at the forefront of the fight.

These freshly minted activists say that's because the law hits small producers the hardest. More than 46,000 businesses that have no paid employees made apparel or sold children's toys or clothes in 2006, with average sales of $40,000, according to the latest Census data. The mandate to test every batch of every product, while practical for mass-market manufacturers, threatens to put crafters who make small batches or unique items out of business. Olivia Omega Logan, who runs the Baby Candy T-shirt company from her home in Aurora, Colo., says she was quoted a price of $50 to $100 to test components of her kids' T-shirts by a third-party lab, which will be required in August as the law stands now. To test each part—fabric, thread, snaps, designs, and tags—of her 75 discrete items, known as stock keeping units (SKUs), would cost between $18,000 and $37,000 for each run, she estimates. Her total revenue in 2008 was $38,000.

Small-Producer Exemptions

Dan Marshall, co-owner of Peapods Natural Toys in St. Paul, Minn., a retailer that buys from small manufacturers and crafters, says the law should account for the size of producers, just as certain small-scale growers are exempt from food labeling laws. "Do we need the same level of diligence with somebody who makes two dozen of something as we do with somebody making 12 million of something?" Marshall says. Many want a system in which producers who use materials tested by their suppliers would be exempt from testing themselves.

Lawmakers who pushed the new act, including Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Representative Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), urged regulators in a Jan. 16 letter to clarify how they will implement the requirements for small businesses, including whether component testing can satisfy the law's mandate. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is seeking comments on such a proposal through Jan. 30, but it's unclear whether any change could be adopted before the Feb. 10 deadline.