Soon, Handmade Toys Will Be Illegal

Soon, Handmade Toys Will Be Illegal

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

filed under: safety

This will be be the last holiday season you can shop for natural, handmade toys.

2007 was known as the year of the toxic toy, with many unsafe toys coming from China. In an effort to protect kids, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in August 2008, which mandates that all toy manufacturers do extensive testing. The problem, is that the only companies that can afford to abide by these new laws are the bigger toy companies, which are almost all ... made in China.

Most smaller companies will go out of business and European and Canadian companies will cease to import to the U.S (even though these countries have extremely strict safety standards on toys). The companies at risk are the ones that the public trusts and, at least according to the Homemade Toy Alliance, "unless the law is modified, handmade toys will no longer be legal in the U.S. Period."

If this law had been applied to the food industry, every farmer's market in the country would be forced to close while Kraft and Dole prospered. When we called Pea Pod Natural Toys in St. Paul, Minnesota, Dan Marshall, father of one and owner of this small shop, said: "One of the biggest reasons my wife and I started Pea Pod's was to provide healthier and safer toys than what was available everywhere else. For ten years, I think we've done a pretty good job of that. This law was simply written without any consideration for small manufacturers, the great majority of whom have exemplary safety records."

Let's rewind: China was the cause of most of our unsafe toys, yet we are about to ensure that China is the ONLY place where toys will be made. Huh?

HELP REVERSE THE ACT.

8 comments so far | Post a comment now >>

This is just the govenments way of helping their big business buddies monopolize the world, this country is start to go down the drain, i’m not sure the democrats can save it this time.

- N

Posted 12/10/08 08:51 AM

Yeh it’s all the republicans fault huh? Get smart. Democrats and Republicans are both out for themselves…dont be foolish.

- Anonymous

Posted 12/10/08 11:14 AM

This is definately an issue I feel strongly about. I’ve even blogged about it as well [with a link pointing here] to help spread the word.

- JL Coburn

Posted 12/10/08 11:26 AM

This really pisses me off. i don’t understand our government. why would we make it so the only toys we can get are the ones from China, when China is the problem. Imagine not having any farmers markets. It is SO FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!!!! I want my kids to grow up with the wooden toys we all grew up with.

- jackie

Posted 12/10/08 12:24 PM

Nooo our goverment is free!!… right after income tax, housing tax, property tax, sales tax, and we have freedom of speech- assuming you dont talk about religion in public schools- or any public property(unless it is universalism, scientism or atheism). As long as you go to the government to settle all disputes and not expect any of the laws to change no matter how insane they are; As long as you participate in a boring capitalist job, with no end on sight… yea we are free, free as the wind.

- AS

Posted 12/29/08 02:17 AM

I think that it’s governments way of making parents buy toys from china, so the USA can prosper and china can prosper at the expense of our children’s safety. I hate our government.

- Holly

Posted 03/21/09 01:16 PM

Hello Perdunky!

- Perdunok

Posted 09/22/09 10:38 AM

lemyaskin rulezz

- lemyaskin

Posted 09/22/09 08:55 PM