if you sell children's products, or anything that children might be drawn to (art dolls) - READ THIS

[carelia]

There is a new law that goes into effect in February that essentially requires anyone selling products that will end up in the hands of children to be end-tested (not component tested) and labelled as safe.

While I support laws regulating foreign-made potentially unsafe products, this affects businesses of ALL sizes, and even when the components are safe, the end product still has to be tested and comply with regulations.

Testing is prohibitively expensive for most small crafters.

There has been a lot of discussion about it lately on etsy. In a nutshell, this is what the law says (I cut and pasted from one of the discussions):

Not just toys and jewelry, but CLOTHING, ROOM DECOR, SCHOOL SUPPLIES, EDUCATIONAL AIDS, ART WORK, ART SUPPLIES, PILLOWS, HAIR BOWS so on & etc. if it is made for someone 12 & under to use it will be subject to the certified testing. Even HAND-ME-DOWNS as resales or vintage items will be subject to the testing. To read the whole "brief", 67 pages long, requires some basic law education but you can get the gist of it in the CPSIA's FAQ section http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faq.html#educational.

All of the etsy discussions are here, including some letter-writing and protest ideas: http://www.etsy.com/forums_search.php?search_type=forum_title&s....

And it's also being discussed on the Handmade Toys Alliance site.

And on Craftster.

[carelia]

And as for what exactly is a "children's product":

(from http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/faq/faqs.html)

Definition of Children's Product
What is the definition of a children's product and how will the age cutoffs be determined?
A "children’s product" means a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. In determining whether a consumer product is primarily intended for a child 12 years of age or younger, the following factors will be considered:

A statement by the manufacturer about the intended use of the product, including a label on the product if such statement is reasonable.

Whether the product is represented in its packaging, display, promotion or advertising as appropriate for use by children 12 years of age or younger.

Whether the product is commonly recognized by consumers as being intended for use by a child 12 years of age or younger.