Save Handmade!

I recently visited one of the blogs I like to "follow", http://www.screweduptexan.com/, and saw this post:

On February 10, 2009 Santa's Elves will be out of work and Santa himself out of business.
Why, you ask? Because Congress just passed the Consumer Products Safety Act which will require all manufacturers of children's products to scrutinous tests of their products to ensure safety to consumers of these products at the manufacturer's expense. While this may seem like a great thing on the outside, it will totally " decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust."

Moreover, "Moms who sew beautiful handmade waldorf dolls out of home, artists who have spent decades hand-carving trucks and cars out of natural woods, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their toys. Not without investing tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have a single toxic chemical in them.

In other words, handmade toys will now be illegal.

Check out Cool Mom Picks for more info and where the majority of this information came from and to find ways that you can help.

Makers of these products may soon find themselves out of business:

Handcrafted infant jewelry

Handmade dolls

Custom handmade baby accessories such as headwear

Crocheted and knitted clothing and blankets

Handsewn baby and children's blankets

Handcarved toys and puzzles

Handcrafted children's furniture

More...

What is our country becoming?