Congressional hearing canceled!

The Rush hearing (chaired by Bobby Rush, D-IL) we’d been pinning our hopes on to make our case before Congress next Wednesday, has been canceled. Rick Woldenberg (the guy in the youtube videos) says:

I admire the work you are doing, and hope you will stick to it. I was due to testify at the Rush hearings next Wednesday but they were canceled which is an opportunity missed. I think our message is being heard, but there is no conviction to do anything about it -yet. I have some thoughts on further correspondence to move the ball down field, but frankly, time is working against us now. So this is a great time to step up the pressure. Your contacts should keep the pressure on Congress, especially members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. I will send you many emails with lots of relevant info. I will also add you to my mailing list, so you can see what I am up to.

The wiki entry for the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce lists all the members of the committee and subcommittees with links to their respective pages. The less useful official US government site is here. Feel free to contact members of the committee, more so if they represent your district.

How everyone can get a CPSIA exemption

Understandably, many people have been asking on Fashion-Incubator and on various forums whether their product is exempt. Some post claims they are not (using unsubstantiated sources) which is a disservice feeding false hopes. Among them, I’ve yet to see a child related product that really is exempt. The climate was no different at the meeting I attended in Washington this week. It’s easy to understand why. We’re all drowning men, clutching at any driftwood that’ll save us. But as one person suggested, this is the wrong strategy.

Everybody is scrambling to find wiggle room using narrow definitions in an attempt to exclude themselves from the law, desperate to save their own skins. It’s understandable, survival and all. But strategically, that is the wrong thing to do. All of us are better served by coming together to define the rules BROADLY to encompass everyone for two reasons.

1. The CPSC doesn’t have the infrastructure to process and rule on the flood of exemption requests. They don’t have the man power to deal with it so if any manage to squeak through, these businesses will be unfairly advantaged over others who may have similar legitimate claims.
2. More of us lose through splintering because assuming the CPSC can come up with a bunch of narrow definitions; it’s not likely to solve but one of a few of our problems; most people will still be hanging out to dry. More stand to lose with narrow definitions than broad ones.

Rather, we are better served by centralizing focus on broad exemptions, not narrow ones. Every man for himself is the wrong strategy to employ when everyone is affected. At this rate, we’re our own worst enemies (divided we fall) because splitting into narrow definitions splinters the whole cause. Let’s say you’re lucky enough to get your exemption that magically covers the gamut of your product line (as if), does that save your colleagues? How much pleasure can you take in surviving when you’re the only one left standing? On Fashion-Incubator, probably less than 30% of the designers make kids stuff but as far as I can tell, they’re all pulling together for their colleagues who are affected.

In summary, I do not want to read any more comments asking if one’s products made from 100% organic fabric (woven by leprechauns) and made via fair-trade (sewn by well paid fairies) using carbon neutral sustainable power (unicorns pulling a water wheel) and are certified to be the singular example of 100% purity by G-d, The Trinity, Mohammad, and Gaia combined [-and you are a nice good person and a widow, single mom, single dad, working family, reformed attorney or recovering engineer (pick one)] are exempt because if you have to ask, they most likely are not. The strategy should be broad enough to cover your neighbor and even the plant down the street, not just yourself. It’s time to pull together. As Rick Woldenberg says, it’s time to ply the pressure on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Here I have posted a tremendous amount of material Rick Woldenberg has sent me with lots of juicy .gov email addresses to harvest!

By the way, this site is really ugly, can anybody lend a hand with design?

Video Testimony

Have you seen Rick Woldenberg’s speech at the CPSC conference on November 6? More interesting than you’d imagine, he brings up additional points regarding subassemblies in kitting, how commodities -sans lot numbers- are proposed to be tested and a whole lot more. While a larger enterprise, he cogently makes the case for even the smallest of producers stating that these regulations will eliminate specialty products sold to the blind and deaf among others. One thing I hadn’t considered; science kits for use in schools will cease to be saleable as currently known, many components of which the sources cannot be traced (consider a commodity like aluminum foil or the common paper clip) can’t be included within them. Considering the current state of science education in the U.S., this cannot be good news.

• Part one
• Part two
• Part three

By the way, Rick Woldenberg is the person credited to have originated the phrase “National Bankruptcy Day” in relation to February 10, 2009.

You can also watch proceedings from the CPSC Public Meeting on Lead from Thursday, November 6, 2008
Videos from the meeting:

• Staff presentations
• Panel presentations
• Question & Answer session

Activism: Trade Groups

This page will be updated with news from other organizations working in tandem on these issues.

Activism: The Media

The CPSIA has been flying under the radar. Media has been reluctant to cover the costs to businesses as the act is very popular with consumers who are unaware of its full effects.

This page will be updated with suggested activities.

Activism: CPSC

Proposed will be effective ways to work productively with the CPSC to develop and implement guidelines to everyone’s benefit.

This page will be updated with suggested activities for consumers and business owners.

Activism: Congress

This is feel-good legislation among Congress having been passed 424 to 1.

While we applaud the actions of Congress and the CSPC to provide greater protection for our children, the process and implementation of the rules and regulations are simply untenable putting more of us out of business at a time the economy can least weather it.

This page will be updated with suggested activities for concerned consumers and businesses.

Activism Online

This is feel-good legislation among Congress and consumers, both of which are uneducated as to its real costs to them and our economy as a whole. As consumers ourselves, we applaud the actions of Congress and the CSPC to provide greater protection for children. However, the development and implementation of the rules and regulations are simply untenable.

This page will be updated with suggested activities for concerned consumers and businesses.

National Bankruptcy Day

Where kindred will expound and elucidate regarding the CPSC and CPSIA regulations and guidelines. In other words, this is a test entry.