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Eric H
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Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 205
Location: NM Albuquerque
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 Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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How many have read this from Seven Days?
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David Arkush is director of the Congress Watch division of Public Citizen, one of the half-dozen or so activist groups that pushed for passage of the CPSIA. Although Arkush says he’s only now starting to hear from small, independent manufacturers, he believes the claims about excessive testing costs are the result of poor information from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, if not a deliberate misinformation campaign.
“Some of their perceptions of what the costs are going to be are really overblown,†Arkush asserts. The CPSC “is not a bunch of jackbooted thugs who are going to come lock people up if they’re not complying with the law.â€
Arkush admits some of the mandates may sound absurd at first blush, such as testing wooden toys for phthalates, or testing cotton T-shirts for lead.
“But we’re erring on the side of safety,†he adds, “because this is about lead and other toxic chemicals that are very dangerous to children.†|
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to bombard this guy with actual price quotes for testing, copies of the Etsy and Ebay notices for CPSIA compliance, and similar facts, euphemistically known to Mr. Arkush as "deliberate misinformation".
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David Arkush
Director, Public Citizen's Congress Watch
215 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20003
(202) 546-4996 | E-mail: darkush@citizen.org |
This message will not self-destruct. Have a nice day. |
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Kathleen F.
Site Admin
Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11557
Location: NM Albuquerque
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| Posted: Thu Dec 18, 2008 8:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Eric is far too subtle. I say give it to David Arkush with both barrels. Spread his email address everywhere darkush@citizen.org. Tell everyone to email him their ire. Don't forget to include your web addresses so he can see all these dangerous products you're inflicting on the public. I say it's time to go after the special interest groups who lobbied for this thing and stubbornly persist in negating the unintended consequences of their actions. |
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Eric H
Site Admin
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 205
Location: NM Albuquerque
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| Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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Oh, goodness. David Arkush is granting relief for wooden toymakers!
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I feel compelled to respond because the article to which you refer misquotes me. I did not say that we or anyone else support absurd rules because we are erring on the side of safety. Absurd rules would do nothing to promote safety.
What I said was that some of the rules can be described in ways that make them sound absurd, but they aren’t. To take the phthalates example, the law requires only that toys be tested for relevant risks (as opposed to an absurd requirement that every toy be tested for every risk). If there is no risk of phthalates in a wooden toy, the toy will not need to be tested for phthalates.
There is a lot of misinformation on the CPSIA floating around. It looks to me like a deliberate campaign by some large manufacturers who know better, but are whipping up fear and hysteria among smaller manufacturers for political purposes — sounding alarms about high costs and bankruptcies as a way of using the current economic crisis to renew the fight they lost last summer against a good product safety law. Maybe I’m mistaken, but that’s what it looks like. In any event, if there are real mistakes in the law, then they can be fixed. But I haven’t heard a single legitimate concern yet. Just misunderstandings. |
He is being asked to provide the justification for this new exemption. |
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Eric H
Site Admin
Joined: 02 Feb 2007
Posts: 205
Location: NM Albuquerque
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| Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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I've had just about all of this "In August, President Bush imposed the world's strictest lead ban" crap that I can take. For your entertainment, I present this work in progress: a spreadsheet with the CPSIA, Oeko-Tex baby, GOTS, and other standards for quick reference. At current rates, I calculate that it will take roughly 7-10 years before the US lead standards catch up with GOTS and Oeko-Tex, as they will be 90 or 100 ppm in 2011 (paint and substrate) while those others are already at 1 ppm or 0.2 ppm depending on the product.
The links are obscured in the spreadsheet, but they are:
1. The CPSIA legislation
2. EN 71 and ASTM 973 (consider the source, these are questionable)
3. Global Organic Textile Standards (GOTS)
4. Oeko-Tex
If you aren't already, I think you might want to start asking your favorite fabric source whether they can provide material that complies with these. In case it isn't obvious, GOTS and Oeko are also looking at your dye contents, so I believe these will be fully compliant. Assuming we can win the component/unit testing debate, and I have high hopes, you will be well ahead of the game and won't have to worry about the August 2009 and 2011 changes. This will also be good news to international "good guy" manufacturers looking to export to the US (and for US parents and kids).
Incidentally, if anyone has a suggestion for modifying, correcting, or getting better information on these (especially the ASTM standards), please direct message me or write to eric at this website (fashion-dash-incubator-dot-com).
Last edited by Eric H on Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:24 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Kiki allthenumbers
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Kathleen F.
Site Admin
Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11557
Location: NM Albuquerque
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| Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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| oh man, many just look hopeless. Isn't nice having a forum that is moderated? This place would be just as nuts as Etsy. |
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Kiki Fluhr
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| Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 11:58 am Post subject: |
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There was a story on FOX news this morning. I did not see it, but in the Etsy forums this is what was reported about the "expert" the anchor interviewed.
"Her name was Hytha Prabhaka, a former writer for Forbes, and a retail analyst. She said the law was an over reaction, that clothing was already being tested for lead. She didn't believe that many small businesses would be affected, and her attitude was "too bad", everything is already being tested, so wtf. And when asked about Goodwill, consignment shops etc, she basically said, "big deal, we all throw out our clothing after a couple of months anyway, how can that hurt them that much?" Can we say, not living in the real world??"
Maybe we could write to her and tell her to get her head out of the sand?
http://www.hithaprabhakar.com/blog/
Or maybe comment to FOX news. |
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Jennifer, The Smart Mama
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| Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 12:18 pm Post subject: Responding to Hitha |
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| The so called expert was a joke! |
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Kathleen F.
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Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11557
Location: NM Albuquerque
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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 11:32 am Post subject: |
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| nothing else heard from Ms. Hitha? SIGH! |
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Kathleen F.
Site Admin
Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11557
Location: NM Albuquerque
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 12:10 pm Post subject: |
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| Trevor sent me this tidbit on the "expert" Hitha. Lol. |
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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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I noticed she just sort of "forgot" about her blog entry on the subject  |
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Meg
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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| Oh my that 'tidbit' was pretty priceless. |
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Kiki Fluhr
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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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She decided to post some more crap om her Twitter account instead.
http://twitter.com/HithaPrabhakar
Transcript below:
I know a lot of you sent me the LA Times piece and I simply do not agree with it. I will say it again while I do 7:14 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Think the new law will have an impact on smaller designers and their businesses, it will not have a damaging impact on the 7:15 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Children's apparel industry as a whole. Children's apparel has historically done better overall in retail sales, and while smaller 7:17 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Designers are important, this is survival of the fittest. Will write more about this when I wrap for the day. 7:19 AM Jan 3rd from txt
And PS, if I had small children you better BELIEVE I would be looking for that certificate of lead testing!! 7:47 AM Jan 3rd from txt
All- sending me belligerant emails about my take on the CSPIA law is not going to make me change my opinion. It's just not. 10:36 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Some of you have some nerve. I am not only a fashion and retail expert, but a small business owner. 11:36 AM Jan 3rd from txt
I know what it is like to have high overhead costs, inventory and a product you are passionate about. 11:37 AM Jan 3rd from txt
But if the law required me to test my product for lead, I would do it! And if I had to throw out inventory to adhere to 11:38 AM Jan 3rd from txt
To new standards so be it! Focus on your businesses, not on someone that says something you don't agree with, who btw, 11:40 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Is more like you than you think. 11:40 AM Jan 3rd from txt
Did a power clean of my apt and organized my life. Feel ready to tackle the year now, so all those small toy makers about 19 hours ago from txt
That hate me and think I am so super uneducated and misinformed and out of touch with their world, bring it! about 19 hours ago from txt
While everyone was spending time twittering about my comments on air, I was actually meeting with my investors 2 evaluate about 19 hours ago from txt
My overhead costs for the year. Glad some of you think sending scathing emails to me will help you run your businesses better. about 19 hours ago from txt
For those of you who had legit questions and comments about I was saying, I PROMISE I will get back to you ASAP! about 19 hours ago from txt |
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