Did I miss something? people telling me Cotton Exempt

[Sarah R]

But it's not, right? Did I miss something.

There's the ballot out there that hasn't been voted on that suggests that undyed, unbleached, unadulterated cotton, hemp, flax, etc., be exempt, but that's not final/not voted on.

Their Guidance for small Businesses suggests they will not prosecute textiles with no metal parts/threads.

But it's not really and truly exempt, is it?

[confused]

I'm wondering this exact thing. Do I have the wrong information?

I've had people tell me "natural" products are exempt, dyed or not, and that used items are exempt.

Am I correct in saying that nothing is exempt? Am I correct in saying used items can be sold and do not "have" to be tested, but if you're found selling an item in violation you will prosecuted?

Also, is the stay of enforcement in effect? I hate to seem dim, but I am really confused. I've been trying to spread the word and I want to make sure what I am saying is true. There is already enough misinformation out there.

[Melanie]

that is correct...at this point they have NOT issued any exemptions yet...they've discussed it, but I've not seen any rulings officially making an exemption on anything.

They did issue the 1 year stay on testing...

But again, nothing has been officially exempted...just the stay on testing, but not on compliance. So if you are caught selling something that is over the current lead limit, then you can be fined. And if it's a baby item that is used for feeding, etc, it must not have phthlates in it either. I've already noticed it is harder to find a baby bib with the spill proof backing...I'm finding mostly all cotton baby bibs with velcro closures. No snaps on them anymore either.

Do keep spreading the word...and urge everyone to continue to contact their congressmen and urge them to make changes.

[Kathleen F.]

Hi Confused, the reason no one has responded to this thread is that there's tons of information elsewhere in the forum that explains none of this is accurate. As this section is an adjunct to our professional forum, the expectation of due diligence exists. I realize you don't know that and you are more than welcome here but it also explains why duplicate or redundant entries are usually removed or merged into the already existing topic lines. Most people here will ignore threads if the question has been dealt with extensively elsewhere. They just figure that if someone really wants to know, they'll poke around and look through the older threads or the blog entries (see CPSIA category). They also do this in the private section or will tell the person they need to "read the book" (which doesn't apply here obviously). This keeps things tidy.

It's not like Etsy forums where there's literally 25 different threads discussing the same topic. In that situation, many responses are "me-toos" or pasting of long bits of information (over and over in all the various threads) and people abandon threads if there's too much to wade through. Long story short, most topics here are pretty tight and you'll appreciate how on topic everything is with redundancies removed. Often, links are provided to reduce long scrolls. So, look around, I think you'll find what you're looking for.

I intend no discourtesy or unkindness, just explaining the situation.

[Sarah R]

Interestingly, I had taken the total lack of response to indicate that I was right and hadn't missed something. For whatever reason, five people also in the CD business told me cotton was exempt on the same day, including one who was quite snotty about what an idiot I was for not knowing that, and I genuinely thought maybe that had slipped by without my noticing...and without conversation on here from anyone.

[Kathleen F.]

You're right too Sarah. It is truly staggering how many don't know.

Jennifer T (don't know if you caught her tweets) said most vendors at Moms2B claim they don't know about cpsia.

[confused]

Thank you for your responses and for posing the question in the first place Sarah. I greatly appreciate the work you have done Kathleen and am very appreciative that you have opened up the forums to the public. I have done a great deal of reading and thought I did indeed understand the law to the best of my ability. However, every where I turn some one is contradicting what I know, from retailers, crafters, news and television, co-workers and friends. Since this is not my primary business, and though I do my very best to keep updated, the sheer amount of information is overwhelming, I had thought perhaps I had missed something. It's nice to know that I am not the only one who feels that way. Again thank you very much Kathleen for your work, your forum and your information.