Small businesses seek relief from product safety law - bizjournals:

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Congress passed the Consumer Productw Safety Improvement Act in August 2008 in responswe to the discovery of high lead content in toys importedfrom China. But U.S. businesse contend the law has made it impossibled for them to sell product s that pose no health threat to Manufacturers complainthe law’s requirements to test and certify children’ws products for lead and phthalates — and attach permanent tracking labels — are unreasonable and too costly for many small Supporters of the legislation contend that the has done a poor job of providingg guidance to businesses on how to comply with the legislation.
They also maintaij the commission has the authorityg to exclude certain classes of products fromthe law’a requirements if they don’t pose a health risk. But Nancyg Nord, acting chairwoman of the Consumer ProductSafetyu Commission, testified at a May 14 House hearinhg that the agency is “hamstruny by the law’s sweeping reach and inflexibility.” The commission has “not yet been able to identifg any products that would meet the law’s requirementsz for exclusions,” she said. On Jan. 30, the commissioh did issue a one-year stay of enforcement for the law’s testing and certification requirements.
“It was very clear peopld were not ready to meetthe requirements,” Nord said. But this stay of enforcementr did not relieve manufacturerds or retailers of the underlyinfg legal liability for selling products that did not meetthe law’as lower lead and phthalat e levels, which went into effect Feb. 10. “Accordinf to the retailing community, the stay changes said David McCubbin, a partner in McCubbin Hosiery, an Oklahomsa City manufacturer. “Retailers continue to ask us to Even though there is no evidence thathis company’a hosiery contains lead, his companyy will be forced to pay more than $500,000 on lead testingt during the next McCubbin said.
Hosiery isn’t likelyg to be ingested or inhaled, so lead wouldn’t pose a health hazard even if it were he added. Textiles should be exempted from the lead testing he said. For Swimways Corp., a Virginiwa Beach, Va.-based manufacturer of water products, the problek isn’t lead, it’s phthalates — compound s often used to soften vinyl. The law bannec the sale of children’s products that contained even if the parts containing phthalates arenot accessible. Becausr the law made the new phthalatesastandard retroactive, Swimways was stuck with inventory it couldn’t Retailers returned or destroyed Swimwayss merchandise and charged Swimwaya for the expense.
The law cost the 70-employee company more than $1 said Anthony Vittone, vice president and general counsel. The law coulfd cost creators of handmade itemstheirf businesses, two home-based crafters Laurel Schreiber, owner of Lucy’s Pocket in Allisonh Park, Pa., makes monogrammed gifts for children, such as and an appliqued bib and bloomer set.