Last August the CPSIA Consumer product Safety Improvement Act was signed into law. The aim of the law is to protect children from toxic items. Anything and everything that is made for a child 12 years and under is subject to this law. It has to be tested for lead and depending on the item for phthalates and or flammability if it's loungewear or sleepwear. This will kill all of us little guys that stay home with our kids and make items and sell them from our home. We will not be able to afford the testing unless the standards for testing are amended in some way.
Please read this article by Heather Flottman titled The Sky is Falling for an easy to understand exlpanation of what this means for us who produce handmade items and for the consumer.
Also, you might think that us little guys could fly under the radar but Etsy and Ebay have already stated that they enforce all CPSC regulations and as of Feb 10th if you don't have documentation from a third party laboratory that your item is safe, it is considered HAZARDOUS.
This is retroactive so expect to see this affect any and all resale shops and sales. In the end we will all have to pay more for less variety of items for our children.
Here's a Wall Street Journal article on the effects of the law.
Rick Woldenberg, the chairman of Learning Resources which was mentioned in the WSJ article has a few Youtube videos titled Response to CPSIA Implementation that are from a CPSC panel from early November. You can see what this family owned company has done and will have to do to comply and what it will cost them.
For even more in depth discussion on the law, how to comply, and what should be changed amended visit the CPSIA and Consumer Safety forum on the Fashion Incubator site.