rwandering.net
The blogged wandering of Robert W. Anderson
February 10, 2009 at 6:49 am · Filed under Miscellaneous
In December, I blogged about National Bankruptcy Day. That was the term coined for today, February 10th, 2009. Why? Because of a piece of very bad – and according to these claimants, illegal – legislation: the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). A law intended to make our children safe by requiring companies to test all children’s products to prove they are free of lead and phthalates.
The problem with the law is mainly that the tests are unnecessary in so many cases and the tests themselves are expensive and produce hazardous waste. Lead in metal toys? Reasonable to test. Lead in fabric clothing and linens? Unreasonable.
A great many businesses are already endangered in this economy, but these extra costs would drive many under.
Good news?
On January 31st, a stay of enforcement was granted (Stay of Enforcement of Testing and Certification Requirements). This is because the CPSC has recognized that this law is a bad one and that they need to spend the next year providing guidance for a reasonable implementation of the law.
It is clear that the CPSC is attempting to provide clarification to and a reasonable framework around this whole issue. Further clarification of the current policy was released yesterday.
So, no National Bankruptcy Day?
The answer is mixed. Much damage has already been done. The confusion created by this law and the CPSC’s poor handling of it has already hurt many small businesses. In some cases this is merely the loss of productivity while the founders divert most of their attention to compliance. In other cases, companies have already chosen to close their doors.
So, today is significant in that the law does go into effect today. The limits are in place, egregious violators can be punished. All good, but there has been much collateral damage along the way.
So I’ll say yes, today is still National Bankruptcy Day. The new, as yet undrafted, policies will go into effect and be enforced on February 10th, 2010 – and they may be just as unreasonable as the current ones.
You can celebrate by giving a giant air-quoted thank you to the politicians and environmentals who rushed this terrible law into being. I’ll keep my invectives to my self.
Tags: CSPC, Government, HR4040, kukunest, PSIA, Startup
December 21, 2008 at 9:03 pm · Filed under Miscellaneous
Note: While not about technology, this post is relevant to startups.
H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) was signed into law late 2008. The intention is to protect children by outlawing the sale of children’s products containing lead and other harmful substances.
Sounds good, right?
Unfortunately, the law is going to force a lot of small companies selling safe products to shutter on or before February 10th. Welcome to National Bankruptcy Day. From the site:
February 10, 2009 untold numbers of children’s products manufacturers and retailers will be closing their doors.
The problem is that the law was put together very hastily and has a completely infeasible implementation timeframe. Oh yeah, and requires unreasonable testing to boot:
Not enough time: The law was signed in August and goes into effect on February 10th. So every kids product sold in the US has to be tested in the next 52 days? That is impossible.
Unreasonable requirements: Every component of every SKU has to be tested separately even if that component is used in multiple products. For example, imagine a tag or button that is shared across ten SKUs. That same button has to be tested ten times.
Unreasonable cost: Each test is expensive. For example, one company has quoted each test at $500. Continuing with the above example, imagine your ten SKUs with the buttons have 4 other components. You would have to pay 10 x 5 x 500 = $25,000 to a testing company.
No allowance for existing tests: Some companies have already had their products tested for harmful substances (e.g., kukunest is Oko-Tex certified). That should count.
I am all for safe products and accountability, but this is really a draconian measure. It will punish companies and people with an unreasonable set of rules and penalties.
If this doesn’t get fixed soon, companies will go out of business, founders and innovators will lose their dreams. Innovation in children’s products will be all but dead here in the United States.
It will happen unless the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and the US legislature do something to stop it.
Call to action
Sign this petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Contact your Congressperson and ask them to fix H.R.4040 now, before more damage is one.
Disclaimer: Do I have a vested interest in this issue? Definitely. My wife is the co-founder of kukunest, a company that designs and sells children’s bedding and other products. I’m a parent and don’t want to see our schools unable to get the products they need because the suppliers dry up. And I’m an entrepreneur believing that reasonable laws can protect people and protect innovation and business interests.
Tags: CPSIA, CSPC, Government, HR4040, kukunest, Startup
October 3, 2007 at 5:31 pm · Filed under Miscellaneous
With my help (and Ken’s help too), we just revamped the kukunest Web site (
). It is easier to navigate, faster, and now hosts more products.
Now they have more themes of children’s bedding and art work plus full and toddler sizes.
Great stuff — check it out.
And now back to the regularly scheduled program.
Tags: kukunest
January 16, 2007 at 8:59 pm · Filed under Miscellaneous
Recently I have been helping my wife and her business partner get their Web site up (). I signed up for helping them navigate their eCommerce choices and have ended up doing a little more.
Anyway, this is quite a departure from the businesses I’ve been involved with before. No tech at all, just physical, non-electronic wares for children’s rooms. Right now they have four really cool themes of children’s bedding and art work:
They plan to expand to other products too. Anyway, we put up the site yesterday: kukunest.com — kid inspired design.
I don’t know how many of you readers have kids (or neices and nephews, etc); but if you do, check out the site.
Get ‘em for all the kids in your life! They have a presale going on until the end of January.
Tags: kukunest
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