Remember the Toy Safety Act Last Year?

While watching CSPAN today, I caught an interview of Dr. Temple Grandin, who has autism and has been "schooling" the world about autism and other disabilities. Dr. Grandin mentioned that the New York Times recently had an article that dealt with small-time toy makers being affected by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.

Since I make learning objects out of wood and other materials to support early childhood activities, I thought I would locate and read the Times article. I found the article: Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toy Makers. It highlights how CPSIA, if left unchanged, will impact not only toy makers, but also thrift resale shops and other business. That small-time toy makers will have to pay for testing of each toy at $300 or more is practically a death knell for them. Moreover, that large toy companies as Mattel can do their own testing and submit a report seems unfair and harkens back to the "too big to fail" premise.

One organization leading the reform of the CPSIA is the Handmade Toy Alliance, a non-profit organization. All of this has left me with the need to this situation out; however, I thought the intent of CPSIA was to address lead in toys and restrict the use of small loose components that children can swallow. I guess I'll do some more researching.