The shed, and the CPSIA... Ugh...

The shed is sheeted (actually has been for a couple weeks!) and ALMOST ready for paint... I've got most of the seams between sheets filled with either wood putty (for the smaller tighter ones) or caulk (for the gapeyer ones) and am waiting on that to dry. Still need one more tube of caulk to fill in the bigger seams, then smoothing them with more wood putty, then let it all dry, then sand the putty if needed, THEN I can paint (well, primer first, then paint.). Still haven't dealt with the door yet, but I suppose I can't really paint until that is all finished (as there's a peice of sheeting that still has to go up, but can't until the new door is in place). But I can at least primer everything else! LOL... It seems like alot to get there but it really isn't, except for the door thing. I could just use the existing door and forget about the other door with the window, but we'll see... another window would be nice!

I'm getting really excited to make lip balms, soaps, and maybe even lotions! I've gotten several awesome books with recipes for these things, and Kayla and Lynda have offered me a HUGE slab of beeswax to use! I'm hoping to sell them on my website, and also at the new salon that a friend Robin just opened up here at the lake! She's offered to sell local crafts there, and I talked with her about my ideas and we both think they'd be a great fit. Right now I'm trying to research FDA and Consumer Product Safety regulations on items like that. They're largely regulated by the FDA rather than the CPSIA, and at least from what literature I've read thusfar, the regulations seem incredibly lax- so long as your label states ingredients and makes no claims to do something it won't, you're pretty much in the clear (of course it does regulate other things like use of actual drugs in products but I don't have to worry about that). It seems like I'm missing some key points here, like I feel like there should be sanitation/cleanliness standards in the making of the products, but other than a broad statement saying the product shouldn't be spoiled or show other signs of spoilage from the manufacturing process, I really can't find much else to that effect... Though I am glad that the FDA's website explains much of this stuff in laymans terms.

The CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) is so redunk... While the basis for it is great, it has the potential to put alot of small businesses and home crafters out of business. It states that any manufacturer (and it defines a manufacturer as any person or business who makes products for sale or even donation, so under the CPSIA I am a "manufacturer") who manufactures products intended for use by children under the age of 12 to have their products tested for lead, pthalates, and "other harmful chemicals" by independent lab testing facilities, at the expense of the manufacturer. And not just one of each type of product you make, but one of each type, from each BATCH of that product you make. There are exceptions, and thank goodness sofar all my baby stuff falls under the exception category (anything made of yarns or fabrics, so long as they do not include any metalic threads, or things like buttons, snaps, clasps, zippers, etc), but man... The law apparently is in effect now, but won't be enforced until February 2010, but manufacturers are expected to be or to become compliant now... While I am ALL for safety and regulation of childrens products, this goes a wee bit overboard. It is also unclear whether you are exempt if your products are made from ingredients or parts bought from compliant manufacturers... If that were the case, it would be great, but unfortunately I'm not sure it is the case... The Batch thing is pretty redunk too... and I'm not sure how they classify a 'batch', if it's the number of the same product you can make in one sitting, or the number made from the same batch of ingredients (so say you made shirts with snaps on them from one bolt of fabric and one box of snaps- is it how many shirts you can make in one sitting, or how many you can make from that bolt and box?) For a home crafter like me, this law would be devistating. Testing of products could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, per test. This law is clearly designed for big time manufacturers where quality and safety can get lost amidst the mass, but unfortunately the wording of the law is very broad, and in being broad, encompasses 'manufacturers' like me. Don't get me wrong, I would NEVER make or sell a product that was harmful to it's target user. And regardless of this law, I would take whatever steps to ensure that all ingredients or parts were sourced from compliant manufacturers and were of the highest quality and safety. But really? Must I send one of everything to a lab to be tested? Even if I made a hat and put a cute little butterfly button on it or something like that... And I could even state that the hat is not intended for an infant (so they wouldn't be sucking on the button)... An 11 year old knows better than to suck on the button on her hat... I don't know... It just seems redunk to me... It will be very interesting (and sad) to see what happens to sites like Etsy.com once this law is actually in effect and being enforced. Will the CPSC bother with small time crafters like me? I'd hope they'd focus their enforcing efforts on big manufacturers, which are typically the ones needing the most enforcing... but who knows... we could all be vulnerable...

*Edit* -Here is a great article about the CPSIA, with several good links within the article as well. It also has more of the exempt materials listed on page 2 of the article. http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/lawsaffectingwib/a/CPSIA-aboutact.htm