Apparently there will be changes to laws in the USA in about two months to make the sale of homemade toys and cloth nappies (diapers), in fact all homemade children's products, illegal. Please read this post which explains what is happening.
I think it's crazy and yet another way big business is protected at the expense of cottage industry and small business. Obviously these new laws are supposed to protect against some shoddy and dangerous Chinese product, but this is overkill.
AND THIS!
Read this post by Anais over at Path to Freedom. What's going on? Is there something in the drinking water? ; - |
If you're in the USA, please contact your local politician to let them know you don't agree with the changes.
I think it's crazy and yet another way big business is protected at the expense of cottage industry and small business. Obviously these new laws are supposed to protect against some shoddy and dangerous Chinese product, but this is overkill.
AND THIS!
Read this post by Anais over at Path to Freedom. What's going on? Is there something in the drinking water? ; - |
If you're in the USA, please contact your local politician to let them know you don't agree with the changes.
It is the Bush politics. Hopefully, President Obama will right some of the wrongs he has done. I don't know if he can though. Mr. Bush has run us into the ground, and is still passing new laws that are unjust on his way out the door.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't feeling so good before I read this; now I could cry.
ReplyDeleteThis happened a while ago already in Australia with soaps and cosmetic products. And very quietly too- I only heard because a soap-maker on a selling website pulled all of her products as she couldn't afford to comply with the new system.
While I understand the need to protect children, this is surely the wrong way to go about it.
The Etsians are not taking this lying down, that is for sure. Plenty of posts on their forums.
ReplyDeleteI also found this blog:
http://www.endangeredwhimsy.com/
I think everything post 9/11 in the U.S. has taken on a different way of solving things. We are slowly but surely losing our freedoms supposedly "to protect" us. Socialism is taking over here (for our own good, of course :P) Making decisions or the choice there of may slowly slipping away if we don't fight for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm beginning to think that the more technologically advanced we become, the dumber we get. The things that are going on in the US are madness. Between the copererate greed and bureaucratic hysteria, the average person doesn't stand a chance. The scary thing is that given Australia's extremely close ties to the US we could end up going the same way.
ReplyDeleteWhen will common sense prevail?
I know it is insane!!! I hope it does not reach Australia.
ReplyDeletethat can indeed only be summed up y the word insane :oS
ReplyDeleteI would hope theres someway round it,maybe for folks to take *donation* instead of charging a selling price?after all you cant ban if they are not being *sold* as such(one would hope....)
We had a little good news tho this morning,Brussels beaurocrats have finally decided to leave off badgering our pounds,ounces & pints
Hurrah! a small victory for the English!
GTM
Wow. As soon as I'm done with finals, I'm going to blog, and write letters about this. I have no idea how they can take livelihoods away from people, especially considering the economy right now.
ReplyDeleteAs for getting around it, people who are comfortable doing that will go under the table. Yes, "donations", "shares in the company"- I'm sure that if it does make it, those will become common.
I'm really getting fed up with my country. I'm so disappointed in the lack of thought and stupid over protection! What happened to individual independence and self reliance? Arg.
Politicians are often so blinkered they do not appear to think things through. The impact that a change like this can have. In the UK it is like a Nanny State...they have gone totally MAD.
ReplyDeleteWhat happens to these normal people of good faith, who we vote into government. It seems they promise to look after us and our interests before the election but when they get elected something happens and they just go crazy. Politicians; Please, Please, Please show a bit of common sense for goodness sake. You are elected and promise under oath to serve your people with honesty and integrity. Having said this I don't mean that all pollies are crazy or dishonest but stupid laws like this that have not been thought through properly just make you wonder where we are all headed. Thankyou Rhonda for bringing it to our attention.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed. Totally barmy!! They want total control and nothing less. Who in their right mind would want chemically coated seeds or to use pesticides?
ReplyDeletePoliticians generally haven't a clue what they're voting for in my experience. People protest against these things but they are ignored. It happened a bit back with the herbal medicine industry in the UK because of some EU policy. Arghhh!! Rich big boys bullying the little businesses with unfair tactics.
Hurrah for our pounds, ounces and pints:o)) lol
Way to make a person sick first thing in the morning Rhonda! I'm here in Texas and watching everything being taken from us in the name of safety!! Everything I'm interested in is becoming illegal. Hope you don't mind I copied your posts to my blog to share with my homeschool group. America is in trouble and on her way out I'm afraid.
ReplyDeletethank you for talking about this here. I've ben trying to talk about it on my blog, but have a small audience.
ReplyDeleteBut in regards to writing local politicians, I've heard from som epeople on etsy that they've been getting form letters in the mail thanking them for their SUPPORT of the measure. Isn't that ridiculous!
Thanks for posting this! Two very important issues that are going to be affecting everyone.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I liked Minnie's comment about the rich boys... it is ALL big business now. Makes me sick! How hard is it to get citizenship in AU???? Or anywhere else?? If only I could! Thanks for this post- we all in the US must write our elected officals.
ReplyDeleteOh I have so posted, signed, etc. I never even heard of this being passed, etc. Thank you for the heads up!
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing this to my attention. I am here right in the US, and had not heard about this. If not for you, I would have been blind to this ridiculous new law until it had passed.
ReplyDeleteI have just sent off an email to my Congresswoman. I will send more mail out to some other of my political people to see if there is any help I can do by pestering them to the point of fixing this action. I have learned recently that the squeaky wheel indeed does get the grease.
I could not bear to think that my fellow crafters would not be able to make a living doing what they do best and beautifully!
Oh Rhonda, This is going to take a world wide uproar to fix. In the US, the only word of this bill in the news is protection against Chinese imports. My answer was just don't buy anything of questionable quality. But now it seems that solution will no longer work. Home crafters and small locally owned artisan producers will be the first to go. They cannot possibly afford to comply with the unnecessary testing.
ReplyDeleteAnd Monsanto keeps growing more Omnipotent every day. Big business and big money, the only thing this administration cares about. They have promised to sign enough self-interest bills before leaving office to keep us busy fighting for years. This is only the beginning.
Thought: in addition to calling or writing your represenatives, go to change dot gov and leave word with the Agriculture-elect. If enough of us make noise maybe we'll get an early warning going.
Thanks for keeping us informed, JudieJ
Thank you so much for bringing this to the attentions of many people. I live in Canada and we have an extremely controlling government in many ways - all for your own good they say. We have lost much of our liberty. I love my country and heritage (ninth generation Canadian with Loyalist roots) but we are planning an international relocation for our retirement. Please continue to do all the good you do Rhonda by helping people take responsibility for their own well being.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
More info on this and how to have your voice heard can be found at this site along with a cool button for blogs: http://coolmompicks.com/savehandmade/ Don't be silent-be heard!
ReplyDeletesigh. This has been all over lately. If you go to Obama's site, you can vote for this issue to be presented to him in Janurary. (I found the link on savehandmade.org)
ReplyDeleteI have faith that if people make a big enough sink, it will be changed. It is scary for the little guy that's for sure. It does feel like socialism is outweighing the democracy lately.
Wow. This is seriously insane. Although, I am hardly surprised by it. It seems stupid measures and laws pass quite often around here.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting the word out, though. Thanks for bringing it to our attention; I've already written to my congressman!
Rhonda, I don't have the time at this moment to see if anyone has said anything but they've been attempting to do the same thing to cottage soapmakers here in the U.S
ReplyDeleteGood grief!
ReplyDeletePerhaps if people both in and outside the USA would email, write letters (snail mail) and sign petitions, the powers-that-be may get the message and not introduce this.
As to the second issue, I'm doing what I can do in Australia to voice my protest.
This is so outrageous. I had heard some snips here and there but nobody seemed to be able to post direct information about the toy issue.
ReplyDeleteThe Monsanto issue is something we have been trying to fight here for a long time. First they came up with the BGH in milk and fought to make it unlawful for small dairies to label their products as non BGH and then slowly the resta about the seeds came out. Wish us luck here in the U.S. but more importantly, don't let it happen to your country!
Thanks for posting this, Rhonda!
ReplyDeleteI've been aware of the Monsanto issues for quite some time, and I'm glad you're bringing it to the attention of more people!
There is a "Millions Against Monsanto" petition that can be signed by following this link, and clicking on the last link under the "take action" pannel.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/monlink.cfm
Rhonda, this looks like more than a mistake to me. Call me paranoid, but this looks like a deliberate attack on small businesses... another step that will make people even less self-reliant and more dependent on the government. The ones who conceived this idea couldn't have overlooked the fact that it puts small businesses at an extreme disadvantage.
ReplyDeleteThankfully around here in Israel things are still more small-business friendly.
Thank you so much for posting about this. It's ridiculous that, even though I live in the U.S., I would never have heard about this otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI'm nearly on the verge of bracing myself for when they decide to "discourage" the victory garden, though I'm making a concerted effort not to become that cynical at this point...
What is amazing is how we punish cottage industry on our own shores, yet allow any manner of tainted goods (thinking of the milk formula here) from China. We drive our own farmers out of business, yet support farmers in foreign lands who do not have to follow the rules we set up for our own.
ReplyDeleteI know this is a late comment, but the issue is still quite live. The most vocal advocate for an appropriate solution to this issue is Kathleen Fasanella at her Fashion-Incubator and National Bankruptcy Day blogs. She is a consultant and advisor to small sewn-product manufacturers, and believes that the intent of the law is appropriate, but the implementation unworkable. She is concerned that the ultimate result will be increased prices and lack of choice in children's products. She also warns against the tendency to split into big-business/small business thinking. Small businesses assume larger ones can absorb the costs, but the truth is that larger businesses have a different set of equally bad problems to deal with.
ReplyDeleteSadly she is now apparently the target of a campaign to discredit her, which is a ironic, because anyone who is familiar with her work would know she works so tirelessly for small companies because of her social justice beliefs, not her urge to make a profit