Oregon Public Broadcasting

Parents and businesses were stunned last year to learn that some toys produced by major manufacturers, like Mattel, contained high levels of lead.

Congress reacted by quickly passing the Consumer Products Safety and Improvement Act.

It requires toy and clothing manufacturers to test for chemicals like phthalates and lead. It goes into effect next month.

But, as Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, many small business owners – who make wooden toys and children’s clothes -- say the new law is going to put them out of business – and that it needs to be changed quickly.

When Mattel was fined $12 million for importing tainted toys from China, many small toy makers felt vindicated. It was as if their years of using sustainable woods, organic cottons and non-toxic dyes, was paying off.

They were also pleased to hear the federal government had passed a law to crack down on outsourced manufacturing.

But then, says Tony Fuentes of Milagros kids store, they started reading the law.

Tony Fuentes: “There’s a lot of small craft providers here in the Portland area, as well as Oregon and beyond that, who would not be able to comply with it. The cost of compliance would be way too high.”

Spielworks is a neighborhood toyshop in Portland, which specializes in high quality, safe toys and clothes.

Owner Sonja Barkley walks along one of the isles and picks up a teether made by a local woman in her home.

Sonja Barkley: “It’s a krincle teether, it’s made with organic cotton and reclaimed cotton fabric, as well as just an unfinished wood ring. This is just the most innate material you can find. And this woman would have to stop producing unless she could afford to pay per-design and per-item up to $150.”

Kristian: “So how much is that now?”

Sonja Barkley: “This is $12”

Kristian: “How much would it add to the price?”

Sonja Barkley: “Potentially up to $25, who know and then nobody would buy it. So this is a concern and then we want to support local industry, but if we feel that our customers wouldn’t be able to afford the product, there’s no reason why we would sell it.”

Barkley and others say the new law is a one-size-fits-all piece of legislation that’s been written with big businesses in mind.

But small businesses, at least in Oregon, are not sitting about waiting for trouble. Barkley sent an e-mail blast last Thursday and by Monday morning the owners of about 30 cottage industries gathered at Spielworks to see what could be done. 

Jolie Fay, of ‘Skipping Hippos’ clothes, says it’s not that she doesn't believe in lead testing. 

Jolie Fay: “And if it was only one required lead test to prove that the materials we are using are compliant I think we would all be willing to do that. But the specifics of the law say that we have to have a finished garment from every batch tested by a US approved 3rd party testing facility for every single finished product.”

That’s an easy thing to do, she says, when you’re producing batches of hundreds of thousands – like Mattel. But when you’re making just a few dresses or toys in every batch, it’s cost prohibitive.

Jolie Fay: “It essentially puts me out of business. Right now I have about 40 different products. I sent in a garment to get an estimate to be tested. It was $1375 for 40 garments. I do not have that money. I’m fighting for my life because I have two kids and I have like $70,000 worth of inventory, that they’re telling me is criminal to sell. When 5 months ago I was all within the lines of the law.”

The businesses are now asking customers to contact their congressional representative and complain to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Indeed, the commission has already tweaked the law, so that second-hand shops can sell their wares without testing.

Spokeswoman, Julie Vallesse says the commission is now looking into small companies.

Julie Vallesse: “It was not the intention of this law to put small business out of business. There are some proposals that the commission is considering that may provide some relieve to the small manufactures in the United States.”

Julie Vallesse says the commission is working as quickly as possible on the proposals. But she says it's unlikely any changes will be made until after the law goes into effect February 10th.