December 9th, 2008 | WG | new products, news | No Comments »
I just came across this website and think that their cheat sheets are oh, so handy. They’ve done all of the work for you, so if you’ve been wondering what brand of sippy cups are safe, just check here. They have cheat sheets for BPA, PVC, phthalate-free sippy cups, pacifiers, teething rings, and dishware, bath products free of phthalates and parabens, and a lot more. So before you go shopping, check here for their handy lists. No need struggling to find out all this info by yourself when you have Safe Mama to help.
FYI… we have the Safe Sippy, bumGenius diapers and Little Twig products…
November 30th, 2008 | WG | news | Tags: activism, hand-made, made-in-usa, toys | No Comments »
I’m a big fan of all things hand-made. I simply think that things made one at a time, by hand, are more special, unique, and, well, better. A lot of the things I carry in my store, particularly toys, are hand-made in the USA. They’re made by honest craftspeople who put their heart into what they make and do everything in their power to create good and safe toys for our kids. Their natural products reinforce why I choose their toys over the plastic, brightly colored toys flooding out of China, especially since it’s now come to light that a lot of those toys have been unsafe.
So I should have been really happy to hear that Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Among other things, the CPSIA bans lead and phthalates in toys, mandates third-party testing and certification for all toys and requires toy makers to permanently label each toy with a date and batch number. Now, the first point I can really get behind. And, in theory, the last two points are also beneficial. However, this rule, which will apply to multinational corporations as well as mom-and-pop shops, will have a huge financial cost attached to it that the mom-and-pops won’t be able to handle. In effect, the act will make it sure that the only companies who are able to comply with the ruling are the large companies which created the problems in the first place. I think that there’s something wrong with this.
So does the Handmade Toy Alliance. They’ve created a proposal to help small, hand made toy manufacturers. They’re advocating that natural materials (wood, cotton, wool…) and food-grade finishes not require testing or that the tests be performed free of charge for small companies, among other points.
If this issue matters to you, please read more about it here and write to your Senator and Congress person asking for help.
