“For want of a nail, a shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, a horse was lost. For want of a horse, the king was lost. For want of the King, the battle was lost . . . and on it goes.”

-- Another of my mother’s pithy sayings. 

            

At the Toycon in Phoenix we learned the early tally of the costs of the CPSCIA legislation for the toy industry alone. Two billion dollars have been lost in 2008 as a result, and this in an industry that by various reckonings is only $15-$20 billion in the US in total. And this does not include $100 million in juvenile motorcycles and ATVs that cannot be sold or given away, and the list goes on across book, apparel, and other children's product categories. The losses will continue. 

Congress had no intention of wreaking such havoc on our industries, but havoc they have wreaked. One industry leader that deserves our appreciation and support is Chicago-based Learning Resources. Their chairman Rick Woldenburg, along with Etienne Veber, are leading, advocating, and organizing to ameliorate the more onerous effects of this legislation. And to their credit, the TIA has stepped to the plate to argue for reason and ration in the application and enforcement of these new standards. 

            

With perhaps 250 state laws proposed and in process in state legislatures around the country, the possibility of a patchwork quilt of toy safety standards and requirements that vary with each state is an untenable business environment. 

 

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