CPSIA, What to Do?

What I want: not to make children sick, to make some money and supplement my disability check, to give others, especially those with disabilities who are very marginalized a chance to Earn some money with Dignity; to use up cloth otherwise consigned to the dumpster or the land fill, to offer mothers who care what their kids play with an option for buying reasonably priced dolls which aren't dressed like sex workers, to educate others about the variety and beauty of dolls and clothing for dolls from around the world, to help just a bit to end suffering for people who are hungry, homeless, abused, don't have adquate clothing, need medical care, through Fair Trade. I also want to create and sell my own designed one of a kind doll outfits.

But there is CPSIA. Each time I ask a question, about phthalates in older dolls, about using cloth which Might have been sprayed with fire retardant chemicals Including phthalates, I feel like I'm damning myself to failure. It is very Depressing.

I am threatened with the loss of Medicaid, don't know if my landlord will raise the rent, am sometimes the butt of "welfare bum" jokes, but Cannot conduct a ligitimate business! I have an inventory Ready to sell, dolls of all ethnicities, with clothing which I have designed, some with Ann's help, and sewn and beaded. Sure, the beaded stuff goes to adults, no problem.

But the Fair Trade business people with whom I was looking So forward to orking with are all in a tailspin too. They can't afford ten thousand dollars per test to prove that one product line is safe. I can't either, obviously!

Sometimes I think I should just shut up, "don't ask, don't tell". But then I may be checked to see if I have certificates from each of my Fair Trade Suppliers, (at ten thousand bucks a pop) showing that a particular Batch of a product line is compliant with CPSIA.

It is to the advantage of huge multi-national toy companies like Mattel to drive smaller competitors Out of business. If we Avoid completely, lead based paint and opt for less bright colors, and if we work with Cloth and rubber for children's products, shouldn't That be Enough? Some Fair Trade businesses have ignored my letters of inquiry about CPSIA compliance, while others have panicked and are Trying, like me, to sort out What to do!

I was ready to purchase my small business license and get a Federal tax ID. when I heard about CPSIA. Now I ddon't know What to do. I don't think the adult doll collector's market will be large enough to sell to.

I have read, but Not on a Government website, that yarn, and cloth are exempt from CPSIA. If the yarn or cloth are Not Painted in any way, does Anyone know if this is true?

What I know logically is that I must comply with an unworkable law, or not run a tiny business at all. How I feel emotionally is "Thanks for trashing my dream of making enough money to not consider a purchase of laundry soap very carefully Before making it, and thanks for trashing my dream of being a deaf-blind person who has Done something she loves, and taken other people with disabilities up the ladder of hope with her!"