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Breaking news: Selecta to cease U.S. distribution due to new testing requirements
By Jeremiah | December 05, 2008 | 16 comments / Comment now
German wooden toymaker Selecta Spielzeug has announced that due to the extensive new testing requirements that will be imposed on manufacturers next year under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, it will cease distributing its toys in the U.S. effective December 31, 2008.
Selecta manufactures toys that comply with strict EU regulations for phthalates and other potentially harmful chemicals, but cites the cost of new testing as the reason it can no longer supply the U.S. market. The company claims that prices would be forced upwards "by at least 50 percent, which would price these products out of the market." You can browse Selecta products and shop for them online at Amazon.com while they're still available.
The company wrote that the decision "is based solely on costs; there have not been any issues with successfully completing the testing and certification process."
Many small U.S. manufacturers are concerned about their own ability to conform to what appear to be sweeping requirements that do not distinguish between materials based on their likely risk profile or exempt producers based on their company size. Particularly concerned are small shops that produce individual products in small quantities - work-at-home operations run by stay-at-home parents, woodworkers, and Etsy crafters - who note that the new law encompasses not only toy production but clothing and other textiles, which may be required to have not only fabrics but any hardware tested for possible banned substances.
Ashlee Allen, who produces infant slings, hoodies, and other textile products for her company nonny & boo, is one SAHM and small businesswoman who is concerned about the effect of the new regulations. "While I appreciate nothing more than improving the safety of children's products, I feel the new CPSIA regulations are too far reaching and the proposed cost of compliance will make it impossible for me to stay in business," she wrote in a statement to Z Recommends. The Handmade Toy Alliance has also stepped up to criticize the legislation and the potential harm it might do to independent artisans.
Few suspect that this is the CPSC or Congress' intent in passing this legislation. What all seem to fear is that through either neglect, ignorance, or slowness to act, the government will allow the requirements set in motion by the new regulation to stand unmodified for long enough to do significant damage and potentially drive many smaller companies out of business.
If the first major consumer legislation to pass Congress in decades pushes the safest toys out of the market, leaving only those companies that have cared the least about chemical safety and thus are in the most robust financial position to undertake new expenses, we will all be poorer for it.
One thing is certain: If you've been thinking about buying any of Selecta's wonderful lineup of infant and children's toys, move quickly. The ZRecs Guide features several recommended Selecta products, and we included two in our ZRecs Network gift guides - the company's Pepito Squeak stroller toy (in the Polliwogged Gift Guide) and their beautiful leaf press (in the Gardenaut Gift Guide). We also adore their toddler push toys. We'll be sorry to see them go, and believe it doesn't have to be this way.
We believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress should immediately issue more detailed and targeted guidelines and clarifications which protect reputable natural toy companies as well as offering intelligent ways for small, independent manufacturers to continue producing and selling their products. The CPSC, in apparent acknowledgment of the new law's lack of clarity, has forcefully interpreted the law in at least one area - stating that manufacturers should be permitted to sell stock on hand after the ban goes into effect - and has been the subject of intense public criticism and a recent lawsuit. The fact that a company with the stature of Selecta - which makes high-quality, highly reputable, toys widely regarded as extremely safe - has decided to publicly declare its inability to sustain costs of the new testing procedures may be an industry chess move, but it is a frightening one that speaks to a lack of confidence among both large manufacturers and smaller companies that the CPSIA is failing them.
Jennifer Taggart of The Smart Mama will be offering some detailed analysis of the provisions of the CPSIA and dispelling some misinformation about the regulations in a guest post for Healthy Child, Healthy World next week. We'll link to it as soon as it's up.
Selecta manufactures toys that comply with strict EU regulations for phthalates and other potentially harmful chemicals, but cites the cost of new testing as the reason it can no longer supply the U.S. market. The company claims that prices would be forced upwards "by at least 50 percent, which would price these products out of the market." You can browse Selecta products and shop for them online at Amazon.com while they're still available.
The company wrote that the decision "is based solely on costs; there have not been any issues with successfully completing the testing and certification process."
Many small U.S. manufacturers are concerned about their own ability to conform to what appear to be sweeping requirements that do not distinguish between materials based on their likely risk profile or exempt producers based on their company size. Particularly concerned are small shops that produce individual products in small quantities - work-at-home operations run by stay-at-home parents, woodworkers, and Etsy crafters - who note that the new law encompasses not only toy production but clothing and other textiles, which may be required to have not only fabrics but any hardware tested for possible banned substances.
Ashlee Allen, who produces infant slings, hoodies, and other textile products for her company nonny & boo, is one SAHM and small businesswoman who is concerned about the effect of the new regulations. "While I appreciate nothing more than improving the safety of children's products, I feel the new CPSIA regulations are too far reaching and the proposed cost of compliance will make it impossible for me to stay in business," she wrote in a statement to Z Recommends. The Handmade Toy Alliance has also stepped up to criticize the legislation and the potential harm it might do to independent artisans.Few suspect that this is the CPSC or Congress' intent in passing this legislation. What all seem to fear is that through either neglect, ignorance, or slowness to act, the government will allow the requirements set in motion by the new regulation to stand unmodified for long enough to do significant damage and potentially drive many smaller companies out of business.
If the first major consumer legislation to pass Congress in decades pushes the safest toys out of the market, leaving only those companies that have cared the least about chemical safety and thus are in the most robust financial position to undertake new expenses, we will all be poorer for it.
One thing is certain: If you've been thinking about buying any of Selecta's wonderful lineup of infant and children's toys, move quickly. The ZRecs Guide features several recommended Selecta products, and we included two in our ZRecs Network gift guides - the company's Pepito Squeak stroller toy (in the Polliwogged Gift Guide) and their beautiful leaf press (in the Gardenaut Gift Guide). We also adore their toddler push toys. We'll be sorry to see them go, and believe it doesn't have to be this way.We believe the Consumer Product Safety Commission and Congress should immediately issue more detailed and targeted guidelines and clarifications which protect reputable natural toy companies as well as offering intelligent ways for small, independent manufacturers to continue producing and selling their products. The CPSC, in apparent acknowledgment of the new law's lack of clarity, has forcefully interpreted the law in at least one area - stating that manufacturers should be permitted to sell stock on hand after the ban goes into effect - and has been the subject of intense public criticism and a recent lawsuit. The fact that a company with the stature of Selecta - which makes high-quality, highly reputable, toys widely regarded as extremely safe - has decided to publicly declare its inability to sustain costs of the new testing procedures may be an industry chess move, but it is a frightening one that speaks to a lack of confidence among both large manufacturers and smaller companies that the CPSIA is failing them.
Jennifer Taggart of The Smart Mama will be offering some detailed analysis of the provisions of the CPSIA and dispelling some misinformation about the regulations in a guest post for Healthy Child, Healthy World next week. We'll link to it as soon as it's up.
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Is there any action I can take right now? A petition, phone call, anything?
Yes! Write or call your state senator and congressman (there’s a sample letter here & how to find your politicians: http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org) to urge them not to penalize small companies. The committee determining this info is meeting on Dec. 10 so it is critical for people to speak up now because it affects all of us.
As a mom who loves the safe, beautifully made toys made by small operations and as a small business owner who sells and supports these items, I find this truly horrible. I applaud the govt is finally making safety requirements, but these are so sweeping and financially out of reach for the majority. It’s as though the little people who did things right from the beginning get penalize for the wrongdoings of the massive corporations that lost our trust. This legislation basically allows the big brands who can afford it to monopolize the market as the small brands and stores are forced out. With all the bailouts for big business, you’d think it was about time for the govt to help the small ones survive.
Thank you Cheryl! I will do that today. I’ll also pass this info onto other moms I know.
So terrible. This is a crime, killing cottage industry.
Yes, thanks for the link, Cheryl!
This is so sad. I love Selecta. It was my most trusted brand for my babies.
Thank you very much for bringing attention to this.
There is a petition everyone can sign here as well-
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Brilliant, let’s shut out reputable toy companies to make more space on the shelves for poorly produced toys!
I recently received an email from the owner of a local childrens’ store (The Little Seedling - find her at thelittleseedling.com) voicing these very concerns. She included in her message that there would be a meeting of a subcommittee on Wednesday tasked with reviewing the legislation and requested that we contact our congressional representatives. Here is an excerpt of her message:
URGENT Action:
The Subcommittee that put this law together is meeting to review its implementation on Wednesday. We need to send a message to them to revise the law or its implementation in ways that will maintain the integrity of the safety standards, but will not decimate the children’s products market. Here are the details of the meeting:
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on Wednesday, December 10, 2008, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Implementation of the CPSIA: Urgent Questions about Application Dates, Testing and Certification, and Protecting Children.” This is an oversight hearing examining implementation of Public Law 110-314 (H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)). Witnesses will be by invitation only.
The staff briefing for this hearing will be held on Monday, December 8, 2008, at 4:00 p.m. in room 2322 Rayburn House Office Building.
Here is a link to the list of Committee Members.
Please contact your Representative of Congress. If any one of these Representatives on the Subcommittee is YOUR representative, PLEASE be sure to call & email them to voice your concerns about the provisions in the law as they affect you and the children’s products industry in general. Please do this today and Monday. Here is the contact information at the CPSC...please contact them with your concerns too.
Here is a link to some suggestions for talking to our representatives from WAHM Solutions.
The meeting Rose mentions has been canceled. More is here:
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/cpsia-splintering-the-cause-serves-no-one/
The CPSIA is about much more than toys! It’s ALL children’s products-- clothing, blankets, hair accessories-- you name it, it’s included.
The Smart Mama had a great post here today:
http://www.thesmartmama.com/bg/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=195&Itemid=23
She mentioned this ZRecs post, too :)
Something needs to happen before February 9 or I and many other Etsy shops will be done for…
Yes, our focus on Selecta may have emphasized toys, but we did mention other products in the post - hence our quote from Nonny & Boo (they make slings). Read the Smart Mama’s post over lunch yesterday, and looking forward to discussing it with her.
What about other German companies? Have we heard about Kinderkram, Spiel & Holz, etc? It would be a shame to lose them as well.
ah, the law of unintended consequences kicks in....welcome to all that “change” we were sold on.
Ummmmmm....this law was made by the Bush admin, so I don’t understand the Obama reference.....
true, and it was unnecesary regulation passed out of hysteria; I was, however, referring to recent efforts to get the current congress to revise the law.