You see it everywhere. "Made in China". This summer, eating lunch at the park with my children, I took a glance at the "R.W. Knudsen 100% Organic Apple Juice" boxes I'd gotten to go with my kid's grilled cheeses from Panera. Guess what I saw? China. I even see it imprinted, in reverse, on the bottom of my transparent plastic drinking cup right this minute. China.
I'd love to pledge that I'm going to go 100% green. All natural, all local. I try a little more every day - more things go in the recycle bin, more local shops are visited, more farmer's markets worshiped. But - you knew there was a but - it's tough to resist the siren song of Target. I can't help it. I like Target. And it's hard to beat back a lifetime of processed food and additives and imports and the local supermarket where, it turns out, nothing is local at all. But really, that's a tangent for another time.
No, I'm here to talk about toys. And Big Corporation vs. Little Guy. And choice. And what that means for you, and for me.
We've all heard the news about lead, BPA, phthalates and any number of chemicals now found to be (with varying degrees of certainty) harmful in our plastic food containers, our cosmetics and lotions and bath products, our food itself, and the toys our children play with and frequently put in their mouths. The good news is that Congress recently passed legislation tightening safety standards. The bad news is that, well-meaning though the law may be, it could essentially shut down independent (read: small business or artisan) makers of nearly all children's products, including toys, bedding, clothing, cloth diapers, hair accessories, jewelry, and bath products. Which, unfortunately, are the folks who've pretty much been trying to get it right all along.
I think that sucks. If you do too, read more about it here or here, see proposed changes to the law from the Handmade Toy Alliance here, and find out what you can do to help here.
Thank you so very much for helping to get the word out about this. "Sucks" is the operative word for sure.
Liz from Cool Mom Picks
Posted by: Liz | December 10, 2008 at 06:31 PM