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Missoula Toymakers, Shops Say New Toy Rules Could Put Them Out of Business

By Courtney Lowery, 12-15-08

One of Starlight Arts' items for sale at Walking Stick Toys. Shopkeeper Erika Hickey is afraid new legislation would make it impossible to carry items like this in her store.

New regulations meant to keep dangerous toys off the shelves have several local artists and shopkeepers worried that they will keep locally crafted and handmade ones off the shelves instead.

A petition is circulating in Missoula that asks Congress to reevaluate how locally made and handmade toys fit into the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which, when passed in August was meant to address concerns over unsafe toys making their way into American households. The act, championed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi and others, bans lead and phthalates in toys, among other things.

But, according to the Handmade Toy Alliance, two of the new regulations in particular could be cost-prohibitive for small toy makers: Third-party testing and certification for all toys and the requirement that each toy have a label with a date and batch number on it. Some estimates put the cost of one toy test at as much as $4,000. The regulations are doable for big manufacturers, but for small toy makers, they’re nearly impossible, the alliance says.

Erika Hickey, who owns Walking Stick Toys in downtown Missoula, says the legislation could make the the kinds of toys she sells—local and handmade—disappear from the marketplace altogether. Hickey told her customers in a newsletter this week that if it goes into effect as scheduled in February, it “could be the end of Walking Stick Toys as well as many other little ‘Mom and Pop’ type shops just like ours across the country.”

Hickey and local toymaker Anna Rummel (Starlight Arts) are asking Missoulians to sign this online petition or contact their senators and representatives about the issue.

The Handmade Toy Alliance has specific amendments in mind for the legislation, including an exemption for toys that are “manufactured or imported in quantities less than 5,000 per year by companies who manufacture or import less than 50,000 total units per year.”

The Alliance is also asking that toys made of natural fibers and materials be exempt as well as food-grade wood finishes.

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