By CRISTINA TRAPANI-SCOTT

Britton resident Teresa Koski has been making and selling crafts at shows for many years, mostly to keep herself busy and to appease her creativity. She also keeps an online store through Etsy, www.tsurfer.etsy.com [1], a web community where crafters can sell their handmade goods. As much as a third of what Koski has created to sell has been geared toward children, but with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act set to take effect February 10 she’s posted notice that all of her children’s apparel must be gone by the deadline and is selling it at cost, she said, just to recoup the cost of materials to make the items. Koski wants to avoid hassling with the law, which mandates that all products made for children 12 and under that are not tested for lead and phthalate by February 10 will be deemed hazardous material. Many small retailers and crafters are calling February 10 National Bankruptcy Day.

The law, which is retroactive to include all goods made for children or that could potentially be used by children, was passed by Congress last year after reports surfaced of lead found in toys sold by large manufacturers. The unintended consequence may be that people like Koski, who produce handmade products for sale at church bazaars and arts and craft sales, will no longer be able to continue that practice. According to the new legislation, tests must be done or retailers could be subject to fines upwards of a $100,000. The tests themselves are costly with reports showing them anywhere from $300 to as much as $24,000 per item. For large manufacturers that can feasibly test one item from a lot and absorb the testing cost into the bulk sale that’s not a problem, but for small business owners like Koski, the testing fee for one item far surpasses what she would make on the sale of that item.

“It’s been terrible,” Koski said. “There’s been threat after threat after threat and people don’t know where to turn. I will have to close down my kids’ line, which is sad because people buy handmade things for children all the time.”

It will definitely have a negative impact on Koski’s shop. The irony is that everything Koski uses for materials is already manufactured and would ideally be tested, but she is still required by law to test her goods. “We should be able to go with their [the manufacturer’s] testing. I didn’t change the material. How is it different than when it’s on the bolt?” she said.

Still, Koski is luckier than others who specialize in children’s toys or clothing as a business, but the negative impact of the legislation reaches far beyond toys and crafts made for children and sold online. It impacts church bazaars or arts and crafts sold at places like the Clinton Fall Festival or the Apple Festival at Kapnick Orchards as well as second-hand stores and antique dealers. “What’s going to happen to the little old ladies who make quilts for babies to sell at church bazaars? They’re not going to be able to do that,” said Koski.

She learned of the legislation in October when Etsy crafters started chatting about who the law encompasses on the forums, but Koski said she hasn’t seen the impact of the legislation discussed much in the news. In fact, many local business owners aren’t aware how the legislation could impact their business.

Doris Bishop, owner of Fifth Avenue Rags in Tecumseh, said she knew the laws affected toy retailers and manufacturers, but she was not aware that it could have an impact on her clothing inventory. Just under half of what she sells at her second-hand clothing store is children’s apparel. “If they want us to do that [test], then they should supply us with the things to do that. Do you know how many businesses would go under? It would put all of us out of business if every item had to be tested. I really want things to be safe, but the government has to give us the opportunity to do so,” she said.

For Lei Wright, co-owner of That Used Book Store in Tecumseh, the financial impact won’t be as great as for other retailers, but it’s the idea that books will become less accessible to children that concerns her. “As far as our business goes, children’s books are a small portion of it, but they are an important part. This is going to completely stop the encouragement of reading. We sell out of print and used books. Some of our books sell for as little as $1. It costs $300-$400 to test. Those items will end up in the trash if there is no place to sell them,” she said, adding that she’s sad to see that rare and out-of-print books could disappear.

White said that she’s had teachers come in and buy books to stock up on classroom libraries and thinks that she will soon have to discount children’s books in order to get them out the door before February 10. “What about the classics? Jane Austen, Huck Finn, White Fang, do those come off the shelf? The saddest part about it is losing kids’ interest in reading. It makes me so sad and so angry. A handful of businesses will go under because of this. So many people down here will be affected. If these people start folding because of this then nobody will come downtown. It’s good to protect children. I’m not saying it’s not, but this needed to be well thought out. People need to be aware of the impact and how far reaching it is. It’s much more far reaching than at first glance,” White said.