CPSC Grants One Year Stay Great Valentine Gift to Glass Artists

U.S. crafters and small business owners have been given an early Valentines Day gift from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which is due to go into effect February 10th. Essentially, it would have shut down most small independent businesses who sell products for children 12 and under because they wouldn't be able to afford to pay for the necessary independent testing for lead. Glass artists and other crafters now have a one year stay of testing and certification requirements, while the committee reviews everything. There are certain industries that still have the law going into effect such as lead content of paint, and other higher risk areas .

This affects glass beadmakers who sell to younger people, but in a larger way, the wonderful program, Beads of Courage, (BOC). BOC uses lampwork beads donated by our beadmakers for hospitalized children who have cancer or other life threatening illnesses. Each procedure they go through has a special bead that represents it and at the end of their treatment, they have a very long "necklace" that tells the story of their medical journey. This program has been growing and is one way of lampworkers giving back to others.

To see the full press release on CPSC's web site, please go to:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09115.html