Peapods on Facebook

The facebook generation caught up with us! Yes, we now have a facebook page. We've posted a bunch of pictures from the past 10 years. We're also posting links to other pages, upcoming events, and articles we like.

So, take a look at our page and let us know what you think. -- Dan and Millie

Our letter in support of banning BPA in baby bottles in Minnesota

Here's a copy of our letter in support of removing BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups in Minnesota, an action currently under consideration in the state legislature.

February 13, 2009

To: Deanna White
Healthy Legacy
308 E. Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Re: Minnesota Bisphenol-A Legislation

Dear Deanna White,

Thank you again for meeting with us this week. We appreciate Healthy Legacy's work on promoting safer alternatives for children's products. We have been intimately involved as a business in the same initiative for over 10 years and agree that much work remains to be done.

As we stated, we are very concerned about the effect of product safety regulations on small businesses. The survival of our business and the hundreds of small companies we buy from has been severely threatened by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which became federal law last August. We view it as an overly broad measure which unfairly hurts small manufacturers while forcing the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to focus on dozens of product types which represent little threat to health while ignoring high-risk products.

It is our goal to reform this law to make it more focused and effective and to preserve small businesses. To that end, we helped create the Handmade Toy Alliance and have been working closely with the CPSC and Senator Klobuchar's office to advocate for common-sense rules that will improve the CPSIA.

As for legislative initiatives in Minnesota, we would like to express our support for eliminating BPA from baby bottles, children's sippy cups, and infant formula cans. The dangers of BPA have been known for many years and several alternatives are now widely available. We feel there is no reason why BPA bottles and cups should remain in the marketplace. In fact, we have seen a dramatic increase in BPA-free cups and bottles at large retailers. Wal-Mart has even announced that they will be discontinuing BPA-based products.

Although we would prefer a federal ban instead of a myriad of state laws, we recognize the role that Minnesota can play in accelerating consideration of a federal ban by passing this law now. Keep in mind, though, that banning BPA in bottles and cups while continuing to allow it in canned goods and food storage containers only solves a small part of the overall problem.

We are not in favor of requiring third-party testing in order to prove compliance with a BPA ban. The state may conduct random audits to assure compliance, but mandatory third party testing will be disproportionately detrimental to small businesses, which is precisely the effect we've seen with the CPSIA.

Thank you again for soliciting our input on these important issues. We wish to stress again that we are very engaged with these issues, both as parents and business owners. Our goal has always been to provide safe and affordable alternatives to synthetic and disposable products. We look forward to working with you further to pursue these goals.

Sincerely,

Millie Adelsheim and Dan Marshall
Peapods Natural Toys & Baby Care

CPSC Issues Stay of Enforcement

Late yesterday afternoon, the CPSC issued a one-year stay of enforcement, which means our small manufacturers will have a another year to figure out how to comply with the CPSIA, Congress will have a year to fix many of its problems, and the CPSC will have a year to complete its rulemaking and issue exemptions.

Basically, the CPSC agreed with us that we should stop the car for a while before we try to change the tires.

Strangely, Thomas Moore, one of the two CPSC commissioners who voted for the stay, said his vote was in response to "an aggressive misinformation campaign" from bloggers and work at home crafters. The only misinformation we know about is that Congress and the CPSC were misinformed about the impact this sweeping law would have on small businesses.

Nonetheless, we are very thankful that we have been given a reprieve and a chance to work to get this law fixed before small businesses start losing their livelihoods.

Thanks to Senator Klobuchar

Senator Klobuchar has issued a very supportive letter to the CPSC that calls for many of the reforms that we have been calling for. Members of the Handmade Toy Alliance have been working with lawmakers across the country and many have gone on record to argue for changes to the CPSIA to save small businesses, but many others are still replying via form letters. I haven't spoken with any of these other lawmakers, but I feel that Klobuchar's office was really remarkable in their willingness to listen to our concerns and to engage in a process to fix the law's unintended consequences.

A great deal of work remains to be done, but I think all Minnesotans can be proud to have a Senator that listens to her constituents.

Our long campaign

From Dan: It's now been about a month and a half since we helped form the Handmade Toy Alliance in an effort to save the dozens of small companies that we buy stuff from. I've learned a lot in that time, most of it incredibly humbling.

First, I've learned that there are a lot more people making toys and children's products in the US than I ever would have dreamed of. I wrote last year in this blog that there is no one making dolls in the USA anymore, and I have learned that this is not true.

We are really at the start of a renaissance of manufacturing in this country, with hundreds of people making stuff in their living rooms and basements and selling it on the internet. It shouldn't surprise me so much, since that's basically how we started our business, but it has. I only hope we can fix this law before all that energy gets squashed.

Second, I've learned that it is true that a small group of dedicated people can make a difference. In early December, all our calls to Congress went unanswered and the CPSC ignored us. But, working from one member to the next, one blog to the next, one reporter to the next, we've finally gotten the attention of Congress and the CPSC, which has begun issuing guidance to make the CPSIA less burdensome to small businesses.

I've been talking to too many media folks, from the LA Times to CNN to Oregon Public Radio, which is way beyond my comfort level. Others in the Alliance have been quoted in the Washington Post, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Wall Street Journal, amoung many others. The story is easy to tell: why should these tiny manufacturers suffer because of the sins of Mattel and Thomas the Tank Engine?

We're not there yet, not by a long shot, but we have found hope in this month and a half. I'm not sure it's audacious hope, but it feels better than despair. The truth is that the reason I'm working so hard on this is that it's the only way for me not to get totally depressed about the situation. We'll know we've succeeded when every one of our suppliers and every member of the Handmade Toy Alliance can say yes, I can comply with the law and I can remain in business.

And, along the way, I've met some really wonderful and talented people that I never would have had a chance to meet otherwise. People like us who believe in sustainable, quality goods for children.

Thanks again to those people and to all of our customers who have expressed their support. Best wishes,
Dan

Please Vote Now to Save Handmade Children's Goods

Our cause to save handmade toys from the devastating impact of the CPSIA needs your vote today! Please vote before January 15 to make sure we get national attention. Visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org for more info.

Video: Quantum Mechanics and Toy Safety