tomorrow's to-do list...

(in no particular order...)

1. take books back to library
2. take lucy and doggie somewhere to "get the wiggles out"
3. write and mail thank-you notes
4. go grocery shopping
5. drop off/mail belated christmas gifts
6. get political

you might remember about a month ago i posted about the threat facing the world of handmade toys. well, that threat, due to what many are calling "overlegistation," still exists. in just over a month, laws will go into effect that will require extensive testing on products intended for babies and children, including (but certainly not limited to) toys. the problem here is that independent toymakers, work-at-home crafters, and small toy manufacturers of reputably "safe" products (in america, europe, australia, etc.) will quite literally be forced out of business due to lack of funds for expensive required testing. larger companies--many of whom earned the public's distrust in the first place by farming out production to china, a country with an obvious less-than-perfect track record when it comes to "safe" production--will have less of a problem financially in meeting these new legislation. the end result will supposedly be safer products overall. the actual cost of this newfound safety? a slew of lost jobs, along with drastically lowered alternatives for the conscious consumer when it comes to children's playthings. a sea of delightful, creative, imaginative toys now have the all-to-real possibility of becoming extinct--and replaced with hunks of brightly colored, battery operated hunks of cheap (lead free!) plastic.

the whole idea is enough to make me want to vomit. swear.

from coolmompicks.com:

"With this act going into effect February 10 2009 so many people we love will be affected: Moms who sew beautiful handmade waldorf dolls out of home, artists who have spent decades hand-carving trucks and cars out of natural woods, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their goods. Not without investing tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have a single toxic chemical in them."

all of the aforementioned is why, at some point tomorrow, i'll be making some phone calls. i'm using this list from zrecommends.com--there are about 5 calls to make. hopefully i'll get through to somebody. hopefully other people will take the time to make calls of their own. hopefully there's a way to amend this law to exempt toymakers who don't produce their products in mass quantities.

clicking on the "save handmade" button on the sidebar of this page will take you to a wealth of information about current legislation, proposed amendments, and ways to (hopefully) make a difference. february 10th is on its way--let's try to make a difference!