Protecting My Customers

In addition to providing protection through healing gemstones, I take care of my customers in other ways.

Like all small businesses in the U.S. (ok, more to the point in my case, like all one-woman operations), I watched closely the twists and turns of the Federal government regarding the Consumer Protection Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). Approved in 2008, this law came about as a result of an influx of unsafe children’s products, from toys to jewelry to furniture and more, that caused the little ones health problems. It’s true that the problem items involving lead content and/or a nasty plastic chemical, were mostly made very cheaply in foreign countries, but we take our children’s health pretty seriously here, and wanted to be sure that the law was sufficiently broad to ensure that there weren’t lots of loopholes that manufacturers or importers could use to their advantage. As with all things, there were unintended consequences: small toy makers, jewelry makers, and other cottage industries are also covered by the law, and the original testing standards would essentially put us all out of business.

course, there were lots of contacts with elected officials and testimony before the Consumer Product Safety Commission prior to the law’s targeted implementation date of 2/10/09. The final result is that some provisions for testing have been delayed for about a year, and guidelines were established for child safety in the interim.

I don’t need to worry in either the jewelry or weaving portions of my business. Why? As long as I don’t use any metallic yarns in my weaving (and I don’t), yarns and other fibers have been deemed safe. (If people are making clothing for children, they do need to ensure that zippers, snaps, and other items are lead-free.) So you can purchase your handwoven baby blanket from me with confidence.

As for the jewelry, most of my work is created from semi-precious gemstones, sterling silver, and 14K gold-filled components. All have been deemed safe. I do occasionally use high-quality silver-plate components to keep things affordable, and I will need to ensure that either I only purchase component items that have been tested as lead-free, or I only use such components in adult jewelry. It’s extremely rare for me to use any plastic in my creations, and I simply won’t do it at all anymore. So buy away without worry!