A Call for Action and a Giveaway! CPSIA and Whimsical Walney

Today's giveaway is one that I feel very torn about. On the one hand, it's from an awesome Bay Area company that has been a favorite of ours since our Baby Buy Product days, Whimsical Walney. On the other hand, Whimsical Walney is sponsoring this giveaway to help raise awareness of the new CPSIA guidelines that are going into effect in just a few short weeks. There is lots and lots of informative reading out there, and I'm not going to claim to understand all of the guidelines and how they are truly going to impact us as consumers. In a nutshell, what I do know is that after February 9th, many of the great handmade toys you see at art fairs and craft shoes will no longer be allowed to be sold unless they've undergone what for many will be cost prohibitive testing. The cute paint smocks and hair clips and handmade clothing you love to buy for your children will be no more.

While I'm sad about all the shops who will be closing their doors, including Whimsical Walney, the one that has made me think the most is this cute little site: Pencil Bugs. This site is run by a KID (although if he we were reading this, he probably wouldn't want to be called a kid, I think he's 13 now.) He sells these cute little pencil toppers that he hand makes himself. He offers products for school fundraisers and uses some of the proceeds of his sales to make activity packs for children who are staying in his local hospital. Seriously, read about him and check out his little blog. This kid is phenomenal. What I'm driving at it that this kid with this business that he's been running since he was 9 will be done after February 9th, too.

I am first and foremost concerned about the safety of my children, but I think that we can keep our kids safe without sacrificing every speciality handcrafted toy or t-shirt made by individuals or small businesses in our country. Like I said, I'm not even close to an expert on all of this, but I have been trying to read up on it as much as possible. If you would like to learn more about the CPSIA, who it's going to affect, and about what you can do, check out this post on the CPSIA on Cool Mom Picks and take a minute to read through the Handmade Toy Alliance's website. The impact of the CPSIA as it stands written is going to be huge, bigger than I think we are able to comprehend. You won't know exactly what you'll be missing until it's gone! However, there is still time for you to make your voice heard!

Click on Read More to find out about the Whimsical Walney giveaway.

I know that I promised a giveaway from Whimsical Walney, and here it is. In order to help raise awareness, Dana at Whimsical Walney is offering two Kid Buy Products winners the chance to win one of her original children's tees. She's giving away one Flags of the World tee and one Use Your Words tee. The winners will have their choice of tee, but it will be limited to in stock items. Most are available in as small as 6-12 month size all the way up to size 4. Dana at Whimsical Walney will have to close up shop after February 9th and wants to make sure as many of her creations can be worn by the children they were intended for and not sitting in boxes going to waste. She's also offering all of her tees for sale at 50% off. I hesitate to call this a "good deal" because given the circumstances it just doesn't seem appropriate, but I know that Whimsical Walney would appreciate your support in these last days. Check out the Whimsical Walney blog for other giveaways from other stores who will cease to operate after February 9th, too.

To enter the giveaway, find the name of your congress person using this link. Leave us a comment on this post which includes the name of your congress person. I urge you to write letters to both this person and your senators using this sample as a guideline. It will only take 5 minutes of your time. Once again, all of our giveaway rules apply. This giveaway will end at midnight on Monday, January 26th. Thanks for reading, and please, please if you want to help save handmade products for our children, take the time to make your voice heard!