Open Email to Green America (formerly Coop America) & Organic Trade Association

Dear Green America & Organic Trade Association

I am writing today because I am a member of your organization because I believe in green living. 

 -We belong to a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which we actively participate in with our children, both because the food is better, but because we want to teach our children where their food comes from.  We also buy local and/or organic foods where possible.

 -My wife has fond memories of the weekly Farmers Market held weekly in her home town of San Luis Obispo, CA.

 -We are importing natural children’s products from Europe and distributing them in the USA because natural products we want our children (and yours) to have access to toys made with natural materials, without batteries, and designed to engage and encourage creativity.

 -We reduce, reuse, recycle.

 -We support fair trade products.

 We are members of your organization because we have long believed in your vision.  We also look to you as our advocate.  You have the resources, and a strong community of activists.  You have the connections with government leaders.  We are pleading with you to help make a difference to save our way of life, which I suspect is YOUR way of life, and the values which we (collectively) are trying to pass on to future generations.

Each of the activities we currently enjoy above is being threatened by current and/or pending legislation. 

HR875 Food Safety Modernization Act is on the floor and will threaten our CSA, Coops, Farmers Markets, and in general food (organic and otherwise) that is produced by small producers.  Please act now to mobilize your community to send a strong message to Congress to defeat bill HR875.

You can learn more about this bill and its impacts at: http://overlawyered.com/2009/04/hr-875-food-safety-modernization-act-of-2009/ (I encourage you to read the links within that article)

One can argue there is “no language” that will destroy local Farmer’s Markets etc.  However, look at the bill and see what is required;  There is no “language” in the CPSIA explicitly calling for the end of thrifts, old library books, natural toys, niche products, but the results speak for themselves.

HR1815 Ranking Member Joe Barton’s bill to Amend the CPSIA.  As you may know, the CPSIA is not only threatening my natural products business (and all others like it), it has taken away our ability buy used products for our children at thrift shops, and will certainly be the end of small scale fair trade.  I have listed the key points found in the Barton bill which would provide relief for companies such as ours, as well as thrift shops, among others.

* Making lead and phthalate provisions prospective
* Allowing retailers a “sell-through” period
* Creating a temporary compliance scheme for lead content testing
* Mandating that CPSC promulgate lead content testing procedures in 6 months
* Creating regulatory flexibility in exemption authority and inserting age consideration in exemption standard
* Creating broader exemption authority with higher standard for those products that cannot meet the “regular” lead exemption standard when an exemption would better preserve child and public safety
* Permitting component part testing
* Creating regulatory flexibility in the labeling provisions.

You can watch Rep. Barton’s speech about the CPSIA at the recent rally in DC April 1^st: http://tr.youtube.com/watch?v=0krQ42fxpAU&feature=PlayList&p=715770E28E9C144E&index=10

You can also watch the complete rally at www.amendthecpsia.com

I am calling on you to reach out to your community to ask them to support HR1815.

I am also asking for a response from you to let me and the thousands of readers know what we can expect from Green America and the Organic Trade Association at this critical time. 

 I have confidence in your organization to speak out loudly to defeat HR875 and support HR1815.

 Sincerely,

 

Rob Wilson
Challenge & Fun, Inc.