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Welcome to Georgia Belle - Macon Originals! Please forgive our progress as we work toward completing this Web site and return often to see what we've added!
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was adopted last year as a response to the overwhelming safety issues with toys and products being imported from China. Under this act, no one may sell children's merchandise to the public without first having it tested and approved by a third-party - testing that can be outragously expensive.
While intended to press the larger organizations, such as Hasbro and Mattel, for more stringent quality control testing, there were no allowances made for small businesses like ours. It casts a net large enough to include hobbyists who build wooden toys in their workshops, stay-at-home mothers who supplement their household income by crafting baby essentials to sell online, grandmothers who knit and crochet baby blankets, sweaters, and booties, and the boutiques who sell these products that are now in high demand.
A recent Forbes.com article by Walter Olson effectively communicates the implications that this act will have on the American economy - and, additionally, how ridiculous this act can be.
Georgia Belle - Macon Originals can adapt. Essentially, we do our crafting as a hobby as we also have full-time employment. We can expand our product line to include more general gift and household items. However, in our case, this is not a decision that we make freely, but under threat of prison or enormous fines.
Other small businesses will not be as fortunate and this act will be a disaster to their way of life.
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