Firstly “bureaucracy” is hard to spell, which is damning enough.
I have mostly kept out of government-y things…I did what I was supposed to do: registered my business, got my insurance, pay my taxes…all of the normal business stuff. I figured if I kept toeing the line, they would leave me alone.
“They” would be the government. Look, I’m not a radical anarchist…I fancied myself one in college but really I’m too lazy…ANYHOW…I’ve kept my head down and just kept chugging along. There was a very real threat I could be shut down with a bill called the Safe Cosmetics Act. Atleast I think that’s what it was called…long story short it got cut, which I am incredibly thankful for. That bill would’ve had crippling consequences on small beauty companies like mine; it was about creating fees of outrageous amounts (hundreds of thousands) and heavily favored large conglomerate companies, though they would have suffered along with me…they still would’ve been in business at least.
And now there is a new bill, and it has passed. The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 does…well actually I don’t really know what it’s going to do, I hear conflicting things and my brain shuts off when I start to read it.
The gist of things I’m getting is that there will be required testing for products (cool) and user fees (not cool). Many are stating that this bill will shut down small companies, but I also heard that those making less than $1 million would be exempt…so who the hell knows.
My opinion is this: I am all for consumer safety, I am thankful that the government said “no” to lead in products and enforced it. I am NOT glad that I have to jump through hoops held by an unknown person for an unknown reason. “Safety” is such a blanket word that it’s meaning has become so jumbled. Do I create a safe product? Of course I do…if I didn’t I would have lawsuits and liability claims that would bankrupt me. Do I need to prove that to someone who has a hard-on for justice because it’s election season? No and fuck you for asking.
My problem with this whole thing is that there is no concerned group of voters pushing for this. This bill was created by either A) someone who has an agenda B) someone who wants to push out the competition C) someone who has a controlling interest in these “user fees.” D) all of the above.
Will it shut us all down? I doubt it but we’ll see. If we DID get shut down I would love to see an underground handmade soap movement, wouldn’t that be fun?
Stay tuned.
Further Reading:
Essential U blog
Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010
Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild weighs in on the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010
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