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Safe cosmetic act of 2012 is alive


Scented

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Me again. I would also be happy to try and draft a generic letter that everyone can use to send, if you want. It would be helpful if we could identify the issues or concerns with each of the key points and the effect it will have on our business. For some of the points it would be effective to provide an alternative, like the fees. We don't want the letter to read as just complaining, that we do support the intent of the bill (I'm assuming we do, for the most part I do), but that it could have a devastating effect on small business if implemented as written.

Would this be helpful?

That would be wonderful! I would use it! I have it saved and look it over tomorrow.

Edited by Jewls819
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Me again. I would also be happy to try and draft a generic letter that everyone can use to send, if you want. It would be helpful if we could identify the issues or concerns with each of the key points and the effect it will have on our business. For some of the points it would be effective to provide an alternative, like the fees. We don't want the letter to read as just complaining, that we do support the intent of the bill (I'm assuming we do, for the most part I do), but that it could have a devastating effect on small business if implemented as written.

Would this be helpful?

This would really help for me also. Thank you for offering.

I've begun typing it out and get stuck each time on the wording and which aspects I should focus on. Fees would do many of us in so that was one point I was focusing on but after that I'm not sure where to go with it other than there are about 200,000 (need to check that number) of us who would be out of business if this went through at a time when we need all the jobs we can get or keep. My other thought was if so many of the micro businesses have to quit making products, it is going to have a negative affect on the suppliers when they lose our business.

edit....just saw the link. Will head there now.

Edited by jeanie353
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All I can tell you PMM is that the initial registration would be $500 for everyone. It isn't broken down that I can tell for following years.

I believe the answer to your question about the sugar scrub is it means yes. You change a fragrance, you are required to have it tested. You up an ingredient, any change whatsoever, it's an automatic retest. It will become astronomically bank-breaking to test everything unless you're stocked in cash.

I believe a registered facility may mean nothing made at home. Having a registered facility means allowing the gov't in to do their thing too.

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FDA Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Guidelines/Inspection Checklist

This might give you an idea of what is considered a "facility"

http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GoodManufacturingPracticeGMPGuidelinesInspectionChecklist/default.htm

I found the guidelines later and read through them, thank you for the link.

Not trying to be argumentative, but I guess I'm not sure that a facility at home would be disallowed based on how the guidelines are written. Granted, they are slanted toward a large production facility with the expectation of multiple emplyees. But, the first statement says the building used must be of sufficient size, design and construction to allow equipment, storage, sanitary operations and proper cleaning and maintenance. Why could that not be my soap room or kitchen? It meets my needs, I'm a homecrafter, not Proctor and Gamble.

Ok, I just called the FDA to get their definition of a Building or Facility. To them, it is any structure that engages in the preparation or manufacuter of food or cosmetics. That includes what we do out of our homes. And, that is as far as the FDA can commit. Since this bill has not been made into law, they don't have any specifics on how this will change the guidlelines. At the moment, I don't really see anything in the bill that will specifically eliminate the ability to make products at home. But, I'm not a lawyer either and good grief they make these things difficult to read without one.

As far as the Fee, yes it is $500 for 2013. But then it went on to say the following...

(B) for fiscal year 2014 and each subsequent fiscal year, the fee for fiscal year 2013 as adjusted under subsection ©.

And, this is subsection ©:

(c) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—For fiscal year 2014 and subsequentfiscal years, the revenues established in subsection (B) shall be adjusted bythe Secretary by notice, published in the Federal Register, for a fiscal year to reflectthe sum of one plus—

(1) the average annual change in the cost, per full-time equivalent position of the Food and Drug Administration, of all personnel compensation and benefits paid with respect to such positions for the first 3years of the preceding 4 fiscal years multiplied by the proportion of personnel compensation and benefits costs to total costs of cosmetic safety activities forthe first 3 years of the preceding years; and

(2) the average annual change that occurred in the Consumer PriceIndex for urban consumers (Washington-Baltimore, DC–MD–VA–WV; Not Seasonally Adjusted; All items; Annual Index) for the first 3 years of the preceding 4 years of available data multiplied by the proportion of all costs other than personnel compensation and benefits costs tototal costs of cosmetic safety activities for the first 3 years of the preceding 4 fiscal years. The adjustment made each fiscal year under this subsection will be added on a compounded basis to the sum of all adjustments made each fiscal year after fiscal year 2013 under this subsection.

All of that could just be saying Cost of Living Allowance, don't know.

Edited by ProudMarineMom
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Well, even if I could meet 1,2 & 3, I think 4-8 would do me in. I don't have the square footage to reserve samples of finished products to be tested again at a later date.... & I don't have a "second person" to verify the weights of everything. & I don't have room to keep mountains of records and documentation of every little thing. & I don't have a drain in the middle of my freaking kitchen floor, so not sure if that would pass the "adequate floor drainage" issue.

What a major PITA. If small business/home business has to follow the same rules as major facilities, I'm done before I get started..

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Well, even if I could meet 1,2 & 3, I think 4-8 would do me in. I don't have the square footage to reserve samples of finished products to be tested again at a later date.... & I don't have a "second person" to verify the weights of everything. & I don't have room to keep mountains of records and documentation of every little thing. & I don't have a drain in the middle of my freaking kitchen floor, so not sure if that would pass the "adequate floor drainage" issue.

What a major PITA. If small business/home business has to follow the same rules as major facilities, I'm done before I get started..

Exactly! And, that is why they either need to make provisions or exclusions for small businesses and home-crafters or specifically state that a home facility will not meet the guidelines. I think they are trying to put more regulations on the big boys but for some reason they don't realize or don't care the impact this bill will have on the small crafters. Unfortunately for us, we don't have the resources to pay for an advocate. So, we need to send letters and do what we can to support the efforts of WSP, Indie, Brambleberry and others who are trying to speak on our behalf. Maybe it won't be enough but at least we know we tried.

Ok, stepping down off the soapbox.... :grin2: sorry about that

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OK take a look at it this way ... no one on the D.C. hill ever thinks beyond big business, so no, they aren't thinking about how this could impact anyone but those who can mass produce or import products. To them, that's business. Making a 12-bar log of soap in the kitchen ... well is that even a hobby? Even though someone just bought that 12-bar log they special ordered. So far, soap isn't a cosmetic. So yippie-ki-yay. The people on these committees like change as frequently as we keep putting someone new in office (and we should keep doing that, because clearly they can't see beyond big business to the impact their decisions make on those regular folk ... you know, those who elected them.)

So that's why we as the collective small folk need to drown those people on the hill with, "Hey, you, buster, yo' down here, yeah, down here, can you see me now? This is what you're about to do to off-Main Street. Do we thank you now or later when we put someone else in your seat?"

I believe HMSG came back clearly stating that they were really going to have to protect small business interests and work towards getting this group of country clubbers to understand that there's about 200,000 registered small businesses in this industry that their legislation is about to put out of business.

Taking a look at the costs ... $500 the first year. The gov't never reduces fees, so I would expect to see that be $500+ in 2014 ... maybe that's plus cost of what it costs you to make your product for a year, but hey, those dollars add up and suddenly any profit you thought you had is well ... gone. I'm not going to pay $10 for a bar of soap and I would have to believe that the bulk of America ain't gonna either, especially if they can't get control of the pump, which is going to drive up food, which is going to drive up ... yadda, yadda, yadda (we've been there, seen it and gonna see it again.)

You can't cross contaminate, so yes, kitchens are out. Maybe you are fortunate and have another room that meets their specifications. Great for you. I don't have that luxury and actually live in a town where if I want to start a business with a store front, I have to build that building in an industrial park that's way off the main road, because our downtown is full. I could go to another town, yea, I could, where taxes are higher and they don't know me and I don't know them.

I'm not against this testing thing, but I would be far more enthusiastic about it IF it was worth it to have my shit tested for $250-$500 a pop for a batch that's going to make what? 20 jars? I don't think so. I would also love to live in a stainless steel jungle. It would probably be cool year round, but I don't have the proper drainage. If I had a drain in the floor, the people on the lower level would get mighty pissy if stuff oh dropped in on them and if I oh redesigned their property, which I rent in order to have a roof over my head.

I'm not meaning to sound testy, but I think we all really need to take a look as to what the face value of the bill says and how that impacts each of us individually. I don't have a lot of cosmetic stuff in my offerings, but I have some. For us to remotely think we can continue to offer what we do have now, under any CSA, we'd have to farm out to a place to make that stuff for us and that means we'd have to supply a bunch of ingredients to make a bunch of product that we hope is going to sell. We'd have to cash in not only our life savings, but we'd have to find a way to get a loan at a bank or rob one or win the lottery to fun our business and we best plan on being on the same level as Avon, B&BW, etc. (we best be a chain to have the opportunity to make cash.)

Since right now there are no concessions for being that small folk, we need to let them know we exist and not wait for someone else to get the party started, especially if they want this to be voted on in 3-6 months.

And my last comment for now ... so the gov't should get a COLA when the rest of us don't. Screw that. It's time they had a reality check.

Edited by Scented
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How do you suggest we do that when the suppliers themselves don't even agree on this issue? It would seem that by now we should have been contacted by our suppliers and ask to do something? People on this board don't even agree on what action to take.

I find it funny that after all that "advocacy on our behalf" since last year we ended up with the removal of the small business exemption.

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My letters and emails are going out beginning Monday. Am using the letter provided in a link in this thread. The 2nd paragraph begin to talk about the negative impact on the small/micro business owner and does a good job explaining what we are all asking for.

Hopefully, its not too late and when our letters begin coming in mass they may re-think this and put the small business exclusion back in.

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Isn't being surprised a sign of not being prepared and underestimating your opponent? Plus the interests are so divided here, some suppliers welcome this while others won't even mention the issue to their customers for fear of hurting their sales. So now the people who should be organizing us are telling us not to panic because this bill won't pass...because "our lawmakers wouldn’t intentionally want to put 200,000 small women owned business out of business"...really?

I don't think it is a coincidence that the small biz exemption was removed and when you really think about it who would benefit directly from this bill? How do you think big corporations like having small b&b like us use they name brand like "Pink Sugar" type and cut into their profits? I know that Lush has been after an Etsy vendor because she sells their dupes, so someone is paying attention.

This has been going on for a few years now and even if this bill doesn't pass this year I don't think that it will go away.

But at least these people are doing something about this - too bad they are not on our side. http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5500/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=10077

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I get what you're saying. I also was under the impression that they thought they had made progress by having two lobbyists and several meetings with people who were involved at the time. No way is this going away regardless if it gets shelved this year. What I'd like to know is how to be more in the know than a third-hand trickle down to get the news if even that high on the totem pole.

No way companies who vend to us can't feel some repercussions if suddenly we're not there to spend the cash. Sure, there are companies out there trying to protect their names. I wouldn't blame them in the least. They're big $, but I don't think they're trying to push us out of the market either. If it weren't for some of the big company lawyers, we'd have a redefinition of science in several states. Colorado comes to mind when they had their hearings.

What's really bugging me is that there's no word from the people with the ties. I expected to hear something from them by now, but no.

I'll have to check out your link, Annie.

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There is some valuable information in the link Annie has posted. Mainly the names of all the people on the Energy and Health subcommittee.... use this to your advantage. Send YOUR letters to these people stating your case as a handcrafter. On page 8 of this topic ProudMarineMom has an example of a letter fighting for you as a handcrafter against this bill.

I agree Scented,,, where are all the people with ties and why aren't they reporting something??????

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The big guys will always be the big guys, the suppliers may loose money and the smaller ones may close but the big ones will still be in business...we are the ones at the bottom of the food pile. I don't know what those two lobbyists are lobbying for because there has been very little info about what is being done on "our behalf" but IMO maybe our definition of small business may be different then their definition.

Fran Drescher came out in favor of the safe cosmetics bill in 2010 and 2011 while pushing her paraben free skin care on HSN. L'Oreal has a new paraben and sulfate free shampoo, I think that the big guys are catching up to this segment of the market to increase revenues and I really don't think that they want to share with us.

Maybe we should be our own grassroots movement on this one, if we each contact 5 b&b and cosmetic maker/seller on sites like etsy, artfire and others to spread the word about this.

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Debbie May posted something on her blog regarding this. I don't have the link with me, but it's on the WSP facebook page. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but I think it's an update of some sort.

http://www.debbiemay.com/2012/04/cosmetic-legislation-federal.html

"Look for the “Handmade Cosmetic Alliance” website to be coming soon! The HCA will be your place to have your small business voice heard. You will be able to write your legislators, engage others and make a difference in helping the handmade soap and cosmetic industry!!"

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