Oh boy, has the CPSC gone crazy or what? After the Inf*(^%& disaster (you can google it, I dont want to link to that company on my blog) they have decided that baby carriers are dangerous and they need to be wiped out. I really cannot understand, nor can I believe what I am reading - it just seems so wrong to me.
Now of course 99.9% of baby carriers are safe, they are built with utmost care and most manufacturers have high safety standards. There are methods that are commonly used to make safe carriers. There has been ONE really bad apple, and that bad apple has the potential to destroy an entire industry in the US.
I hope at the end of all this the Industry can hold that bad apple responsible.
For what it is worth, there have been no documented deaths related to baby carriers in Australia. Yet, devastatingly, there have been numerous related to strollers and prams. The same cant be said about the former in the US - unfortunately there have been deaths related to carriers and however upsetting it may be, there have been many many more related to strollers and prams. Yet those deaths only lead to higher safety standards for the prams that were involved. I dont understand why the same isnt being done for the Baby Carrier Industry. Now, Im not picking on prams nor am I looking for a debate, the fact is, that one usually replaces the other, so if you are wearing your baby - you arent needing a pram and vice versa. Its a fair comparison. A horrible yet fair comparison :(.
There is much information the The BabyWearer about this, you can try this link
here. There is a
Baby Carrier Industry Alliance, which is working REALLY hard to get US folks to contact their Senators, to get our side heard. The Baby Carrier Industry Alliance needs people to join, and they need donations - they need to build up funds to ensure that they can fight for OUR rights to choose to baby wear.
But it isnt happening in Australia is it? So why do I care? I care because my industry is global. Alot of what we do happens online, and as a direct result, I am affected by this craziness. I have friends who make carriers in the US, and many of us covet certain brands of US made carriers.
What is most dazzling about this whole thing is that the CPSC is not sharing their findings and bullying small carrier makers into submission. One big player has closed its doors because of this.
If you are in the U.S PLEASE join the
Baby Carrier Industry Alliance - join
The BabyWearer - be heard! More importantly, be informed! Don't just sit by and think that the powers that be (the CPSC) are going to 'Do right'. They are behaving irrationally and have broken many of their OWN guidelines! Don't let the CPSC do to baby wearing what our Government did to homebirth! STAND UP PEOPLE! WAKE UP PEOPLE! SAY 'NO MORE'!
Its just so infuriating!
