keelyblog

Over the last few years big toy companies have destroyed our trust. My question is, did they do it on purpose?

During the past decade there has been a resurgence of people trying to live a more natural life. Look how Wholefoods has sprung up everywhere. Organic is no longer something weirdos talk about–Hooray Newman’s Own! Heck, even the future King of England has an organic farm. Food is not the only area where natural living is on the rise. There’s also toys.

People started wanting the kinds of toys Grandma and Grandpa used to make. Sure, they are still available at craft fairs, but the cost of renting a booth at a craft fair puts quite a premium on things. Hello, internet! Sites like Etsy and Hyena Carts have made it cheap and simple for artist and craftman to sell their goods at reasonable prices. Etsy is the “in” place to shop for the middle class. Practically everything can be found there–all made with care in the USA. It’s the small manufacturer mega-mall :)

Unlike the food producers who saw a trend and jumped on the bandwagon, very few big toy manufacturers offer a line of wood and cloth toys along with the usual plastic stuff. The only one I can think of is Sassy. Of course, there are a few rising companies, like Melissa and Doug and Waldorf, who offer only natural toys. So what is Mattel, Hasbro, and FischerPrice to do? Some say nothing. They certainly did not stop selling plastic toys from China! What if, instead of trying to compete fairly with a country full of small toy and clothing manufacturers, the big toy companies hatched a plan to kill them?

I don’t mean literally go out and murder a bunch of artists. Just look around at who will be put out of business by these new laws. Big manufacturers may have to pay a few extra pennies for each toy, which they are certain to increase the price of ten times over. It’s the people who make 1-10 or 15 of each item that can’t suffer the premium of testing. It’s the people who never sold tainted products in the first place. It’s the people who care about the young children receiving toys and clothing. It’s the people who are making and selling so that they can honor traditional family values. Our industrious, inventive, trustworthy fellow Americans are closing up shop because toy giants imported tainted plastics and paints. My question is, did the toy giants do this on purpose?

Yes, this does affect me personally. Unless CPSIA is reformed, all my hopes of one day having a small childrens’ clothing business is dashed. No little bunny ear, LWI dyed hats. No tiny absorbent, bamboo training pants for infants and toddlers. No line of diaper, baby, or household products. No hand knitted diaper covers or felted changing pads. All gone. Please help save our small, family business and keep Made in the USA a reality. To find out more, go to The Handmade Toy Alliance.

I have to admit being sucked into the new hope for our future. I even posted a suggestion about maternity care reform on the site set up by the Obama administration. I don’t seem to be the only one! Here is a much more formal, well written outline of the needs and solutions for our American Mamas:
http://mana.org/pdfs/MANARecsToObamaHealthTeamJan09.pdf

Please share!

This is in response (and approval) of THIS REVIEW.

There are people who don’t like the movie Hook. This is because many people don’t see Peter Pan as a sad character. In my blindness, I never realized this before. Sure, there is the Disney kid’s movie that obviously misses the point. However, most Disney kid’s movies obviously miss the point. Recently I discovered that people I know missed that Peter is a sad character. Am I really living in a world where Disney dictates what people remember?

When I realized that people don’t think sadly of Peter, I began to understand why they don’t like Hook. I cannot express how great it felt to read that someone else out there is both thrilled and disturbed by Peter Pan. Obviously I love the story–my daughter’s middle name is Moira. That doesn’t change the fact that this amazing story is also a bit disturbing. It is a horror story. That is an excellent description.

So this is what makes Hook so great. Despite being in an adult body, at the beginning of the movie, Peter still has not grown up. He is still unable to consider any one else’s feelings but his own. He still does not learn from his experiences. He is still obsessed with fairness. All these things are not cute in a grown man. By returning to Neverland, reliving and remembering his past, he is able to finally grow up. He can return to reality. Reality is safe and boring.

Peter Pan is a horror story with sad characters written by a disturbed person–not a boy, not a man. Hook is an adult telling the child, “Everything is going to be okay.” Assuring the rest of us; assuring himself as well. I love both.

.