I’m preparing for another booth on Friday. I know that safety eyes and similar small pieces are choking hazards for both children and animals, I also understand that yarn can be ingested by pets and cause blockages.
I’ve heard at a previous market someone comment on how some items would make good dog toys. I told them that I didn’t think that was the best idea because of the above.
This time I was thinking of putting a sign saying my plushies weren’t recommended for small kids or pets. Thoughts? Would it be unethical to not have signage?
A relative told me not to put out a sign because people probably wouldn’t buy anything but I can’t help but think that not putting a sign would be unethical.
What’s your opinion? Do you do something different?
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I wouldn’t put a sign out but would share what you know if someone asks
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I’ve had customers request that I had more options for the lil ones. Because of the eyes and choking so this time I’ll have a special section for the embroidered eyes. To me signs and special sections are just another way to help customers not seem so overwhelmed. Especially when your busy and they have to ask. Does that make sense? So yes put up a sign because you’ll always have people agree or not agree. It keeps the little ones and pets safe.
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I think this is more along the lines of what I was thinking. My crochet stuff isn’t a business so losing sales isn’t a huge deal. But if something happened to someone I’d feel awful and at least for my own peace of mind I can know I tried to warn people
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That depends on if you’re marketing them as toys. If you’re marketing them as toys you have to have a warning label that says something along the lines of “Not suitable for children under three. Choking hazard due to small parts” This is per 16 CFR Part 1501 of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety commission, or if you’re Canadian SOR/2011-17 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.
However if you’re not marketing them as toys and just marketing them as like a decor item then the responsible thing to do (Since plushies can reasonably be seen as toys) is to still have a sign that says “decorative item, not suitable for children under 3. Contains small parts”.
If you’re looking to take commissions you could, near your warning sign say something along the lines of “If you’d like a plush made suitable for your child, I am open for commission and am more than happy to make a custom plush with child safe modifications.”
Now, when it comes to pets. I was a dog and cat groomer for 10 years. I learned 2 very important things in my time there.
1.) Don’t assume people A - know things and B- have common sense (Which I know sounds mean but I have had arguments with people along the lines of no… your dog can not in fact share a Monster or a chocolate bar with you.)
2.) If you have the chance to educate someone, do it.
I think this is the perfect opportunity to educate people on the fact that yarn based toys are not only a choking hazard for their pet but also a digestive blockage hazard as well. In fact many people will appreciate the fact that you did warn them and are either more likely to buy from you or more likely to remember you and recommend you to other people. I know that happened a lot with my regulars, because I took the time to educate someone in a way that didn’t demean them or make them feel stupid.
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Thank you! I did not think about it that way. I did go ahead and make an age 3+ choking hazard sign. Since the majority of my items are amigurumi and have safety eyes, I figured most people will think of them as toys, which is fine. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt
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I think that’s a very wise decision honestly. Better to at the bare minimum have yourself covered than just leaving it up to chance.
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Great points, this is such an important topic and I wish more people knew about this part!
I’ve stumbled across too many pet toy patterns here on Ribblr, without any mention of pet safety or warnings in the description.
I hope people keep their pets safe and that the designers gain knowledge and doesn’t provide any unsafe patterns (or causes an incident they might be held liable for).
I remember a post bringing up pet safety long ago that gained some traction here, but is there any other way to make sure information like this reaches more designers here?
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As far as making it a site wide thing I wouldn’t really know other than making a thread in the suggestion forum asking Ribblr to maybe add a “content” warning that is added to the toys category that states something like “Yarn toys are not safe for pets due to being choking and blockage hazards.” and just kind of hoping that they listen.
The other option is making a thread and posting it to the general section and hoping it gains some kind of traction there. I’d be happy to do it. I don’t have too much going on. I can tag you in it as well if you’d like.
I could even add a brief thing people could copy and paste into their patterns essentially saying something along the lines of:
“Yarn toys are not suitable for pets due to choking and intestinal blockage hazards. Safety eyes and small components are not recommended for pets or children under 3, as they may pose a choking risk. Use at your own discretion.”
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I’m not sure if you’re responding to me or the previous comment but for my part I’m talking about selling makes at a market/booth.
Though I do believe having warnings on websites is a good idea
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Yeah sorry, that was in response to drickmerpivo, idk why it didn’t say that lol.
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