New Law May Mean the End for Thrift Shops
The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, a law Congress passed last year designed to make products and clothing safer for kids ages 12 and under is suddenly coming under fire for some unexpected repercussions.
Passed in response to a large number of recalls of children's products, the law requires that anyone that sells children's products verifies that the products have been tested for lead content. Fair enough. The ripple occurs when you start to consider thrift shops, secondhand stores and consignment sales -- places where many parents buy clothing for their children. Because the law is retroactive and covers all children's products, anything that hasn't been tested will be considered hazardous.
The law goes into effect Feb. 10. According to a story in last week's L.A. Times, clothes sold at a thrift shop on Feb. 9, will be unlawful to sell the next day.
The CPSC is working to possibly change the guidelines. The L.A. Times reports in a story yesterday that the CPSC gave a preliminary approval to four exemptions to the law, including products made from natural materials, electronics and products that have lead that is inaccessible to children. But clothing and thrift trade groups would like to see the law changed so that it only applies to products manufactured and not sold after Feb. 10.
Other repercussions include an overflow of landfills -- the items will have to be discarded -- and small business owners who can't necessarily afford costly testing of their new products.
A bunch of the parenting guides on About.com including Soni Sangha, guide to Stay-at-Home Moms; Katherine Lewis, guide to Working Moms; Dipika Mirpuiri, guide to Toys and Heather Corely, guide to Baby Products, have done a great job of culling together all information on the details of the law and provide phone numbers and web addresses so you can voice your opinion on the subject.
You can also find specifics on the law at the CSPC website.
Where do you get your children's clothes and gear from? Do you frequent secondhand and thrift shops? How will this new law change how you shop?
This effects more then the shopping habits of parents. Books are included in this. Will the childrens’ section at the library be roped off until new books can be purchased? And what about the school libraries? And the books and manipulatives the kids use in the class rooms, who will pay to replace or test those? The tests cost hundred to thousands of dollars per item tested?
You raise some great points Gabrielle. There is some new news. Our guide to working moms interviewed the spokesperson for the CSPC this afternoon and from what she learned, only manufacturers and
importers are required to have the testing done — so libraries, resellers, daycare centers etc. would all be okay.
http://workingmoms.about.com/b/2009/01/08/the-feds-spare-thrift-stores.htm