Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act may eventually shut down thrift stores and other outlets for used items. Check it out and see what you think. Some regulations may be good, but does anyone else think this is a bit over the top? My friend Jon wrote me about this new development:

"Today is the first I heard details about the new law set to take effect on Feb. 10, 2009. It is the result of a tragic child lead poisoning in Minneapolis, and the upshot is a nation-wide law called the 'Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.'

This law will prohibit the sale of all items intended for use by children 12 years old and under which have not been tested and certified to be free of lead and certain chemicals. While the intent was to protect children, the effects could be far-reaching. Just think about it for a moment – everything from clothes to toys to books to sporting equipment and on and on will only be available brand new and at inflated prices jacked up to cover the mandated testing. Families will no longer be able to buy used items for their children at thrift stores or yard sales. The cost of outfitting and raising a family will rise dramatically in less than one month.

Thrift stores will have to ship large amounts of their stock to the landfill, and many will go out of business. Toys and clothing and other things donated to charities for the needy, though not for resale, still may have to be discarded en masse."

Here’s an observation from a hand-craft enthusiast:

“Another result of this act is that a multitude of people who make handmade goods for children are going to be forced out of business because they cannot afford the outrageous third-party testing and certification required to sell their products.

Grandmothers selling crocheted baby blankets at craft fairs, small businesses which produce natural wooden toys, stay-at-home moms with little online shops - we are all subject to the same law as the major corporations who can easily afford the testing for lead and phthalates.”

MWC NOTE: We don't yet know what effect this will have on individuals donating used items to our Center, but we will keep tabs on this as it develops.