Government protectionism gone too far
The US government is bound and determined to protect us right into a miserable existence. Have you heard about the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act? It goes into effect February 10, 2009 and it mandates that everything made for kids under the age of 12 must be tested by a third party for lead and phthalates, which can cost upwards of hundreds, perhaps, thousands of dollars. Sounds good, initially, doesn’t it, after the scare we had last year with all the lead tainted toys imported from China.
However, this law not only applies to new clothing and toys but to second hand clothing and toys and handmade clothing and toys as well. And it’s retroactive. That means thrift stores will be required to clear out everything they currently have on their shelves and send it all to a land fill because they can’t afford cost to test everything that’s currently in their inventories. Since everything produced and untested prior to Feb. 10 will be considered “hazardous,” those items will have to be destroyed. They won’t be able to sell anything until used clothing and toys that were produced after February 10 are brought into their stores. As a result, second hand clothing stores may have to shut their doors.
Imagine how many families rely on these second hand clothes for their kids. I live in a rural area in northern Michigan, and there are many families who rely on the thrift stores that in operate in my county and nearby counties. There are many, many families all over the country living in poorer, rural counties just like mine.
But that’s not all. Handmade clothing and toys must be tested, too. There are many moms who supplement their family incomes with the products they create, from clothes, to toys, to blankets. Just check out Etsy to find out who some of them are. They, too, will be forced out of business. Do you enjoy buying interesting hand-made toys and clothes at craft shows? Those independent clothing and toy makers that travel from craft show to craft show will also be forced out of business, too, unless they have every piece they have made tested by a third party.
This law could end up doing far more damage than good. Naturally, those in the second-hand and hand-made businesses are scared that as of February 10th, they’ll be put out of business. They’re even calling it National Bankruptcy Day. Please contact your senator or congressman and tell them to change the law so that handmade and second hand clothing and toys are made exempt from this law.
For more information, see these posts and articles:
The Simple Dollar
I Heart Handmade
Fine Old Family
Thank you for writing about this!! We need to get more people informed!
Comment by Rachel — January 4, 2009 @ 7:44 pm
Glad to do it. I’m angry at the impact this could have on thrift shops up in my neck of the woods where so many families rely on second hand clothing.
Comment by Kim — January 4, 2009 @ 7:48 pm
hey kim – who/where is the 3rd party?
Comment by Amy Childers — January 4, 2009 @ 10:53 pm
Hey, Amy. Thanks for stopping by. Third party testers must be approved by the government. I’m not sure who they are right now but they’ll make themselves known.
Comment by Kim — January 5, 2009 @ 7:47 am
Thanks for the information. I doubt that the government will be willing to hire watchdogs to guard the entire nation of second hand stores. As for the handmade items, this would require additional government personnel to watch for the naughty people making their hand crafted items. I have a feeling that this law, although enacted, will fall to the wayside .
Comment by Pat Duty — January 5, 2009 @ 7:14 pm
It’s interesting you say that. My husband said the same thing.
Comment by Kim — January 5, 2009 @ 7:54 pm
I agree with the comment by Pat Duty. Although this law sounds tough, I seriously doubt the government is going to enforce it, at least not with the brick and mortar shops. That’s probably why we’re not hearing much about it….
Comment by Melanie — January 6, 2009 @ 10:39 pm
Thank you so much for helping to get the word out – I’m glad there are so many of us fighting the good fight.
I have to disagree with Pat however; the problem is, craftspeople in particular tend to conduct their businesses with the utmost integrity. It’s the reason their products are generally safe to begin with, and why parents turned to handmade toys and gifts in droves when everything mass-produced in China was being recalled. They are not just going to shrug their shoulders and say, come and get me feds! No one is going to put their business on the line here and risk criminal penalties.
The other issue is that the retailers must comply as well, so that even small companies who sell natural blocks or wooden rattles to shops like Whole Foods will lose their biggest customers. The huge stores of the world (Walmart, etc) have already told companies that they’re shipping all their inventory back to them that is non-compliant before Feb 10. So all those companies are screwed too.
If you think about it, it’s really a big, big problem.
Comment by Liz — January 7, 2009 @ 9:14 am
I just heard on the news this morning that they might be taking certain “things” off the list to be tested so that the second hand stores wouldn’t be affected as much…we’ll see what happens.
Comment by Sarah — January 9, 2009 @ 7:55 am
Good News…this law will now not affect second hand stores…see article below:
http://www.wyff4.com/money/18453746/detail.html
Comment by Sarah — January 12, 2009 @ 11:04 am
[...] to commenter Sarah for the [...]
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