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Killing thrift, Choking Small Business
Author: Raine
Date: 01/08/2009 13:44:22
On Monday, Our Scoop asked us to sign a petition to help KEEP Handmade toys on American Shelves. I signed the petition. While I too was glad to see regulation placed BACK, it seemed as those a few provisions were a bit out of whack. Specifically this: That is a lot of money to make sure a toy is safe. What many people may have missed is that it doesn't stop there. I was informed of the far reaching tentacles this new regulation puts upon Americans.
On January 3, the LA Times talked a lot more about the new rules change, and it is terrible for all Americans, not just those that make and want to buy handmade toys. The new law puts the onus of lead filled products on the retailer. The retailer... not just the manufacturer. That is a very important point. This will devastate small and charitable businesses in America that actually DO make products here in the USA. Small businesses that design children's clothing from say hemp, or wool will never be able to afford the cost of testing those products. Those shops will simply have to close.
There will be no consignments or selling on craigslist, ebay, etc. without proving that the item is lead or phthalates free. This will affect thrift stores, consignment sales, freecycle, etc. I don't know about you, but for me thrift stores are a clothing staple. I prefer to buy gently used clothing and products for myself as a way to help recycle, and reduce my carbon footprint. Many of these stores are run by charities or are small business themselves, so the money spent there goes back to the community. Plus, they are a great way of saving money. In this economy, that is important. There are families out there struggling to put clothes and shoes on their children, and for them a thrift store is a lifeline for them. Children grow so fast that many of these clothes look or are practically new. Without them, many children would have to go without far more than they do now.
There is another devastating side affect to this new regulation, everything that cannot be resold will most likely end up in a landfill or dump.
While I applaud the desire for lead testing for our children, this act will devastate a number of industries that are sorely needed in these very hard economic times. Thrift shops and American Manufactures of the few goods we STILL produce here in our country aren't the ones who put lead in children's toys, China did. Not America, not Canada and not Europe.
China does. Click on the link above , but also Click on this link here. That site has a lot of very good documentation and information. Also please call your congresscritter to see if we can get this rule amended. Our Earth cannot have bigger landfills, our families can't afford not to have thrift stores and our small businesses cannot have yet another economic burden on their back. What America needs is common sense regulation that really protects people, instead of putting more money into outsourcing our safety to third party testers that the CPSB doesn't oversee.
:peace: and
Raine
However, I am very concerned that the CPSIA's mandates for third party testing and labeling will have a dramatic and negative effect on small toy makers and in the USA, Canada, and Europe, whose toy safety record has always been exemplary. It will also devastate small manufacturers of children's clothes and other handmade goods for children.
Because of the fees charged by Third Party testing companies, many manufacturers, especially makers of beautiful wooden toys and unique children's clothes from Maine to Oregon will be driven out of business. Their cottage workshops simply do not make enough money to afford the $4,000 price tag per toy that Third Party testers are charging.
On January 3, the LA Times talked a lot more about the new rules change, and it is terrible for all Americans, not just those that make and want to buy handmade toys. The new law puts the onus of lead filled products on the retailer. The retailer... not just the manufacturer. That is a very important point.
Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.
The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.
They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.
The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.
There will be no consignments or selling on craigslist, ebay, etc. without proving that the item is lead or phthalates free. This will affect thrift stores, consignment sales, freecycle, etc. I don't know about you, but for me thrift stores are a clothing staple. I prefer to buy gently used clothing and products for myself as a way to help recycle, and reduce my carbon footprint. Many of these stores are run by charities or are small business themselves, so the money spent there goes back to the community. Plus, they are a great way of saving money. In this economy, that is important. There are families out there struggling to put clothes and shoes on their children, and for them a thrift store is a lifeline for them. Children grow so fast that many of these clothes look or are practically new. Without them, many children would have to go without far more than they do now.
There is another devastating side affect to this new regulation, everything that cannot be resold will most likely end up in a landfill or dump.
While I applaud the desire for lead testing for our children, this act will devastate a number of industries that are sorely needed in these very hard economic times. Thrift shops and American Manufactures of the few goods we STILL produce here in our country aren't the ones who put lead in children's toys, China did. Not America, not Canada and not Europe.
China does. Click on the link above , but also Click on this link here. That site has a lot of very good documentation and information. Also please call your congresscritter to see if we can get this rule amended. Our Earth cannot have bigger landfills, our families can't afford not to have thrift stores and our small businesses cannot have yet another economic burden on their back. What America needs is common sense regulation that really protects people, instead of putting more money into outsourcing our safety to third party testers that the CPSB doesn't oversee.
:peace: and
Raine
