The Green Parent

The latest on CPSIA

Have been following the hub-bub on the regulations banning lead and phthalates in children’s products and toys?  (Click on the link for background info.)  If so, then you know that while the new law, which will go in to effect on February 10th, was meant to protect children and improve safety regulations in their products, it actually went a little too far and may make it impossible for handmade toy manufacturers and thrift stores to stay in business.
So here’s the latest news on the story.

Last week the clarified their position on the CPSIA law stating in a press release the law won’t affect thrift stores and other resellers of children’s gear.  These small business owners had been worried that they would have to certify that the used products in their inventory were free of lead and phthalates…a procedure that would be cost-prohibitive for more small shops.  From the press release:

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

Needless to say, this press releae did not exactly put anyone’s mind at ease…especially if they happen to own a thrift store or children’s resale shop.  It is impossible to tell if an item has lead or phthalates in it just by looking at it. Thrift store owners could make a gues when it comes to lead…bright colored or camo paints are commonly lead based, but not always. Would any store owner really want to risk their livliehood on a guess?

In an interview, CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis stated, “If you’re selling used children’s products, you’re not required to certify that those products meet the lead limits or the phthalates standards.  What the law does require is that the manufacturers and the importers certify that those products made after Feb. 10 don’t violate the new lead limits.”

I understand that the CPSC is saying they are not targeting thrift store for compliance, but they don’t seem to understand that unless the law is actually reworded, thrift store owners will have no choice than to dump most of their inventory and only accept items made by manufacturers after the regulation went in to place.

And if you think this thrift store business is crazy, check out this article from The Boston Phoenix on the potential for CPSIA to affect libraries.  From the article:

“We are very busy trying to come up with a way to make it not apply to libraries,” said [Emily] Sheketoff [associate executive director of the American Library Association]. But unless she succeeds in lobbying Capitol Hill for an exemption, she believes libraries have two choices under the CPSIA: “Either they take all the children’s books off the shelves,” she says, “or they ban children from the library.”

The bottom line: Congress needs to rework CPSIA, and the need to do it quickly.  If you haven’t already done so, now is a good time to contact your representative (or your local newspaper) and let them know you are concerned about CPSIA.