CPSIA – Are you worried enough to empty your home of kid’s products on Feb 10?
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I queried my 2000+ followers on Twitter and asked them if on February 10, 2009, the date that every item manufactured before that date for children under 12 becomes a suspected “hazardous materials,” if they will discard everything their child owns and buy all new items that are confirmed lead-free under the new law. The mom’s that answered (no dad’s) roundly said, “NO!”. A few went on to say that unless something is recalled, they have no reason to remove it from their home.
If so many parents feel the same way us small retailers do, then how did this law get passed?
None of us, parents, business owners, etc., want children to be harmed. I have children, I’m in the business of catering to children, and I care about what I provide them. I’m careful at selecting my vendors and inspect the quality. Can I guarantee that ever single product I carry is 100% lead-free? No, not without horribly expensive testing, and that’s the issue.
I’m not even against testing.
But I think the items already produced should be grandfathered. Just as you have thousands of dollars invested in your crib, linens, toys, sippy cups, bottles, clothing, books, diapers, etc – anything that’s produced for children 12 and under – I to have a huge investment in my inventory and while you will not be force to remove all these possibly poised items from your home, I’m being forced to destroy tens of thousands of dollars in inventory that is legal to sell today, and many that you may have in your home right now. Not because they ARE dangerous, but because they may be and unless they are permanently marked as such, they’re unsellable after Feb 10.
Why am I bringing the issue to you, the parents?
Because it’s you that will pay in the long run. For every retailer that goes out of business because of CPSIA, you’ll be paying as taxpayers. For every business that institutes expensive testing for their products, you’ll be paying in significantly higher fees and you’ll be losing out on variety. Many manufacturer’s are limiting the number of items they produce to reduce testing costs.
But what about a more reasonable solution? Eduction and no more legislation? Let parents know which items are LIKELY to contain lead and then they can make the choice to avoid them or not. After all, isn’t that what we do with fast food? We give the facts and expect parents to make the best choices for themselves and their families.
Am I saying allow any lead level and open the flood gates? Absolutely not. There are items that are more prone to lead because of the chemical make-up. Make testing mandatory on THOSE items.
Curious what items your child may already have in his/her possession that may contain lead? Jennifer, thesmartmama on Twitter, is a Green Home Expert and tests items for lead content.
Her tests have found the common children’s items which may contain lead:
- Vinyl is often stabilized with lead. So, I’ve found lead in fake leather, vinyl purses (particularly children’s and doll purses), vinyl or fake leather shoes, vinyl raingear, diaper changing pads, diaper pages with built in changing pads, vinyl changing pad covers, vinyl mattress covers, etc.
- Fake pearl, fake shell or opalescent buttons. Almost universally.
- Fake inexpensive pearl decorations attached to clothing or in children’s jewelry.
- Some red dyes in textiles.
- Lots of those decals on the front of t-shirts. I’m not a fabric industry person, so I don’t know if they were ironed, heat transfer, screened or what. They seemed not to be silk screened but I don’t have the vocabulary to be accurate.
- Crystals (ie Swovski crystal type). The lead may not be accessible but the lead is generally well above 600 ppm.
- Charm-like decorations attached to clothing.
- Decorative zipper pulls, but generally not zipper teeth or the zipper base.
- Brass accessories - belt buckles, pieces of purses, etc. Lead is often added to brass to make it easier to machine.
Do all of them contain more lead than is allowed by the new legislation? No. For complete information on her lead testing and more on CPSIA, including testing services, visit her website www.thesmartmama.com
How Can you Help?
Sign this online petition:
Call your elected officials:
Write your Congress Person:
Write your senators, congress people, everyone…share this…get the word out.
If any one of these Representatives are YOUR representative, PLEASE call & email them to voice your concerns about the provisions in the law as they affect you and the children’s products industry in general. Please do this today and Monday. Even if you are not in their district, but in their State, be sure to contact them. If your state isn’t represented, contact whomever you can, beginning with Congressman Rush. Please pass this on!
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Retweeting @princesstimetoy: http://is.gd/fh4w CPSIA – Are you worried enough to empty your home of ALL kid’s products on Feb 10?
I own and operate Trading Post for little folks. It is a children’s & maternity resale shop here in Essex Junction, VT. My family & I started this business from the ground up 12 years ago. Since we opened, our goal has been to provide a place for families to come and find excellent quality items at affordable prices for their children. In this economy, we have helped many families take care of their children’s needs. At the same time, we have helped our envirnoment by recycling gently used children’s items to keep them out of landfills.
This new CPSIA Act that goes into affect February 10, 2009 is a very big concern for me. I understand the reasons for the new law and support it, but I am very afraid of it and how it is written right now. There’s a modification for us resellers, but that is only a suggestion, not a law yet. Regardless, it really doesn’t make it any easier on us. As far as I understand, we not required to test every item we have in stock now or in the future for traces of lead, BUT if we sell anything that violates the new law, we’re liable and risk civil and/or criminal penalties.
This could be the end of my business! I have helped support my family and the community surrounding me with this business for 12 years and I want to continue doing so. At this point, I don’t know how to make sure how I will be able to comply to this new law, except for the testing. There are no resources or guidelines out there to help me determine what are “safe” products and what aren’t. I simply can’t afford to do the testing, cover all the other costs I have to run a business, and continue helping to support my family. At the same time, I can’t afford the risks of being liable for selling a product that may violate the new law.
This not only affects my business and the thousands of others like mine nationwide. It also affects charaties, Ebay, Craigslist, garage sales, & children’s libraries. In this economy many families depend on all of these to get by. How will this affect our landfills? How will this affect my insurance? If I don’t find some guidance soon, I may be forced to close and I simply can’t afford to do that either!
I really want to continue doing what I’ve enjoyed doing here for so long…supporting my family, helping other families save money and helping the environment. I’m trying to bring more awareness out there to the public on this issue. This law was meant for good, but it’s going to hurt more than help! This is going to affect many people in many different levels.
Michelle Ertle
TRADING POST for little folks
tradingpost2@verizon.net
http://www.tradingpostforlittlefolks.com
[...] The ones your child uses daily? None of them will be affected and therefore any lead-based products already in your home will stay there. How does this help our children? It also doesn’t address all the non child-specific items in your home that are not covered by this legislation but are contaminated with led. Have a vinyl shower curtain? Yep, lead. Shelf paper in the kitchen? Yep, lead. So, it’s time to look at more than just children’s toys and start looking at the real problems. (here’s the list of common children’s items that tested with unsafe lead levels) [...]
Thanks for posting this! May I also encourage your readers to join the mail-in CPSIA protest? http://organicbabyfarm.blogspot.com/2009/01/join-cpsia-mail-in-protest.html