So, my sister in law sent this to me today and I am thinking...what am I going to do? I am an avid thrifter and really never purchase anything new for the kids. I am a little Leary on toys and such due to the lead concern...but CLOTHES??
Here is what was sent to me. The original email contained a specific (private) Local owned business and it's information on open houses and how you need to go there and buy before the law takes effect. At first, I thought it was a cheesy way to get business, then I did a little research. I excluded all of that "come to the store" stuff and am including the pulp of the orange. Please correct me if this is wrong.
There is a VERY important law that will be in effect beginning February 10, 2009 which will affect all of us that frequently purchase affordable children's items through CHILDREN'S RESALE shops, Goodwill stores, Kidney Foundation donations, Thrift Stores, yard sales, church sales, Craigslist postings, and even Ebay and other Internet sales.
The CPSIA law, written and passed in August of 2008, will make it illegal to sell ANY item for children aged 12 and under that has not been third party tested specifically for lead. This poorly written law is RETROACTIVE, which means that beginning February 10, 2009 it will be illegal to sell anything for children (clothing, shoes, toys, baby items, accessories) unless it has been approved through the third party testing, which from what I understand, the equipment for such testing runs upwards of $40,000.
It also affects all of you creative moms that have turned your handi-craft into a business by making bows, designing clothing, painting furniture, hand crafting toys and bibs.... none of these things can lawfully go to market without first absorbing the extreme expense of lead testing. You are free to sell these items if you have them tested -- but EACH item needs to be tested by a government approved third party which (from estimates I have read) runs between $100 and $450 PER ITEM).
How does this affect you?
1) It will be illegal for Goodwill, Thrift Stores, Consignment Stores, Re-Sale Stores, yard sales, church sales, Craigslist, Ebay, internet sales and more to sell anything for children that hasn't been tested.
2) You will no longer have venues to buy inexpensive items for your children.
3) You will no longer have avenues of selling your own items for others to buy.
In an already struggling economy, an entire sector of small businesses will be out of business; an entire part of our economy will no longer exist; it will be illegal for you to do anything but put your kids items in a landfill. So much for saving the environment.
What can you do?
It is imperative that we act now. Business owners from around the country are working diligently to get this law re-written. Congress convened on Tuesday and is setting their agenda in the next few days. This law needs to be re-written before it takes effect on February 10, 2009.
Please inform yourself about this law. Please contact your local congressmen/women and urge them to educate themselves about this law and to re-write the law. I have provided several resources at the bottom of this email. It is important to let them know the unintentional consequences of this law and how it will affect you and your communities. Congress will need to act within the next two weeks in order to modify this law before it takes effect February 10.
With this legislation, you will never be able to find prices for children's clothing, shoes and accessories this low ever again. Even with all of my reductions, I still have $20,000 in store inventory (which is roughly $120,000 or more in priced merchandise that you will soon be paying at the large businesses and companies that will not be affected by this.) In addition to that, these large stores and businesses that I sell resale merchandise for will NO LONGER have to reduce or lower their clothing costs much at all, because THE GOVERNMENT WILL HAVE ELIMINATED AN ENTIRE MARKET (sector of businesses) so they have no one to compete with any longer. This is drastic for our already struggling economy.
Because of this looming legislation, I have been forced to be put on a buying freeze. I CAN NO LONGER ACCEPT clothing drops or purchase clothing from any of you until we hear the outcome of the legislation or if there have been amendments that will protect my company.
In addition, the author of this bill, Mark Pryor a democratic senator from Arkansas and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Consumer Affairs, has been contacted and evidently was "unaware" of the interpretation of this law in regards to being retroactive. I have also included his contact information below. Please let him know of your concern.
The LA Times recently had an article regarding this new law: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,2083247.story
Here is another video news story that sums it up:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=11425842&src=news
Thank you for taking time to read this and to educate yourselves. It is imperative we act immediately, and I encourage you to not only email but also call your local congressmen due to the urgency and nature of this law. To learn more about this law, just enter "CPSIA" in your faovrite search engine.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO ANY FRIEND OR RELATIVE THAT COULD BE AFFECTED BY THE LOOMING LEGISLATION, and I hope to see you ALL on Friday for the last opportunity to purchase luxury and name brand clothing items at incredible prices.
Important Resources:
1) Mark Pryor, author of the CPSIA bill, Democratic Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Consumer Affairs: 202-224-2353
2) http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/mcapdir.html or https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml to find your Representative. (If you need to locate your full zip, follow this link: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp
3) http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm to find your Senator
4) To contact the CPSC directly, contact Julie Vallese business phone: 301-504-7908 fax: 301-504-0339
5) To learn more about the Regulatory Flexibility Act visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_Flexibility_Act
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