When I first caught wind of this, I thought, yeah right, that’s another email scam. Sadly, though it is not! The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) is likely going to put thousands of people out of work, as well as, make this recession impossible for some families to survive.The general idea is this: Because of all of the problems with lead in children’s products (most coming from China), it will become illegal to sell new or used products, intended for use by children ages 12 and under, unless they have been certified to meet the new lead level requirements. On the surface, it sounds like a good thing. I am all about protecting our children. However, and I know I am simply a stay-at-home mom, but if the problem is coming in products from China, wouldn’t it be easier to stop trading with China? Wouldn’t it help our economy if we held onto the goods we produced here and maybe added some more? Wouldn’t that be economic stimulus? Wouldn’t that create jobs? But like I said, simple, stay-at-home mom.
So, resell of used children’s clothing, toys, shoes, books (including homeschool curriculum) will become illegal, unless it has a certificate. This article,
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.htmlhttp://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html is a clarification of the act. It says that resellers will not be required to test all of their inventory, but they can’t sell it, if it’s not tested….hmm sounds like they have to test it then, or throw it away (which I am sure will cause an entirely different scuffle in environmentalist circles – fill those land fills!). No, biggy, I’ll just go to Home Depot and pick up those handy-dandy lead test right? Wrong! Costs are estimated to at $100-$400 per book for the testing, $4000 per toy, $300-$1500 per item of clothing. The impact will be far-reaching. We have always maintained a frugal lifestyle, and have been able to do so by shopping at thrift stores, garage sales, ebay, etc. Now, my choice will be Wal-Mart? I might as well throw my money away! The quality of the clothing and shoes there is horrible! I would much rather shop garage sales and get quality items. How many other families will be negatively impacted by this act? It seems so broad and sweeping to me. Some of you know that we have been boycotting things made in China for quite some time now, for the exact reason that they are instating this “law”. I don’t think they are safe. Is it easy, no! The kiddos are constantly getting candy that was made in China and they know to throw it away. Sorry, I think I am rambling now :) Check out this other article to see more ways this will be impacting many families across America.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=85542http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=85542
Then, if you feel led, contact your congressmen and senators.
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran