Help Save Seasonal Consignment Sales

A new law, CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) passed back in August, 2008 and will go into effect on February 10th. Most of you know I used to run a seasonal kids consignment sale so this issue is important to me.

The law will require all children's items including clothes, toys, baby equipment, etc. to be lead tested before it can be sold, or in this case, re-sold. The original intent of the law is good and goes a long way toward protecting children from accidental lead poisoning. However, it appears the law was hastily put together and rushed through Congress with little thought as to how it could unintentionally affect other industries.

Essentially, this law makes any children's product that has not been specifically tested for lead levels a "Federally Hazardous Substance" illegal to sell. It will also apply retroactively so after Feb. 10, 2009, selling of any children's product that has not been specifically tested for lead will be a crime. This affects our seasonal consignment events, consignment stores, thrift stores, yard sales, etc.

Please take a moment to vote here to try to get congress to take another look at this before it goes into effect.

There was also a news story last night on 9News regarding this, http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=107277&catid=339.