Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008

Have you heard about this? If you buy children's clothing, toys, or games at thrift stores, yard sales, or handmade ones from individuals on Etsy (or any other similar place) you'll want to be made aware of it. As of February 10, 2009 it will be illegal for thrift or resale shops to sell these items unless they test them for lead (something that would cost each business tens of thousands of dollars). It will also be illegal for you and me to sell our used children's clothing at yard sales or to sell handmade items for children under the age of 13. I'm not kidding. Here are some references: The Act Itself, A L.A. Times Article, and A MSN Article. Of course most used places won't be able to pay the tens of thousands of dollars it would take to test all of their children's clothing/toys/games, so legally they'll have to send all of those items to landfills. In these "live green" times you would think Congress wouldn't even consider passing a law like this and would come up with a more reasonable way to deal with the recalls and possible bits of lead in clothing or toys. This law will affect families all over our country. It will affect me! I wouldn't even consider buying snow pants for $20 and up for each child every winter when I could get them (like new) at a thrift store for $2-$4! I buy the majority of clothing for my children used. I buy underwear, socks, shoes/boots, and pajamas (due to I don't usually find used pajamas) new, but besides that I'm all for paying a whole lot less at a thrift store!

Living out in the country I don't go to many yard sales. They're so spread out it often doesn't make it worth driving the distance for the good deals. Still, I like the option of going to yard sales and getting a baby outfit, a child's shirt, or even a pair of pants for $0.25-$0.50! I have found all sorts of wonderful, stain-free clothing for all of my children with brand names like Gymboree, The Limited, The Gap, etc. for a quarter at a garage sale or $2 at a thrift store. These aren't junk clothes that should be taken to a landfill. I fully oppose this law and think we (all who care) should write our state congress and try to help them see how illogical this really is. What a waste. Even those without children should care about all that waste and all the businesses who will have to shut down due to this new law. It sounds like it will be difficult to enforce, but even so, a law like this should not be in place.