No More Second Hand Toys??!!
One of the high points of this law is that it mandates the testing of new toys to make sure that they do not contain more than 600 parts per million total lead. If they do not pass this test, they cannot be sold, period. Apart from the lead content, selected children’s products manufactured on or after February 10, 2009 cannot be sold if the levels of specific phthalates exceed 0.1%. The CPSC released a statement on January 8th, 2009 clarifying the above information.
Thrift stores, consignment stores and resellers of used children's toys and other used children's products, on the other hand, are not required to certify that the toys/products meet the safety standards. However, the CPSC's statement does say that resellers "cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit" and that they should "avoid" products that may have excess lead. Basically, if they do end up selling these products, they "could face civil and/or criminal penalties", according to the statement. In other words, the CPSC is giving the resellers the power of making a decision, based on their experience, whether or not the products they are selling contain lead.
In my opinion, thrift stores and other resellers are still going to be in a dilemma, whether to sell or not to sell toys anymore. It's not an easy task to find out which toys are safe and which aren't, without actual toy testing. So, even if they are not required to conduct toy testing, it really doesn't make much of a difference to their current situation. They still cannot sell toys which violate the law and my question is, how do they find out which toys are safe and which ones aren't?
Comments
I wish the thrift stores could sell second hand toys with the warning, “Buyer beware. These toys have not been tested for lead and have not been checked against the government recall lists.”
Toys are so expensive and often made out of plastic. It seems like such an incredible waste to not be able to donate or buy used toys. Whenever we receive or buy used toys, we always do an internet search to make sure that the product was not recalled at some point before letting our daughter play with it.
This law will put many small business out of business due to unreasonable testing requirements. This law affects new and used books, boys, clothes, shoes, toys, bikes, you name it. Small sellers of wooden toys, dolls, clothes etc will not be able to afford to test their goods. You know all the toys sitting on the shelves in Toys R Us and all the clothes on the racks at Sears? If they aren’t lead and phthalate certified (and most aren’t) they will be put in the trash as of 2/10/09. If you search for CSPIA on the net, you will find a large community of small businesses up in arms, and an underfunded CSPC staff of about 15 scrambling to figure out how to implement a law that Congress and the President created without considering anyone but large toy manufacturers. Ironically, most of the test sites are in China. Aren’t they the ones who used the lead paint in the first place?
I collect toys and spent up to $40 a week on used toys at thrift stores. Today when I went to a local big-chain thrift store, all of the toys were gone. I called the head office to complain. I asked them how many millions of tons of toys do they think that the landfills can hold?