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[Maria]

After a heads up from Courtney, I researched this law a bit and noticed that a lot of crafters are very worried about this new law, as they should be.

For those unaware of the new law that comes into affect February 10th, I'll explain in laymans terms.

If you make a product intended for children under 12, your product MUST be tested to ensure that the lead level is less than 600ppm total lead.

Now I have noticed that in a lot of craft forums, crafters are saying they will have to go out of business because a large part of their product line is intended for children, and the cost for the testing is not only extreme, it's unreasonable.

If a product is made of 10 different materials, from my understanding of what I have researched, all 10 supplies must be tested.

A sweater with yarn and zipper would need two tests, one for the yarn and one for the zipper etc.

Now me, I'm not worried about testing.  I'm just changing my product line.

I will no longer be making baby blankets, instead I'll be making lap throws.

I will no longer be making chocolate soaps, I'll be making romantic bath time soaps.

I will no longer be making teddy bears at all, I'll be making collectible artist bears not intended for children under the age of 13.

By doing this, I am following the law.  What a parent does after they purchase a product is up to that parent, so long as I let it be known that my products are not intended for children.

Just like knives are not intended for children, it's the parents responsibility to keep products not designed for children, out of a child’s reach. 

Crafters all over do not need to worry about closing up shop, they just need to create products for persons over 12, as I have illustrated here.

Now some things are obviously intended for children.  Courtney asked as an illustration, what makes a hitty doll a collectible yet a topsy turvey doll a toy?

Well, a hitty has always been considered a collectible, and topsy turvey dolls have always been intended for play as a toy. 

Are there collectible topsy turvey dolls?  Yes of course, but not many, so in general topsy turvey dolls fall under the "toy" category.

Whereas there has been a long history of collectible teddy bears and toy bears, bears can fall under either.  If it's just a bear it's just a bear and therfore a toy.  If it's an artist bear with sculpted face and exotic clothing it could of course be a collectible.  If it's an OOAK or ones own design with exotic clothing and fancy features then it's an artist collectible. 

Me, I do not make many things for children.  Most of the things I design that are intended for children are given to my children, I share the patterns instead of selling the actual product.

So I'm not affected by the law much, but it still concerns me.  I like to have yard sales and this REALLY puts a damper on my yard sales because I usually have more childrens things to get rid of than adult things. 

I guess it's time to get more into altered art, because I won't be selling my kids used toys and clothing at yard sales anymore unless this law is repealed, rewritten and a new law is made that doesn't criminalize handmade and used item sales like the current law does.  I'll smash them to pieces instead and make art.

[Maria]

I wanted to post a link to what I have found at the CPSC site concerning the reselling of items made before February 10.  This means reselling goods online, at yard sales or in thrift stores.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml09/09086.html

This is from the notice at the CPSC site:

Under the new law, children’s products with more than 600 ppm total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

So in essence, resellers of products manufactured before the 10th do NOT have to get the tests done, but if they unknowingly sell something that does not meet the lead limits then they could face heavy fines and even jail.

There's no way to know if a products lead limits are too high, except by testing.

Now don't get me wrong, I would love to see the day when all childrens toys and clothing are completely lead free.  This new law is a step in the right direction BUT it should only apply to future products and not those products that are "Legal" now.  It's wrong to criminalize the sales of used goods when those goods were legal goods on the date they were manufactured. 

And there should be a regulation that states if handcrafted goods are made from materials that have been certified to be lead free, then the completed products do not need to be re-tested. 

Then those that manufacture the supplies we use, would need to conduct the testing on their cloth, yarns, beads, elastics etc.  and then place a prominant statement that the material meets the levels for products intended for children with copies of their certificates being provided upon request.

That would give crafters a choice, purchase from those suppliers that provide lead free supplies, OR make only products intended for teens and adults.

But sadly this isn't an option right now, maybe it will be an option at sometime in the future.

[mandalynn]

Here's my question: If we have childrens items we don't need and can't sell them at a yard sale, can we still donate them to Goodwill or other charitable organizations? If the answer is no and all of these products are going to landfills, this bill is also dangerous for the environment as well.

I wonder how closely very small business are going to be looked at. While the law will not allow the items to be given away or sold second-hand at yard sales, I find it hard to believe that the government is going to be looking at each individual yard sale or a person who gives away a handmade fabric block to a child as a gift.

I have not read the whole text of the law, so Maria please let me know what you think, but it seems to me if the supplies for an item are bought commercially in the US (ie fabric, eyes for bears, wooden components carved from wood bought at Lowes, etc.) they would have already been deemed safe by the government and therefore should not need additional testing.

Personally, I'm not aware of any major scandals or recalls of toys produced here in the US - only ones brought over from China. We need to stimulate our own economy by bringing those jobs back here so the toys are made safely to our standards to begin with, rather than killing our economy with these laws.

Besides, if you think about what we played with as kids - not to mention what our parents and grandparents played with (have you seen antique highchairs?!?!?) - it's a wonder any of us have survived to adulthood! 

[Maria]

Amanda, it would be legal for you to donate the items, and it is legal for you to sell the items.  It's also legal for goodwill to sell the donated items.

The thing is, IF an item is sold with too high of a lead level, then that's where it becomes illegal.

And the only way to ensure that an item's ppm is safe, is to have it tested.

Now right now, most modern toys already have 600ppm or less which is what the law allows come Feb 10.

BUT in August, those that are at 600ppm today will be illegal to sell in August when the ppm goes down to 300ppm total lead.

In 3 years it goes down to 100ppm.

This is good, this is GREAT, when applied to products to be manufactured in the future.

What's wrong is that products that are legal to sell now will be illegal to sell in the future.  And products made decades ago with high lead levels, will be illegal to sell come Feb 10.

This is an Ex Post Facto law and against our constitution.  But we won't get into a constitutional discussion here, there's so many unconstitutional laws made that it's a bit pathetic.

As for how closely small businesses will be looked at, in the beginning not much I am sure.

They have bigger fish to fry with the imported goods coming into the country.

BUT the law does allow the hiring of 500 extra employees and a lot of extra funding, so in the future who is to say how closely anyone will be watched, even those having a typical yard sale.

That's my views on the CPSC

As for lawsuits, this opens a can of worms for civil suits.  People with low moral values would be able to see what previous products contain high lead amounts, look for these things at thrift stores in yard sales and online.....well you get the picture. 

We already have so many citizens who thinks it's their duty to "Police" other citizens, when in fact the snotty busy bodies should be policing government officials so that laws like this aren't passed in the future.

It's not a citizens duty to police other citizens, it's a citizens duty to police our government.

Now when I say "Police" I do NOT mean those who report law breaking citizens.  I mean those that LOOK under every rock and in every nook and cranny to find something they can report.

You see it on eBay, the busy bodies who claim auctions are illegal when they don't even know what illegal means.  Just because an auction may be against a sites (in this case eBays) terms, does not mean it's illegal or that anyone is breaking the law.

I mean these types of people, not normal citizens who are reporting things that actually are illegal.

Can you see these people at yard sales or thrift stores, chuckling with glee as they find an "illegal" product that was legal when it was manufactured? 

It's these types that should concern ANYONE on Feb 10.  The CPSC have their plates full from what is see, they are going after mass produced items FIRST while handling the thousands of complaints and petitions they are getting about this law.

Hopefully they will get so bombarded with complaints, that they make some changes pretty darn fast, even if they have to take it back before Congress.

I'll give you an example of a citizen who thought it was her duty to police my soaps once.  I labeled a certain bar "All Natural".  It was 100% olive oil and nothing else.  No colorants, no fragrance, no essential oils.

I also had my "Lavender" soap, which was also labeled all natural.  It had all natural ingredients like lavender buds and 100% pure lavender EO. 

Then I had my china rainbow soap.  This one was not all natural, it used man-made colorants to obtain it's color and it used fragrance that was also man-made.  This soap did NOT have all natural written on it anywhere.

Now my sign stated "A variety of soaps sure to please anyone, from all natural to exotic".

A lady saw my sign, saw my China Rainbow and reported me for false advertising.

When I was "investigated" the person that came to my home laughed his head off and said they get reports from uneducated and unknowledgable people all the time but that they do have to follow-up on every complaint. 

The lady that reported me thought she was doing the community a service, but in my opinion, she had no business trying to do the community a favor when she was herself ignorant and didn't know what in hades she was doing.

Now if I had been selling my china rainbow soap as all natural I would have gotten into some serious trouble.  But those that "police" others take it upon themselves to report things THEY deem wrong, without realizing that THEY are the ones in the wrong.

If I had been like that lady, I could have brought a civil suit against her just for the fun of it.  I probably would not have won, but I could have sued.  I just don't waste my time, and her reporting me brought me extra business, so no harm done lol.  The guy loved my poncien soap, and purchased a few bars for himself and also started telling people he knew about my soaps lol.

That's the types I mean, I bet this lady and others like her are going to be looking hard at yard sales and thrift stores.  THESE types worry me because even if a person is selling a toy with more than 600ppm lead, if that toy was legal when manufactured, that person should not face criminal charges for reselling the item.  PERIOD.

No one should ever face the possibility of jail, for selling a product from the past that was legal when made.   

[Maria]

I wanted to clarify, it will be legal to sell USED items without testing, but one could be prosecuted if the lead amount is too high.

It WILL be illegal to sell NEW items, if the new item is not tested.

[Judy]

There was an article in the local paper (which my aunt read, and disposed of...silly woman) that says there will be someone policing garage sales for dangerous items.  How silly, huh?  Guess the way to get more jobs in Michigan is to make people Garage Sale Police! 

[Maria]

Wow Judy I wiash you could get a copy of that.  It would be something useful to show people how serious this could get!