The consignment shop down the street

[Former_Member]

I have a consignment shop down the street, they are 90% children's consignment. They are going out of business. They learned about the law from their landlord who learned about it from their insurance agent. The insurance agent has decided the consignment shop is too much of a liability. From speaking to them I get the impression that the shop owners have no real idea what the law is or what it means for them, they are just listening to the owner of the building and the insurance agent say. They aren't members of the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops. This was the last straw for this consignment shop, so even if sufficient change is made, they're going out of business anyway.


Just another story from a small town.

Tell a story about a business in your town(I'm collecting them)

[Former_Member]

I don't have a story, BuggaLove. But your story is so sad, no one in this story seems to understand whats going on...but they are frightened.

[RedBessBonney]

I was in our local children's consignment shop the other day, and asked if they'd heard about CPSIA. They had, and had flyers printed up with who to write letters to about this. Yesterday I drove by, and there's a big "FOR LEASE" sign in front of the building. I guess they decided to close.

This whole issue just pisses me off, and although I don't make children's items, I have a child and I am doing whatever I can to fight it.

[Former_Member]

That's so sad. We have a couple of places that sell childrens things but I don't go into them because my kids are older. I can stop by and see if the info got out here though.

Are you going to send them in letters?

[Former_Member]

What about people who have yard sales that sell children`s items. Wow, I have just recently learned of this.

[lilbritknits]

This is just such sad news.

[Former_Member]

i want to bump this back up, in light of the snopes article.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/cpsia.asp

[Former_Member]

I am so disgusted with this law. The consignment shop I drove by today had a big 75% off Clearance sale sign. I knew what that meant. I don't think I will be able to stay in business, either.

[Former_Member]

I own a B&M and will be putting all children's items on clearance at the end of this month. Unfortunately, kid's stuff adds up to be about 50% of my business. Add to this the already unstable economy and the fact that no one is out shopping right now and I don't know how long I'll be able to keep my doors open. I really just want to see my one year anniversary (April).

[Former_Member]

The snoped article clears up the resale, but still states that new stuff will have to be tested.

[Former_Member]

I've been told that thrift stores are safe hear it pertains to current clothing just being put out.

[Former_Member]

I also have B&M, and my landlord leases space to several people who sell children's items. The store itself has been open for years, and now, the whole thing is threatened because if we don't all renew our lease, she can't continue to operate. We are in a shop on a historic town square. Makes me really, really sad.

[Former_Member]

BabyBoss, I'm in the same sort of town setting, except I'm the only one who sells children's items in the area (with the exception of the big box stores). My customers are freaking out. The only thing I can do is pass along the information and hope for the best.

[Former_Member]

Slippery--
I know, that's what I am doing too. I am the only handmade seller in our shop, and as of last month, my shop was leading in sales. I'm going to press forward until the very end and hope something changes.

[Former_Member]

Why can't they just be CLEAR with us, what is wrong with this situation, I mean sooooo much is at stake, I am hearing more on tv about celeb breakups and stupid stuff than this HUGE topic, it makes NO sense. what is wrong here?????

[Former_Member]

what has happened to America , we are not free anymore it is all the goods being shipped into our country that is not helping us out

[Former_Member]

I think most handmade items are lead and the p word free especially if you are buying handmade items hear on etsy I don't believe their is lead in yarn and I don't believe the p word is in yarn

[segparsons]

I think this whole thing is insane. Do you really think that people will get fined or arrested for selling handmade childrens items. What about craft fairs ? What about yard sales ?

I found this article from CNN.

It talks about exemptions. 100% cotton.

[Former_Member]

Segparsons, yes I do. An Etsy person who sent their products to my shop was snagged last year by the government for not having the proper licensing for distribution (food based item). People are out there watching for this kind of thing, and yes, people ARE getting caught and fined.

[Former_Member]

And on Etsy, we are kinda sitting ducks. They could hire one person to roam the listings. There wouldn't be any "leg work" involved. No going town to town, city to city looking for untested merchandise. It's all right here, wrapped up nice and neat. After the 10th, I think it would be dangerous to continue without the testing. I hate it, but I just can't take the risk.

[segparsons]

New law could wipe out handcrafted toy makers
A new regulation taking effect next month that's intended to guarantee children protection from lead exposure may put some indie toy makers out of business.
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See all CNNMoney.com RSS FEEDS (close) By Stephanie Fletcher
Last Updated: January 15, 2009: 11:43 AM ET



Denise Mollison's Lucky Pebble dolls are a hit with online shoppers, but she's worried that the looming CPSIA law will cripple small toy businesses like hers with high compliance costs.
Getting tough on toy safety

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(CNNMoney.com) -- When she's not busy taking care of her three kids, stay-at-home mom Denise Mollison spends her time stitching together cherubic rag dolls, which she then sells online at her shop, The Lucky Pebble, and at Etsy, an online marketplace. Her plump creations have garnered extensive praise from fans of handmade goods, and Mollison's Etsy page is filled with rave reviews from happy customers. But a new law passed to ensure the safety of toys and children's clothes may unintentionally cripple small businesses like hers.

After a spate of toy recalls made headlines in 2007, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act in July 2008. The law, which goes into effect on February 10, sets strict limits on lead and phthalate (a harmful chemical found in plastics) content in toys and other children's products. Toymakers must certify their wares' compliance via third-party testing, which can cost anywhere from less than a hundred dollars to several hundred dollars per test - and each component of a toy, such as zippers, buttons, and paint, must be tested separately. Retailers must also ensure that their entire inventory is certified. Toymakers and retailers who violate the law face fines of tens of thousands of dollars.

The law makes no distinction between large-scale manufacturers, mom-and-pop businesses, and one-man operations. While large corporations may be able to easily absorb the costs of product testing, the price is potentially overwhelming for small businesses.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission - which cannot change the law, only enforce it - is scrambling to clarify certain vague language of the law, and to establish clearer rules for testing. On Tuesday, January 6, the commission voted on certain provisions that may offer relief to some toymakers. However, a second vote - which will not take place until after the law goes into effect - is needed to finalize the rulings.

"We don't want to fly under the radar for safety, we just want a cost-effective way to comply," Mollison says.


No sense of scale
Mollison sells her dolls for around $30 to $50 each, earning about $8,000 in 2008. The money she makes supplements her husband's income and helps pay the medical expenses for daughter Raven, who has special needs and requires a feeding device.

"The safety standards are perfectly reasonable, but the testing costs are not sustainable for a micro-business," says Dan Marshall, founder of the Handmade Toy Alliance. Marshall and his wife, Millie Adelsheim, own a St. Paul, Minn., store called Peapods, which specializes in natural, no-frills toys such as wooden blocks and trains, as well as other baby products and clothes.

"There's no sense of scale, no exemptions based on the size of the business," Marshall says. "It doesn't make sense for someone who's knitting kids' hats in their living room to pay hundreds of dollars to test each hat." Members of the alliance - more than 170 retailers, toymakers, and concerned citizens - have inundated the Consumer Product Safety Commission with letters, faxes and e-mails expressing their fears and offering suggestions.

Etsy, the online marketplace for handmade goods, posts regular CPSIA news updates on its Web site to keep its users as informed as possible.

"Everyone has questions; there's a lot of speculation and rumor," says Matthew Stinchcomb, Etsy's communications director. "We're trying to educate our users, but even the CPSC doesn't really know what's going to happen on February 10."

Stinchcomb says that many Esty users are liquidating their merchandise for fear that it will be considered contraband when the CPSIA goes into effect.

Two of the CPSC's recent rulings could help some craftspeople and retailers if they are finalized when the commission votes again at a yet-to-be-determined future date. The first would exempt certain natural materials, such as wood, wool, and cotton, from testing, as it is widely accepted that such materials do not contain lead or phthalates.

"If a baby blanket is 100% cotton, or you have a set of unfinished wooden blocks, then those items wouldn't necessarily have to be tested," says CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese. "There's room under the law for certain exemptions."

Another proposal would recuse toymakers from testing their raw materials if the suppliers provided certification instead. However, it's not currently a common practice for suppliers to offer such certifications. Before the CPSC's second vote, the public will be invited to comment via mail, fax, or e-mail.

The commission also recently tried to clarify the law's effect on secondhand retailers such as thrift shops and consignment boutiques, but its ruling left many resellers even more puzzled. Store owners had expressed concern that proving that the lead and phthalate content in used toys fell below the new guidelines would not be feasible without new testing. The CPSC said last week that sellers of used toys aren't required to test their inventory for compliance - but they're still responsible for ensuring that all goods they sell meet the new limits. Any store owner who sells a product that violates the limits could face civil and criminal penalties.

"Congress failed to address some things when they wrote the law," the CPSC's Vallese acknowledges. "And the CPSC is a small agency with limited resources." There will still be plenty of kinks to be worked out after February 10.

In the meantime, handmade advocates like Dan Marshall are coping as best they can by staying informed and lobbying for improvements in the law's implementation.

"Everyone's just trying to make sure they've got all their ducks in a row," Marshall says. "The ironic thing is that at my store, we've been trying for 10 years to find as many alternatives to mass-produced products as possible. A wooden toy is a way for kids to relate to the natural world; they can see what it's made of, and they can invest their own imaginations in it. It's a better toy."

First Published: January 15, 2009: 9:34 AM ET

Are you concerned about the new law? Join the discussion.

[Former_Member]

Seg-
That's undyed 100%cotton. 100% with any print or color on them is not exempt from testing.

[segparsons]

I think people are reading TOO much into this. If I crochet a baby blanket and give it as a gift will I be (in trouble)? Come on, this is stupid

[segparsons]

Do you really think that every item ( clothing )that goes through Walmart is tested ??

God only knows where these items are made

[segparsons]

If thats the case, every craft store will have to go out of business. Kids hairbows ? You purchase the supplies from say Michaels ? If thats the source of your supplies, then they should be required to test all thier products before the sell them to you.