Yard sales are a great way to find deals, and get rid of old stuff, while helping to keep products out of the landfill.  This story makes it clear that the CPSIA is making this a much more risky proposition.  Please don't misunderstand.  I do not condone selling recalled cribs.  However, reselling recalled items of any kind has been illegal for some time now.  That being the case, one has to ask WHY are some recalled items still being sold at yard sales and other places?  Additionally, given that the fines are intentionally astronomical, seemingly to encourage people to do their "homework".  Perhaps a lack of awareness?

Certainly some products have been documented to be unsafe and recalled.  I have heard that recalled items are listed somewhere on the CPSC website if you want to see if your crib, wooden puzzle, or plastic train is recalled.  However, this law goes beyond recalled products, it assumes that everything is potentially dangerous unless it fits a very narrow profile (see the guidebook) or has been tested…in the case of yard sales, by you the consumer.

If this is truly such a dangerous situation that warrants millions of dollars in fines, would it not make sense for the CPSC to do more than simply issuing a guidebook and our government to do more than simply pass a law with outlandish penalties?  I would think that public service announcements and serious PR would be called for. 

If the CPSC and our government is so concerned about yard sales it has passed such a harsh law, then why doesn't it publicize the law and really explain it to the American people so that we can save ourselves?
Perhaps the CPSC is worried there would be a backlash from "Joe &
Marylou Citizen" in Topeka, KS  and across the country when they
actually read the guidebook and realize that most NON-RECALLED children's products
they want to sell would be disallowed.

You see, what was NOT in this Fox News story is the myriad of other products that are perfectly safe, but potentially hazardous to your financial well-being.  For instance, if you sell a pair of children's pants with a zipper (most have that) you should be pretty certain it's lead content does not exceed the CPSIA regulations.  Now, remember, lead in zippers is not the same as nuclear waste.  It doesn't jump out and infect you.  It must be ingested.  That may well be, but if it has lead more than 300ppm, it is illegal to sell.  Did you test the zippers in the clothes that you sold last week?  How about testing for lead or phthalates in buttons? Or in the plastic toys?  None of these items should be sold without back-up (contacting the manufacturer or testing).  Oh, and don't even think about selling those old pre-1985 kids books….

World of Dreams Cover, originally uploaded by challengeandfun.

Charlie Hope has been taking the Children's music world by storm. Her most recent CD "I'm Me!" has been well received by many stores and cosumers, and we anxiously await the upcoming release of her Lullaby album "World of Dreams."

This CD comes with 11 original songs and lullabies, helping children transition from their daily activities to peaceful sleep. Even adults find her lullabies soothing and relaxing.

You can listen to her songs online; The new CD will be available by mid-July.  The picture below shows the front cover of the accompanying lyric & coloring work-booklet.

Thank you
for your article in the spring 2009 edition of RealGreen called “Finding Used
Items Online.”  As an avid user of
freecycle, we feel this, along with the other websites listed, are great ways
to reduce the products going into the landfill, while providing real economic
relief to others—not to mention the relief of the donors to get the said
items out of their garage.

I am sure
we are like most people, in that the bulk of the items being swapped are for
children.  High chairs, books, clothing, DVDs,
toys, etc.  Unfortunately, the bulk of
these items are now not being accepted by Goodwill (you had listed
shopgoodwill.com), they are illegal to sell on ebay or craigslist, even illegal
to sell at your local yard sale or community fundraiser.  They are also, in all likelihood, illegal
even to give away.  Please see the
following list from Page 28 of the CPSC handbook http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/thrift/thrguid.pdf
for resellers.  The very first paragraph
on page 3 confirms this extends to yard sales.

What can we
learn from the cleverly worded statements in this list:

1. Any product for children (12
   and under) that has PAINT cannot be sold.
2. Clothes made up ONLY
   of the materials in the 2^nd box can be sold.  What is missing?  See box #3, basic clothing accessories such as metallic and plastic buttons, snaps, zippers…etc., unless you
   contact the manufacturer.  Huh?  Contact the manufacturer of an old,
   beat-up pair of jeans and a dress from who knows who?  So, in sum, do not sell items with these
   parts.  Hey, Velcro is the new rage
   of thrifts!
3. Any children’s book printed
   before 1986 is illegal.  Any child’s
   book printed 1986 and beyond can only be sold if it is used for “reading”,
   not playing.  Hmm. 
4. Something that is mysteriously
   missing, but completely clear that it is illegal thanks to the NY Circuit
   Court decision to apply the CPSIA retroactively, is anything with plastic
   or vinyl, unless you have had these items tested for phthalates.  Right, I am going to go spend $200 to
   test that old doll, or that tiny tikes play set.  To the landfill (or black-market) we go!
   

Where does
this leave us?  Most children’s clothes,
toys, and furniture (unless you sand off that paint, and it has no plastic or
metal components), and many books are now illegal to be resold (and being
interpreted by many as illegal to give-away).

I would ask
that you please print a correction to this article in the next issue of RealGreen
so that readers understand that 80-90% of what they actually recirculate via
these channels is now illegal.  To do
otherwise would be irresponsible as it could cause many of your readers to face
very stiff fines, and perhaps even jail time. 
This type of legislation, that has the good intent of trying to keep us
safer, while ignoring the unintended consequences of losing resale channels
will not go away by ignoring it, or by writing as though this law does not
exist.

The next
shock to our green community will be when our natural and fairly traded
children’s products start disappearing in a more noticeable way.  They have started disappearing; our catalog
is half the size of last year, many home crafters on Etsy have shuttered their
businesses, Selecta and other European manufacturers have left the USA. These products are gone, not because they do
not meet the standards.  Rather, these
are niche products that cannot afford the redundant, expensive testing mandated
by the CPSIA. 

I hope that
the Democratic party, that party that has long been a voice for green living,
and that party that has complete power to make changes to this law to make it
workable for our lifestyle, makes common sense amendments to allow the second
hand market, as well as natural children’s products by niche players, to
survive.

I encourage
Green America steps up to inform its readership of this issue, and takes a
leadership role for change.

Sincerely,

Rob Wilson
Challenge & Fun, Inc.

Toy testing rules ‘overwhelming’ to small businesses – Framingham, MA – The MetroWest Daily News

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I read an interesting blog post by Seth Godin, a highly esteemed and prolific author on marketing and similar subjects.  In this blog entry he discusses the all too familiar marketing dilemma of the salesperson that "knows" his product is superior to the competition….it works better, it is cheaper, it should be an easy sell, it is so obvious….but he can't seem to make inroads in his marketing effort.  His tarket customer simply is too comfortable with the inferior product, he doesn't want to take the risk, or otherwise.  He then goes on to explain how it is important to understand the customer, what are his concerns, or how can you make it easier for him to say yes….over and above simply having a superior product or argument.  While this is an interesting discussion for marketers, what does it mean for our CPSIA effort?  Are there themes here that we need to pay attention to?

Certainly.  We KNOW the CPSIA is flawed.  We KNOW it does little to improve safety, while threatening an entire industry.  We KNOW there are better ways to assure safety, while allowing innovation and product quality to thrive.  Why then are we having such a difficult time getting the politicians (and media) to listen?

We know some of the answers.  It is a difficult thing for a politician to come out against a "product safety law."  They know that the consumer groups will eat them alive.  They hope that we will go away before the industry crashes and that they can then blame its collapse on the economy, poor management, or anything else other than them.  That is "safer" than taking a risk….just as a business manager feels safe with his existing "inferior" product. 

We need to play the game differently.  Unfortunately Seth's blog post doesn't list out those things which we have to do, nor do I have all the answers.  However, he does suggest it is important to embrace the customer's irrationality, and give him what he/she needs to buy what we are selling. It is time to pay attention to how we can get to "yes" with our politicians (and media).  

I hope we can start a discussion amongst ourselves on that very subject.  What do they need from us? 

In order to help this effort, and our attempts to make a stronger impact with Congress, I am linking to some materials that outline how to improve our lobbying efforts. I hope you will take a look at them and consider them as carry out your lobbying and as you make suggestions for overall improved lobbying.

http://www.marloweco.com/files/HOWTALK2006.pdf

http://staff.washington.edu/oren/blog/2008/08/icpl-2008-politics-101-when-wh.html

Thanks to www.wahmsolutions.com for bringing these links to my attention. 

Uncle Sam vs. your favorite toys | csmonitor.com

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Here is an example of 2 adorable bears that is on the endangered
species list–not the one issued by a wildlife association, but rather
by us. Once they are gone, they will no longer be available in the USA.

Why? We sell a couple dozen of each per year (retail cost approx $75).
So, if we make about $300 before expenses on each bear, do you think we
can pay over $1,000 each to certify, plus all the paperwork, plus the
unique permanent markings in August 2009?

Why is the law to certify these animals out of line? These bears are
made with organic cotton. Additionally, the cotton has then been tested
to standards much higher than even our new government standards.

Not only that, these particular animals were tested by the German
publication Oko-Test which randomly tests consumer products looking for
dangerous toys. They found these bears to ultra-clean.

But high end bears, such as these and those made by artisans, sewn by
home-workers, imported by companies that want to bring unique,
ultra-safe, beautiful, quality products into the USA are about to
disappear from this country forever….unless we all work together for
change.

Get informed & involved at www.cpsia-central.ning.com.