YEA! Change on Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act

Consignment stores and yard sales etc. selling used kids' items are now exempt from the inspection required for new products. What a relief!

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

Shocking law about to go into effect

My friend Joy just knocked my socks of this morning by referring to this article in the L.A. Times. I had never heard of it, but after an hour of research online, I have checked the US government's site, and there are also numerous mentions of this article all over the internet. A new law (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) scheduled to go into effect on February 10, 2009 will affect millions of Americans who depend on second-hand items for their children.

If this is true and seems to be, and you frequent consignment shops, thrift stores, or yard sales to buy, donate, or sell children's clothing and toys, then your life is about to drastically change.

Here is the gist of it:
"The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead."

Why we haven't heard anything before now about it, and how it was passed by Congress and signed into law, I do not understand. Apparently the bailout was the focus of everyone's attention and this got no media notice. I'm concerned and disturbed. I'm not sure if contacting lawmakers now does any good, since it would be difficult to change the law, but I think we need to try to do something. The law goes into effect overnight, so that products are available one day, then illegal to purchase the next without inspection certificates. Thrift stores and consignment stores will not be able to afford testing, so will go out of business. Yard sales of children's clothing and toys manufactured will no longer be legal. Homemade clothing items for sale will not be allowable, unless it meets certain standards. This is yet another example of the government's over-involvement in our daily affairs. Whatever happened to personal resposibility? So, what do we do?

Links with the details:
Website with info regarding Commission
The Act itself
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Ballot and Brief

UPDATE at 2:00:

I have contacted my Congressman, and Senators. I'm awaiting responses from them. I also got in touch with American Family Association, whose rep. hadn't heard of the Act either. She referred me to the American Center for Law and Justice, and I have now emailed them asking for advice and how we can respond. I'm getting a lot of responses from you all, and everyone obviously agrees this is a huge problem. Lower income families depend almost entirely on thrift stores, etc. for their clothing needs, and I'm wondering how they will survive without that resource. I think we need to set up our own massive freecycle network, instead of depending on outside sources in the future, since they appear to be on the verge of extinction...

Saturday adventures/nature lesson

This morning the kids and I ran a few errands that turned out to be fun. We picked up our great co-op basket first, and then made it to a couple of yard sales. I was specifically looking for baby boy clothes, and found some wonderful outfits at the first sale. Isaac and Abigail were so happy, like we'd found buried treasure! 7 outfits for under $10, some new with the tags, and not a stain to be found. Then, at the second one, Abi racked up with some cute stuff too, including a new AU cheerleader outfit for $1. I was so happy I hadn't spent $30 last weekend on one just like it, because her other one is too small, and we'd really looked at them! Isaac didn't have any luck today, but sweet Amy had recently come upon a great "boy" yard sale and he netted close to 20 awesome shirts that day, so he wasn't too worried.

After that we went to Target for a few groceries. We noticed a peculiar sound when we got out of the van, like a cat crying or something similar, but couldn't tell where it was coming from. Thirty minutes later when we finished, as we walked toward the van, we could still hear it. Being nerdy nature lovers who have to figure these things out, we all quickly hopped in the van and slowly cruised through the side parking lot of the store. We ended up almost behind Target, along a guard rail that kept us from plummeting to the interstate just beyond. After several minutes of quiet observation, we finally spotted a large bird in a pine tree near the interstate. It kept up this mournful keening and I snapped pictures and video for about 10 minutes. Then it flew to another tree, and we moved the van, continuing to stalk it. We eventually noticed what appeared to be another bird very similar in size and color, soaring just beyond the trees, and "our" bird watched and continued to call. After another 15 mins. or so, our bird had moved on, soared for a while, becoming more and more distant. We were fascinated. Isaac kept saying, "That was the most amazing bird I've ever seen!" Abi thought it was hungry and calling for food, or maybe had lost its babies. I thought it was a female telling her male where to rendezvous. Turns out, they would've probably had babies a couple of months ago, since they mate in the spring, so maybe they were a pair calling for their lost babies. Who knows? Anyway, Target continues to be an unlikely place for adventure and entertainment for us. I'm waiting on a security person to meet us at the door, and ask us to leave, the next time we show up, after our escapades there in the few short weeks they've been open.

Upon further research at home, and viewing our pictures, we determined that the birds were red-tailed hawks and according to Wikipedia:

The Red-tail is the largest hawk, usually weighing between 2 and 4 pounds. As with most raptors, the female is nearly 1/3 larger than the male and may have a wing span of 56 inches. This species shows a great deal of individual variation in plumage.

The adult Red-tailed Hawk is easily identified, for when it leaves its perch on slow, measured wing beats, or turns while soaring overhead, the broad, rounded tail shows a rich, russet red, hence the name. Within its range, its frequent soaring and loud voice are a good pointer.

Though through the camera I couldn't clearly see what I was photographing, the pictures seem to clearly show a large, female red-tailed hawk. Her wingspan was huge. The events we witnessed for those 25-30 minutes were just beautiful, and both kids and I just marveled at the majesty of these birds, and a God who created such gorgeous creatures. It was such a treat!