Good News On The CPSIA Front

A couple of CPSIA updates to bring to your attention. First is this bit of fantastic news.

After a barrage of complaints, federal regulators shifted gears Thursday and said they would no longer require that used children's clothing, toys and other items sold at secondhand stores be tested for lead.

Thrift and consignment store operators had protested that they couldn't afford to pay for the testing, and that doing so would require them to stop selling some goods or even go out of business.

This is great news to non-profits like the Salvation Army and Deseret Industries and every hospital, nursing home and church that runs thrift stores.

Now the bad news - retailers who are already hurting as a result of the bad economy are unable to get their test results back because of the backlog at the testing facilities.

On Friday, clothing buyers from retail boutiques start pouring into the downtown Los Angeles garment emporium to decide which items to stock. Preparations for the year's first market day are always hectic, but they've been tinged with panic this week.

That's because hundreds of clothing manufacturers from across the country have been scrambling to test their children's garments for lead and anxiously awaiting the results, hoping they comply with a new federal law designed to protect kids from tainted products....

Retail giant Neiman Marcus, the San Diego Zoo and a few small boutiques have already said they won't even look at any children's goods that haven't been certified. The trouble is, many of the independent testing labs around the country are too backed up to return items by the deadline.

The retailers are trying hard to be proactive - on very short notice I might add - but at what cost?

The requirements are crippling businesses already struggling in a slow retail climate.

A blow to L.A.'s fashion industry would be another hit to the local economy, affecting jobs in mills and ports as well. Los Angeles County has the nation's highest number of apparel-manufacturing employees, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., with 56,617 in the second quarter of 2008, the most recent figures available.

"It's going to really hurt our business, and we're already struggling because retail is not doing very well," said Anastasia Backstrand, the owner of children's clothing manufacturer Tralala Inc., based in Orange.

A children's clothing manufacturer sent its whole line back to India to be re-appliqued with glass instead of crystal, because it feared the line wouldn't meet the lead standards, one showroom owner said.

Taggart, who is paid $100 an hour for her testing service, had to inform a Midwestern maker of onesies that the snaps on her garments had failed. She then fielded a call from the weeping owner, who said she needed the income from her clothing business to survive.

"It is just devastating," said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Assn.

Contrary to what you hear, big business is trying to do the right thing however in doing so they (the employers) are getting the shaft of big government.

Starting in August, only labs that have been certified by the Consumer Product Safety Commission will be permitted to offer the testing. The labs charge an average of $800 per test. Manufacturers are absorbing the costs, knowing that they don't have a choice.

"With the economy the way it is, you can't pass the cost on to the customer," said Joanne Yamamoto, owner of Mimi & Maggie, a Los Angeles maker of girls' clothes.

Many companies say they would be able to comply with the law better if it allowed them to test components of garments, such as buttons or thread, before assembling them. Others say they need more time and can't cover the costs of disposing of any garments that haven't been tested by Feb. 10, as the law instructs.

The good news for consumers is that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is holding open comments on this subject until January 30. If you have not done so already, contact them so that they know what you think about this law.