Auntie Kate The Resale Expert

And the misconceptions continue.

Well, that Consumer Protection Safety Commission press release that was specifically designed to mollify resalers, soothe the public, and shut ecologists up, seems to be working. Here’s that press release edited for clarity: “The new…law does not require resellers to test…However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit… Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.” The CPSC designed this press release solely to get people to stop flooding their phone lines and email. This is a press release. It CHANGES nothing.

This press release is a BAD thing because it is misleading. And it is an EVIL thing because it was DESIGNED to make the American public shut up and go away.

Professional resale shops have always been well-aware of recalls and have always monitored goods to make sure that recalls, that is, items the government has found flaws in, are removed. Whether in the spacing of crib rails, the lead in toys, or drawstrings that can strangle, resale shopkeepers, most of whom are mothers, are hyper-vigilant. That’s good, that consumer goods are watched for compliance with contemporary safety regulations.

But CPSIA stands that whole idea on its head. It says that everything for children’s use that now exists in dresser drawers, closets, attics, and secondhand sales venues is hereby, ‘cause we say so, hazardous. They’ve declared existing goods illegal…after the fact. What was legal to produce and sell is now illegal.

Your son’s worn-once blazer you bought for his sixth-grade graduation and that he’s already outgrown, will be hazardous substance on Tuesday February 10 because “the law” says so. The pretty little dress that Representative’s grandchild wears to visit Grannie in Washington? Her patent-leather Mary Janes? Her very underwear? If these clothes were manufactured just a few months ago: hazardous substance by law. And I would imagine that it’s against the law to bring hazardous substance into the Capitol Building…isn’t it? Yet alone to dress your child in it?

Now I admit, I was skeptical that parents/consumers/consignors would understand how this well-intended but irrational law would prohibit them from choosing gently-used. I figured parents would see “less lead” and “little kids” and automatically think “Thank heavens for our wise government.” I even suggested on our industry discussion board that shopkeepers might not wish to alarm their customers. I am thrilled to be proven wrong. That out customers understand!

Parents, guardians, even lobbyists who once supported this bill, have realized what a colossal mistake it is, and have flooded the email boxes and the phone lines of the agency and of their Representatives (every single Representative who was in Congress that day voted FOR this bill.)

But apparently the media is not quite as realistic and educated as the public. And some shopkeepers, hoping that if they squint a little, the problem will disappear (kinda like if you hold you head just right you can’t see the formula stains on Consignor #2187’s baby outfit), are dreaming. Hope their dreams are good… because if they think they are immune to the law, they might just find out different when their state’s Attorney General does what he/she has been told: Enforce the Fact that Kidswear is Guilty Until Proven Innocent. To the pokey with you, consignment shop owner. Throw the little ladies running the church rummage sale in the lockup. Grab that garage-sale giver away from her toddlers, and tote her off to the County Jail: that snowsuit she’s peddling was manufactured in (gasp!) 2007!

This protest must continue until this law is changed! Send your (bless them!) clients and supporters to NARTS “Save Kids Resale” page for resources they can use. Call and email the CPSC and your Representatives not just once but whenever you can.  Sample letter for shopkeepers to use on NARTS’ web site.

Resalers who don’t deal in kids’ items cannot sit this out. You may not sell childrenswear…  but just wait until Congress decides that couches and kitchen chairs are used by under-age-12 kids. Or that your toddler might chew on YOUR scarf or your purse, so that needs testing too.

Here’s what I suggest. Resale shopkeepers provide a photo opportunity to wake the press up each Saturday: January 24, January 31, and February 7, between the Inauguration and the implementation of this law.

The theme? Going to Prison for Recycling. The photogenic part? Wear horizontal stripes like a cartoon-character prisoner. Hang a sign around your neck that says Recycling Declared a Crime. Have a handout ready to give to onlookers and the media. Get your fellow shopkeepers to participate (even the used-book store is affected if they sell anything a child of 12 or under would read!) Invite your local craftspeople, who are also affected in other important ways by this law, to take part. Call the press that you are doing this.

More:

• Dress a mannequin like a prisoner with the signage in your shop window.
• Or make “bars” on your windows with a sign Congress is Outlawing SecondHand.
• Or a mock chain and padlock: Government Says You Can’t Shop Used Anymore.
• Use your handout as a bag-stuffer for your customers, or pass it out at church, club meetings, your local day-care center. Give batches to customers to distribute.
• Send a link to this blog message to every local radio station, newspaper, TV station and blogger.

The resale industry could die because Congress declared everything in a parent’s home illegal. NOT because used items are unsafe. Used items are NOT inherently, ipso facto,  unsafe.

Due to Congress’  unintended consequences, resale shopkeepers (and eBayers and garage-sale givers and charities which rely on their thrift stores to raise funds), who provided a needed and an ecologically-correct service to their communities, stand to lose their businesses and quite possibly their homes.

Going to Prison for Recycling… or Going to The Shelter for What Congress Made Illegal Overnight. Oh wait, you can’t go to the homeless shelter…because the retail outlet that funds the shelter? It’s out of business too.