Press Room

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) was passed to protect children from unsafe, lead laced toys imported from China.  However, it ended up including ALL products intended for children 12 years of age and under.

The CPSIA legislation is an important contribution in efforts to strengthen product safety laws to make sure only safe and compliant children’s products are sold. While well-intentioned, if the CPSIA goes into effect on February 10, 2009, it will threaten the ability of thrift stores to sell gently used children’s clothing, toys & accessories. Thrift stores, like ours, may have to discontinue their children’s departments, thereby negatively affecting (1) our customer’s ability to buy affordable children’s clothes and items; (2) the charities ability to raise money by selling us their donations of children’s clothing; and (3) the environmental goal of recycling and reusing  as all this merchandise will  be disposed of into landfills.

Please, help us let our elected officials know we want to save thrift stores and their ability to sell used children’s clothes and other items.  We are in favor of better safety standards but do not feel they should be designed to threaten the viability of the thrift store industry. The terrible burdens on thrift stores need to be relaxed to make it possible to conduct a safe, appropriate and healthy business supplying children’s products.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Contact your Senator and Representative!!!!!!

• Locate your elected officials at http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
• Select your preferred contact method - email, fax or mail - from the site.
• View a SAMPLE LETTER you can adapt, personalize or use as an idea for writing your own letter.
• When done, copy/paste into an email or print & mail or fax to your elected officials.
• Call you Congressman.
• Regardless of method...let your voice be heard!!!