Unintended Consequences of a Poorly Written Law

We interrupt this idyllic, springlike weekend to call attention to a hypothetical issue that has turned into a very real, BIG problem.

You may remember, back in January, when I posted about a news item that had me - along with a large number of others - worried (read my posts here and here). It was the lead-ban law, passed last August, and the concern was that thrift and Goodwill stores, flea-marketers and anybody holding a yard sale would be subject to punishment if they sold anything intended for children under 13 that was later found to contain lead. Since no one in their right mind would test every incoming item for lead content, we worried, the law would mean a nation of very full landfills - and a lot of empty thrift and Goodwill stores, flea markets, and yard sales.

So, we fast-forward to yesterday. I had almost totally forgotten that this law was an issue, since the original date listed, sometime in mid-February, for trouble to begin had come and gone; I nearly fell over when I walked into our favorite local thrift shop and found that all the toys, baby things, and nearly all the kids' clothing was GONE.

They had to throw it all away - completely filling their Dumpster, so the lady in charge told me - by February 26 or else risk being put out of business in case they sold a product that was later found to contain lead.

I was speechless and utterly heart-sick. All the way home, I kept thinking of clothing and toys that we had purchased from the shop that is now contraband; any clothing with snaps, zippers, fasteners of any kind, and so many toys that I couldn't possibly remember them all. By the time we got home, I had gotten over 'shocked' and moved on to 'outraged.'

Here is what the boys and I did about it:

From winter 08 09

We piled every toy we own, and every piece of clean clothing that is now against the law to sell (but okay to own, I guess) into a stack so big, we could hardly walk into the living room. Here's the whole thing from another angle:

From winter 08 09

As Ben pointed out while looking at this pile, which took us nearly an hour to put together, "this is just one moment in time," meaning that this is where the kids are right now, our assemblage will change as they grow out of these and need stuff for bigger kids.

I'm angry about this on so many levels: first, none of the items in that pile can be resold. When I picture us throwing all these perfectly good toys and clothes away, actual bile comes up into my throat. Because of the law, that is what will happen to all this stuff; if we get into trouble for selling it and cannot donate it, what the hell else are we supposed to do with it?

Secondly, there are people who need these things! Especially the clothes, but I think you can argue that kids need fun, interesting, and durable toys, too, at least a few. And, has anyone considered the frostbite risk if the truly poor cannot purchase used winter jackets for their children because of the supposed lead risk?

Third is the natural resources used up when everyone buys everything new. I'm still speechless about this one, so I will refer you to Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff.

Fourth, why age thirteen? Kids stop putting things in their mouths around 3 or 4, so what is up with this?!?

Last but not least - until I think of more reasons which I can discuss without spluttering - is how Kafka-esque this law feels! Like everyone, I worry about the risk of lead in products intended for children. I don't want anyone to end up with lead poisoning, but I am shocked at the approach taken by Congress to prevent this possibility. Everyone is punished under this law, most especially the people who depend on second-hand goods to clothe their children and give them joy.

During our last visit to the thrift shop before the poorly written law took effect, Owen stood looking at our toy haul as it sat on the counter while we added up what it would cost. He said of the 50-cent Bob the Builder interactive workbench and one or two other cute little 25-cent toys: "Mom, I feel so rich!"

Thanks to this crappy piece of legislation, he may never say that again.

We Must Do Something

According to The Columbus Dispatch, starting on Feb. 10, 2009, when the new law banning lead paint in children's toys will take effect, there will also be a ban on resale of any children's toys! (Go to the article link here.)That means, no thrift shop, resale store, or garage sale will be able to sell pre-owned toys, and may also be taken to mean resale clothes and books, anything that may contain lead and end up worn or used by children.

If true - and I can't find any evidence to the contrary - this will have profound implications, not just for the families who depend on 2ndhand goods, not just for the stores that carry said goods, but for the earth, too. Can you imagine the amount of excess in landfills when these toys, clothes, books, etc. become junk, by order of the US Government? It boggles the mind.

From winter 08 09

Originally, this post was reserved for connections between literature and imagination - Owen is posing as The Headless Horseman up in that picture, and spends most of his spare time "reading" our library's graphic-novel copy of Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow - but for now, I want you to take a good look at Owen's horse.

Purchased last week, from a fantastic thrift shop nearby, for 50 cents! A month from now, unless something changes in the law, that horse would be bound for the junkyard.

Or, put another way, unless you and I do something. Right now.

But what? This link will take you to a place where you can send an email to your congresspeople, and if that's your choice then it is a good choice. I'm going to find out who my rep in the US Congress is, today, and call him or her (and yes, I know how inexcusable it is not to know that already... mea culpa!) and ask that something be done.

Because, if not me, then who?

Please, please help.

Update: Here is a Los Angeles Times article about the problem.

Update #2: I now know who my Congressperson is: Richard Neal, of Massachusetts' 2nd District. The woman I spoke with in his office here in MA was wonderful, and while I called with trepidation - it's nerve-wracking to call a public official, at least, that's how I felt - my concerns were heard and responded to with warmth and respect. Maybe next time, I won't be so nervous! Anyway, according to his office here in MA, Congressman Neal is aware of the implications in this law for the resale of children's toys, clothes, and books, which is a good start. Where this will go from here depends on you:

Please find out who your Congressperson is, and either pick up the phone or follow the link above to send him or her a letter about this issue. And thanks!

Return of an Old Friend

Christmas 1977: Karen and Robbie, blearily wandering into the living room way too early for their parents' comfort, find waiting for them amazing, nearly life-sized stuffed animals, left by Santa next to the tree. Karen's is Doggie and Rob's is Teddy, and they would be loved, loved, and loved some more, through good times and calamities, right on into adulthood.

Karen graduates from college and gets married, and though she doesn't really know what to do with her old, stuffed dog, she can't let go. So, poor Doggie gets stuffed to the back of the linen closet, patiently waiting for the day when Karen rediscovers her...

Which turned out to be yesterday. I was cleaning out the linen closet, and decided that, even if the kids didn't want to play with Mama's old, beaten up, stuffed dog, that at least she could be out in the play room instead of jammed up at the back of a closet.

They LOVE her! Although, Doggie, it turns out, has gone through some gender confusion - when she belonged to me, she was a girl but now she's definitely become a boy, a fact which 4 year-old Owen assures me is 'no big deal.'

Yesterday, No Impact Man wrote an incredible column about thrift-shop finds and the warmth and heart they contain; sooooo much better than newly-bought stuff. When I see my guys, especially Owen who hasn't put Doggie down for the last 36 hours, loving a dear friend from my own childhood, I get goosebumps.

From Fall Blog

Thrift Shops and Greek Mythology

Around the corner from us - with better sidewalks, we could walk there - is a fabulous thrift shop. It's run by a church, and at first I had some trepidation with checking it out because I worried there might be proselytizing, when all we really want is a place to donate things we no longer need, and find useful, often fun, afforable things we do. (Thankfully, they recognize that moral people may be of other faiths.)

Also, I have a thing about stuff, so thrifting has become a hobby of mine recently.

Here are a few of my favorite things about this shop:

They have a food pantry, and cheerfully accept whatever we can donate - right now, mostly garden produce but as we get into winter, any baked goods we make will be doubled for the pantry. Math and helping the less fortunate, all in one!

We've found some amazing buys there - a complete Discovery Toy marble track for $1, a Magic 8 Ball for 25 cents, complete play-dough play sets, miscellaneous toys, clothing, shoes...

But best of all are the books - 3 for a quarter! I've found dozens of children's books, and a few 'great idea' books for homeschoolers, when I happened to arrive soon after a newly retired teacher dropped off decades' worth of books for elementary school-aged children.

I'm not sure why, but this shop has an ever-changing, interesting collection of Greek mythology for children. When we found a not-too-scarily illustrated Perseus and Medusa, Owen put on his knight stuff and went off to "fight the Gorgons." The first one we found on the Trojan Horse made little sense to me (they tried to pack too much in, it was badly written and insensible), but both Luke and Owen loved it. This week, though, I found the piece de resistance: The Adventures of Ulysses, otherwise known as the Odyssey, in simple words and many pictures - we're reading it about 10 times a day, and talking about it all the time. Tonight at dinner, Luke said, "someday I'm going to find out the truth about the Greek gods and goddesses, I'm going to climb up Mount Olympus to the tippy top!"

Maybe all thrift shops are like this, I don't know; we sure feel fortunate to have this one, and so close by.