Consignment shops are in the clear after Feds clear up new lead law

St. Pete - It literally took an act of Congress to make retailers sell safer products for children.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) passed back in August to change the lead standard for all children's products, from clothes to toys. The idea is to get every single product virtually lead-free with a maximum of 600 ppm (parts per million).

Now, the confusing new law has consignment and thrift store owners questioning the shelf life of their own businesses.

Many of those questions were based on a lack of answers from the very leaders in charge of enforcing the law, the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

So, 10 Connects got on the phone with Washington to get answers straight from the CPSC itself.

Julie Vallese is the Director of Public Affairs and she said, "If it is a one-of-a-kind product, those stores [consignment, thrift] will not need to test."

So, consignment shops are in the clear. That would not be the case for larger thrift stores that actually buy more than one-of-a-kind.

Goodwill Industries tells 10 Connects that only makes up ten-percent of children's inventory, still, those products would have to be tested for the new lead standard or taken off the shelf.

No word on how much it would cost to professionally test products for lead but the responsibility would be on the retailer to get it done and pay for it.

The CPSC will be in charge of enforcing the new law through spot checks. While the CPSC says violators will face consequences, the agency would not elaborate what kind of penalties retailers would face.