I had actually planned to deliver all our “non-compliant” items to the local offices of both my senators, until we realized how much there was. That’s when we decided to give it away instead (while we still could legally do that). I figured it would end up in the landfill that way anyway, and it was too many good books to have anyone throw away!

guess Congress didn’t have parents.

I saw your article on the impact CPSIA is having on retailers and manufacturers. In particular, this caught my eye:
“The vehicles have small amounts of lead in their handlebars and frames to prevent corrosion, says Paul Vitrano, general counsel to the trade group.”

Hmmm. Chrome plated handlebars with a bit of lead to prevent corrosion? You know what else might have a bit of lead to prevent corrosion? Shopping carts. Which sit outside in the rain and sun and get banged around as much as ATV’s in their own way. And they are specifically designed to be used by children. Just think of all the times you have seen a baby or toddler sitting in the seat of a cart, sometimes even gnawing on the handle if they are teething. Meanwhile, Sissy is asleep in the basket and Big Brother is horsing around on the rack under the cart.

If you figure mom is making 3 grocery trips a week, plus trips to buy clothing, etc, kids are spending a lot more time in shopping carts, from infancy until they get too big to push around, than the time any of them would spend on an ATV. Furthermore, the mouthy, gnawy years are spent in the carts, not the ATV. Yet I have seen nothing in CPSIA discussions about this.

I did a quick and very rough calculation today. (Store numbers from Wikipedia)

Company # stores
Lowes 1616
Home Depot 2913
Walmart 3800
Target 1500
Kroger 2477
Supervalue 2505
total stores 14811

carts 7,405,500 @ 500 per store (guestimate)

cost $1,221,907,500 @ $165 per cart

Of course there are far, far more shopping carts in this country than my rough calculation. Perhaps you can look into this a little further. You could even check out who the companies are who make shopping carts.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Shopping_Cart.html see middle of page
It might make for an ‘interesting’ followup article.

I have nothing against shopping carts or shopping cart manufacturers or companies that supply shopping carts for their customers’ convenience. It’s just that CPSIA makes absolutely no sense. It is going to eat the country alive, and must be repealed.

Thanks for your article.

Regards,
Marie

———————————-
I saw your article on the impact CPSIA is having on retailers and manufacturers. In particular, this caught my eye:

“The vehicles have small amounts of lead in their handlebars and frames to prevent corrosion, says Paul Vitrano, general counsel to the trade group.”

Hmmm. Chrome plated handlebars with a bit of lead to prevent corrosion? You know what else might have a bit of lead to prevent corrosion? Shopping carts. Which sit outside in the rain and sun and get banged around as much as ATV’s in their own way. And they are specifically designed to be used by children. Just think of all the times you have seen a baby or toddler sitting in the seat of a cart, sometimes even gnawing on the handle if they are teething. Meanwhile, Sissy is asleep in the basket and Big Brother is horsing around on the rack under the cart.

If you figure mom is making 3 grocery trips a week, plus trips to buy clothing, etc, kids are spending a lot more time in shopping carts, from infancy until they get too big to push around, than the time any of them would spend on an ATV. Furthermore, the mouthy, gnawy years are spent in the carts, not the ATV. Yet I have seen nothing in CPSIA discussions about this.

I did a quick and very rough calculation today. (Store numbers from Wikipedia)

Company # stores
Lowes 1616
Home Depot 2913
Walmart 3800
Target 1500
Kroger 2477
Supervalue 2505
total stores 14811

carts 7,405,500 @ 500 per store (guestimate)

cost $1,221,907,500 @ $165 per cart

Of course there are far, far more shopping carts in this country than my rough calculation. Perhaps you can look into this a little further. You could even check out who the companies are who make shopping carts.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Shopping_Cart.html see middle of page
It might make for an ‘interesting’ followup article.

I have nothing against shopping carts or shopping cart manufacturers or companies that supply shopping carts for their customers’ convenience. It’s just that CPSIA makes absolutely no sense. It is going to eat the country alive, and must be repealed.

Thanks for your article.

Regards,
(me)