Jenny Nowatzke OMAHA (KPTM)- If you browse through the racks of children's clothing at area Goodwill stores, you'll notice half the supply is gone - all because of a new law being implemented by the federal government Tuesday morning.
"What goes into effect on February 10th is a new limit for lead content in children's products - 600 parts per million," said Patty Davis with the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The new limit affects every single thrift store across the nation. If they're caught purposely selling a toy, piece of children's clothing, or book printed before 1985 containing lead, they could face a $100,000 fine.
"CPSC has the authority on the federal level to be enforcing it - we have investigators out in the market place," said Davis. But at the Goodwill near 144th and L, mangers say they're ready for inspection. "Goodwill has been working with CPSC for a long time, preparing for this change," said Kris Pachunka with Goodwill Industries.
Part of the change is making sure all employees know what to look for in a product. "We have been doing recall work for a long time. We have folders, binders, where we go and get daily updates on what's being recalled," said Pachunka. In fact, minutes after a product is recalled, all Goodwill employees are notified, and the shelves are quickly scanned. Which is something Goodwill managers believe the federal government, and shoppers can feel good about. "The most important thing here at Goodwill is the safety of our customers and employees - we're doing everything we can to make that possible," said Pachunka.
Goodwill is asking that you stay away from donating any children's clothing with metal snaps on them - because they won't be allowed to put them on store shelves. And, if you have any indication that someone is purposely selling items contaminated with lead, you're urged to call Nebraska's attorney general.
In order to crack down on online sites such as Craigslist and Ebay, the CPSC says, they are currently working with an internet surveillance team to watch over the online marketplaces.
