• Effective February 10, 2009, a new federal government mandate prohibits companies from knowingly selling children’s items that may contain lead in excess of the limit allowable by law.
  
• At this time, there is still a large degree of uncertainty about what the government regulation requires of Goodwill. What is clear is that Goodwill has no choice but to comply with the mandate based on our interpretation of the law at this time.
  
• Therefore, you may see fewer children’s items for sale.
  
• At this time, Goodwill believes it can continue to sell certain children’s items while complying with the mandate.
  
• We ask for your patience and understanding as we continue to work through this change. Your support of Goodwill remains vital to our mission of helping people with disabilities or other disadvantages, and we appreciate your continued support.

• Under the new law, children’s items with more than 600 parts per million (ppm) total lead cannot lawfully be sold in the United States on or after February 10, 2009, even if they were manufactured before that date. The total lead limit drops to 300 ppm on August 14, 2009.
  
• Certain children’s items manufactured on or after February 10, 2009, cannot be sold if they contain more than 0.1% of certain specific phthalates or if they fail to meet new mandatory standards for toys.
  
• Companies cannot sell children’s items that exceed the new lead limit and therefore should avoid items that are likely to include such content.
  
• Companies that sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties.

For more information: www.cpsc.gov or www.donatedgoodscoalition.org