Tue, January 13, 2009
CPSC Relieves Used Clothing Stores of Lead/Phthalate Testing Rules
A week or so ago, the Los Angeles Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other sources reported that used clothing stores were planning to stop selling items for children under the age of 12 in response to new laws taking effect February 10. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has now clarified its intentions and it looks as though this won't be the case.
One method that families can use to keep budgets in line is to purchase used clothing at thrift and consignment shops. Some remarkable bargains can be obtained this way. It’s an especially efficient way to manage the cost of clothing for children, who outgrow their clothes quickly. However, a number of shops specializing in used clothing announce early this year that they’d have to stop selling children’s clothing altogether in response to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, passed last year. The law requires that all products sold for users under the age of twelve must be tested for lead and phthalates. The latter are chemicals often found in plastics and believed to cause hormone disruption in children when present at sufficiently high levels.
Manufacturers can do this kind of testing easily enough, but since the items sold in used clothing stores are typically one-of-a-kind, testing isn’t feasible for resellers. Many such shops had stopped accepting items for children under 12 once the effects of the law became known. However, recently the CPSC issued a clarification, stating that “Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.” Resellers are still obliged not to carry products that violate CPSC standards and are subject to stiff penalties if they sell products that violate the law. The CPSC still expects resellers to be on the lookout for certain high-risk items, like children’s products that have been recalled, children’s jewelry and painted wooden or metal toys; breakable toys, and stuffed toys that have small parts that might present a choking hazard.
This is good news for thrifty parents who would have been shut out from buying used clothing if the agency had not clarified its interpretation of the law. Parents will still need to be cautious about items likely to be hazardous, but at least used clothing will still be an option for those who wish to stretch their money. Without the change, a lot of used children’s clothing would have been thrown away by thrift stores in early February.
