13 months ago
SACRAMENTO, CA - A new federal law requires testing of children's clothing for lead and toxics starts next month, but thrift and consignment stores say it could drive them out of business.
"I mean, we've been passing kids clothing down for centuries. Now all of sudden you can't do it because there might be too much lead in one item out of a thousand? I mean it's ridiculous they've taken it to the extent they've taken it right now," said Cindy Retmier, who owns an El Dorado Hills consignment store called Jordan's Closet.
The rules are part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act passed last year by Congress. It requires all products sold for children under 13 years old, including clothing, to be tested for lead and phthalate. Phthalate chemicals are used to soften plastics. The rules go into effect Feb. 10 and the testing could be so expensive it makes no sense to stay in the business of selling second-hand kids' clothes.
"Pricing of the testing is, I've heard, from $300 to $1,500 an item to test. We only sell stuff for an average of $10 so, of course that doesn't make sense," said Ritmier. "One of my competitors is already closing her doors. She doesn't even want to go with it. She's not willing to stick it out."
Even the giant corporate thrift stores are unsure how to deal with the problem. A spokesman for Goodwill Industries in Sacramento told News10 if the testing is too expensive, Goodwill may have to stop selling clothes and other items for the younger kids.
"A huge hit for us and a huge hit for consumers that are trying to save a dollar in this economy," said Goodwill's Mark Klingler. "We'll have to analyze it. It may involve not selling if we can't realistically test everything."
That would be terrible news for people like Shelsie Hall, who had filled a shopping cart full of clothes at Goodwill's Arden Way store Tuesday for her two daughters. She knows the brand names and finds the best bargains for Kaeley, 6, and Raeya, 4.
"It makes a lot of sense and I can buy 20 things for the price of one here," Hall said. She knows about the new law because she also makes hair bows and jewelry for children, as well as sells some clothes on the internet. Those sales will also be covered by the new law.
"Oh, that would be a huge impact. It would take money out of other things and I do this because I'm a stay-at-home mom for my daughter who has diabetes. I mean, my items sell for $4 to $10 and I make a lot of different things. So I couldn't just test one, I would have to test every item," said Hall.
Over the past week, the Internet has been buzzing with information about the regulations, including from organizations like the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops. Some of those emails urge shopkeepers to send letters to their congressional representatives. While the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) administers the law, it can only be changed by Congress.
The CPSC has already determined the law applies retroactively, not just to items made beginning Feb. 10.
Store owners like Ritmier say it would make more sense if the law applied to manufacturers as they made new items beginning on that date.
"Trust me, I'm all for children's protection and if means not selling toys, I'm okay with that. Equipment? I'm okay with that. But clothing, I think, is pushing it. That's taking it to the extreme," she said. Having one store for 12 years in Southern California and the shop she just opened last year in El Dorado Hills, Ritmier joins thousands of store owners around the country trying to figure out a solution.
"This is definitely my livelihood and it's not much. The little bit I have I'd like to keep," she said. "If I have to minimize three-quarters of my inventory to sell just (over) 12 years old and up, it's gonna kill me. It's gonna hurt me a lot."
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News10/KXTV
