Hazardous to their health

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Nisha Rupt, 5, of Medford, keeps an eye on her purchases at Kid to Kid, a Medford used clothing and children’s supply store, while her aunt, Louise Starr, pays for them.Bob Pennell

January 08, 2009

By Sanne Specht

Mail Tribune

A new law aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children is causing clothing retailers and thrift stores to scramble as they have about 30 days to get up to speed on the regulations' specifics.

The law mandates that all products sold for children 12 and younger — including clothing — be tested for lead and phthalates, chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Items that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, whether or not they contain lead.

For many, the specifics of the new law remain unclear. Thrift store owners say the law stings because children's garments often come to them new or nearly new, as children typically outgrow clothing quickly.

Denying cash-strapped parents the option of purchasing gently used, inexpensive clothing hurts the budgets of young families and thrift stores, said Susie Lewis, vice president of Retail and Operations for the Southern Oregon Goodwill.

"We're trying to get some more definitive answers on this. We really just found out about this yesterday," said Lewis, adding Goodwill International has been working with the Consumer Product Safety Council.

"We haven't received much information yet. And we're not sure what the training process will be," she said.

The new presumptive hazard rating means St. Vincent de Paul will be pulling any and all suspect goods from shelves, said Len Hebert, president of St. Vincent's Rogue Valley District Council.

"We will be increasing our vigilance," Hebert said. "The last thing you want to do is not be safeguarding the people. We've been worried since day one about the Chinese toy thing. We've been making sure we don't accept things that are suspect. In some ways it will crimp people's ability to come here and get certain things they're used to getting."

Customers who like the notion of recycling clothes, or those who can't afford to shop at department stores, fear the pending act could make it impossible to purchase children's clothing at resale franchises such as Kid to Kid on Poplar Drive in Medford.

"Were supposed to be recycling," said Louise Starr, a Kid to Kid customer.

"But thrift stores like Kid to Kid will have to pay to have their products tested, or throw them out."

Tiffany and Kirkland Knouff, owners of Jack and Jill's, a store on Crater Lake Avenue that sells pre-owned children's clothes, toys and equipment, said their shop will be impacted by the new law. It may cost up to $150 per item to test for lead or phthalates, which they simply cannot afford, said Tiffany Knouff.

"It's good that they are trying to regulate toy sales, but I think they're going a bit overboard," she said.

Goodwill stopped accepting toys from donors about two years ago because there were so many product recalls. Toys that come to the stores generally are not in their original wrapping and do not have their barcodes intact, which made determining their danger virtually impossible, Lewis said.

"There were so many recalls, and we felt we couldn't keep up on it," she said.

But an interactive toy called Mrs. Goodbee has Goodwill in a public relations double-bind with its no-toys policy. Sold at Wal-Mart and Target, the interactive doll house's premise is to teach children about sharing and caring in the community, said Lewis.

Mrs. Goodbee encourages children to donate their gently used toys to those less fortunate. The lesson of sharing and caring means the agency is accepting toys brought in by the children, she said.

"We're not turning the toys away, but we're not actively putting out the toys," said Lewis.

"We need the box. If it's in a package and we can identify it easily as a non-recalled item, then that's OK," she said.

There is the possibility of a partial reprieve. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is responsible for enforcing the law, on Monday will consider exempting clothing and toys made of natural materials such as wool or wood. The commission does not have the authority to change the law but can decide how to interpret it.

But exempting natural materials does not go far enough, said Stephen Lamar, executive vice president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Clothes made of cotton but containing dyes or non-cotton yarn, for example, still might have to be tested, as would clothes that are cotton-polyester blends, he said.

Clothing and thrift trade groups say the law is flawed because it was rammed through Congress too quickly. By deeming that any product not tested for lead content by Feb. 10 must be considered hazardous waste, they contend, stores will have to tell customers that clothing they were allowed to sell Feb. 9 became banned substances overnight.

These groups say the law should be changed so that it applies to products manufactured after Feb. 10, not sold after that date.

That would require action by Congress, however, because the Consumer Product Safety Commission's general counsel has determined that the law applies retroactively, said commission spokesman Scott Wolfson.

The regulations also apply to new clothing. That won't be a problem for large manufacturers and retailers, industry experts say, but it will be a headache for small operators.

"Hopefully there will be more clarity as the deadline approaches," said Hebert.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.

The Associated Press and Mail Tribune intern Molly Wheeler contributed to this report.

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