I’ve written about CPSIA already — and the harm it will do to independent crafters. But as I was catching up with my reading this weekend, I found that there is another group of sellers that this law will hurt: second-hand clothes sellers.
Because of the way that CPSIA is written, all secondhand children’s clothes must be tested for lead and phthalates befor it can be sold. That means that most thrift stores, especially those ran by non-profits, will cease carrying childrens clothes. The Simple Dollar has a thorough explanation of what that means:
So what happens? Most thrift shops are currently not accepting any children’s clothing at all. Sometime in the next month or so, all thrift shops will have to clear all of their children’s clothing from the shelves … and send them to the landfill…
Used children’s clothing stores, like Kid to Kid, are basically going to be forced out of business. With no way to easily distinguish between “safe” and “unsafe” clothes without testing every item that comes in for lead and phthalates (which is fairly expensive), these stores can’t stay in business. Either their business model will have to change or they’re done.
I don’t know how to drive the point home to our politicians: this law does far more harm than good. It is a sweeping piece of legislation that is far too broad and it will destroy independent businesses at a time that people can ill afford to be without work, as well as the thrift stores that provide clothing for families who can’t afford the prices that other consumers have driven ever upwards.
Edit: Unfortunately, I can add even more to this post. Second-hand children’s books must also be tested before sales, according to The Bookshop Blog. That means that used book stores are going to have just as much trouble as clothing stores.
