The coming ban on thrift store clothes

Julie buys most of our kids' clothes at thrift stores. If you've never been to one, you'd be surprised at the excellent quality stuff you can get there for very little. Well-off people donate lightly used clothes all the time -- and anybody can buy them there (N.B., the purpose of thrift stores is not to provide cheap clothes for the poor, though that is part of what they do; the money thrift stores like the Salvation Army's outlets make from the sale of clothes funds their services to the poor). If you took the thrift store clothes out of my kids' closets, they'd have very little to wear.

But that's just what a law about to go into effect next month will do. From the LA Times story:

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

It gets worse. Any clothing manufacturer that can't afford testing will be out of business:

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 such as Molly Orr, owner of Molly O Designs in Las Vegas.

Orr has already produced her spring line of children's clothes. She says she can't afford the $50,000 it would cost to have a private lab test her clothing line, so she's trying to sell her inventory at a steep discount before Feb. 10. After that, she is preparing to close her business.

"We have a son with autism, so we are all about cleaning up the toxins that our children are exposed to," she said. "But I think the law needs to be looked at more closely to see how it is affecting the economy in general."

Look, I think we all want to have safer toys and clothes for our kids. The law was well-intentioned. But this is crazy. As Erin Manning, who sent the link to me, writes, "Just what we need in a bad economy: no way for parents to buy affordable used clothing for their kids."

Crunchy folk, get on the phone or e-mail to Congress right now and tell them to pass an amended version of the bill to exempt thrift and consignment shops, and to protect mom-and-pop manufacturers. Even if you don't go to consignment or thrift stores, lots of people do, especially poor people for whom buying clothing like this is not a choice, but a necessity.

UPDATE: Reader Peter K. has provided a link to the Handmade Toy Alliance, whose site helpfully provides a link to assist you in finding your own Congressman.