January 9, 2009

Thrift Shops Exempted From Lead Rules

Nonprofit thrift stores dodged a bullet as a change to new consumer testing requirements clarified a law that threatened to paralyze children’s clothing sales by February and would have hit consumers relying on thrift stores for child clothing and toys in the tough economy.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) will require all children’s products sold on or after Feb. 10 to be tested to make sure the items had less than 600 parts per million total lead content and less than 0.1 percent specific phthalates, an element that effects plasticity. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) clarified that under the new safety law, “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 standard.” The bill, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Aug. 14, did not make a distinction between domestic manufacturers and resellers, such as nonprofit thrift stores.

Before the clarification, nonprofits like Rockville, Md.-based Goodwill Industries International and The Salvation Army, based in Alexandria, Va., were waiting to see how the law would effect their large thrift store operations.

The Salvation Army was waiting for further clarification before today’s announcement by the CPSC, and was looking at how the change would impact sales levels and analyzing landfill fees, since untested merchandise would have been lawful to sell whether it was hazardous or not, according to Melissa Temme, public relations director at The Salvation Army national headquarters.