Thursday, February 5, 2009

Second Hand Clothing and CPSIA

Since I use a lot of thrift store clothing in my products, I wrote to a major company to see what their take is on CPSIA. Their response, I believe, would be echoed by other major clothing companies so I have chosen not to publicly identify my source. The emphasis is mine:

This company (a long-established and credible one) has "worked closely with its suppliers and third-parties (including testing laboratories) to ensure that its products comply with or exceed the requirements of all applicable products safety regulations, including the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (the "CPSIA") as regards lead and phthalates. Unfortunately, however, we cannot vouch for or make representations concerning second-hand garments that have been in circulation or use after sale. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

While it appears third-party testing for certified components is still under discussion with the Consumer Products Safety Commission (at least as I write this), I believe--and this is just my opinion and not at this point a fact--that second-hand materials will most certainly not be exempt from third party testing if they are to be used for children's products.

For me, anyway, hearing from this large corporation puts in doubt whether I will continue using thrift store and recycled materials in my children's products.

I will certainly keep an eye on this issue and keep you posted.

Cheers!--Janyce

1 comment:

Sinclair said...

What a shame that we have to decide to abandon upcycling/repurposing in order to comply with this law. Your items are beautiful, and I make many things out of used goods. I want my children safe also, but come on! The problems never were with clothing/textiles (except maybe iron-on patches?). This law is another example of overreaction to compensate for the prior lethargy in testing and compliance with laws that were ALREADY in place. Sorry for the rant.