By J. Diers
From product recalls and worries over Chinese toys to a statewide ban on kids’ items containing phthalates, shopping for your child—or anyone else’s child—can feel like a hazard unto itself. Naturally, steering clear of toxic materials and other potentially unsafe items is among the most basic priorities of sustainable living, especially on behalf of young children. Unfortunately for green-minded parents, this fear of dangerous toys and baby gear may put them at odds with one of the simplest ways to espouse reuse/recycling principles and oppose consumer waste: secondhand shopping. “If buying new stuff for kids is so fraught
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Plastics make up more than 25 percent of U.S. landfills. And toys and toy packaging account for a large portion of it.
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with health risks,” the dilemma goes, “isn’t buying used stuff even riskier?”
Not necessarily. It’s worth noting that the same federal regulations that keep stores like Target or Toys “R” Us from selling banned and recalled merchandise also apply to secondhand merchants. In fact, these rules generally extend to include individual sellers, e.g. anyone selling stuff on Craigslist or at a neighborhood rummage sale.
“The law makes it illegal to sell a recalled product, whether you’re an individual or a reseller in a thrift store or any type of venue,” says Patty Davis of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. “Are we going to start swooping down on the garage sales? Probably not. [Individual sellers] don’t pose the greatest hazard.” But increases in both media attention and internet-savvy parent advocacy have helped to put many small resellers alike on the lookout for unsafe goods, often via the watch list on her agency’s own
web site.Fear over phthalates
Foremost in the minds of many kid-conscious consumers these days are phthalates. As of last month, a new federal law bans the sale of any and all children’s merchandise containing more than 0.1% of previously common phthalate compounds, long favored by manufacturers as a softening agent in stuff like teething rings and bath toys. Bisphenol A (BPA), lead and choking hazards are other topics that command notable bandwidth among child-safety blogs and consumer reports across the state and beyond. Davis encourages parents to use all available resources and do some research of their own before shopping, especially if it will help allay worries about unsafe products in the used marketplace.
Once Upon A Child is a popular franchise specializing in used clothing, toys and accessories for kids. According to Judy Wells, proprietor of a Once Upon A Child store in Saint Louis Park, shops like hers are pleased and equipped to screen for unsafe toys before they even hit the shelf. Using online sources such as the CPSC site, she and her staff filter incoming merchandise and simply turn away anything that’s been declared officially non grata. Thrift shops such as
Arc’s Value Village and Goodwill may not specialize in baby goods, but they’re equally obliged to keep banned and recalled items out of their inventories.
As for basic cleanliness, Wells says she refuses to resell “anything that’s spotted, ripped or torn.” For incoming items that can’t be sufficiently cleaned by hand, the store houses an industrial power-washer. In any case, it’s common sense for concerned parents to clean secondhand purchases themselves if it’ll ease concerns about their kids’ exposure to third-party cooties. Green-leaning moms and dads can find an increasing number of non-toxic disinfectants in supermarkets and hardware stores, and there are numerous recipes out there for home-brewed, bio-friendly cleaners made with eucalyptus oil or other botanicals.
Hand-me-down sustainability Meanwhile, consumers with a preference (and a budget) for new stuff over hand-me-downs can choose from a number of Twin Cities merchants specializing in naturally crafted, eco-conscious products that are less likely to contain any of the ominous chemicals mentioned above.
Peapods,
Pacifier, Wonderment and
The Green Goober are a few examples of local shops that put a little more Earth-friendly thought into their stock lists.
Still, buying recycled and reusable toys remains a worthy way for any family to cut their level of consumption, not to mention their expenses. What’s more, kids can become part of a conscientious toy chain: For every toy that makes its way into your child’s playtime arsenal, choose an older one to pass along, donate or sell. Not only will you ward off a surplus of unwanted/underused stuff, but you’ll also be feeding a cycle of generosity that helps other parents avoid over-consumption.
For donations,
Second Chance Toys is a notably green-minded organization dedicated to collecting and redistributing hard plastic toys that would otherwise pile up in some unnamed landfill. As your children get older, make them active participants in this out-with-the-old exercise, providing a basis for sustainable living habits and charitable giving.