Lawrence and the economy
- Local business climate growing colder: Experts offer tips to survive recession
- Auto repair industry thrives
- Coping with recession
- Real estate market looking up
- Government hit with budget cuts
- More people buying cheaper food basics at grocery stores
- Slow sales hurt artists, but work still on display
- Man moving on after layoff, bankruptcy
- Home-building enters another year on decline
- Army interest
There’s no Second Chance in Lawrence anymore.
A longtime downtown business closed at the end of January, but the economy was only partly to blame.
A new consumer protection law was the primary reason for the closing of Second Chance Children’s and Maternity Store, 847 Mass., managers said.
“The economy was making things difficult; we were struggling,” assistant manager Emily Lundberg said.
“We were still planning on staying open; the last straw was the new law,” manager Diana Buchanan said.
The new federal law makes it illegal for anyone to sell children’s items such as toys and clothes that contain lead or phthalates commonly found in plastics. It was supposed to go into effect this month. Businesses would have to have their merchandise tested for lead and other materials.
Second Chance bought secondhand toys, clothes and other children’s items from the public and then resold them. The store also sold other merchandise, such as maternity wear.
There is confusion over the new law, however. Thrift stores — which Second Chance was considered to be — are exempt. But there still isn’t anything to keep them from being held liable if someone gets lead poisoning from an item purchased from a thrift store. At least that’s how Second Chance interpreted the law.
But just as the law was to go into effect this week, on Tuesday, the federal government delayed its implementation for a year. The delay was intended to give lawmakers an opportunity to clear up confusion about the law.
Nevertheless, Second Chance decided to close a few weeks ago. Consideration had been given to other ways of keeping the store open, such as expanding the maternity wear section and switching the customer focus to it. But it would have taken too long to build up that part of the business in this troubled economic time, Buchanan said.
Second Chance had been in business in Lawrence for more than 30 years. It had been at its current location for the past five years. It was owned by G.R. Laughlin, husband of the late Amy Laughlin, who also owned the store until her death last year.
Comments
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OonlyBonly (anonymous) says…
Too bad.More government intervention in areas where it isn't needed.
icacrynette (anonymous) says…
That is sad that they closed. I liked going there to shop for my girls. I think it was more the economy instead of the law.
Did_I_say_that (DIST) says…
The last line, “It was owned by G.R. Laughlin, husband of the late Amy Laughlin, who also owned the store until her death last year,’’ is probably the most likely reason this store closed. Mrs. Laughlin was an owner/operator. The profitable operation of a small business is significantly diminished when the hours of an owner have to be replaced by a paid employee.
KatWrangler (anonymous) says…
I agree. I think the store closed because of the owners death late last year.You would think in this economic climate, they would be very busy.Guess I have to go to Topeka now.
Wallythewalrus (anonymous) says…
Hey, logrithmic, I am in agreement with you. In this economic downturn I would glady use an XRF gun to test a box of toys. Size of box limited to 3'x3'x2'. 10$ a box. Clothing would have to be sent to a lab for testing. I would only charge shipping and a 10% markup. Of course the material would have to have a piece cut out of it. I love the CPSC. It is about time we protected the consumer from China imports. This includes asbestos containing products and products containing deadly chemicals as well. Also I would be glad to test any pottery with glazing, espically from Mexico. I would also suggest having all window parts, and floors tested on your house if you have children under the age of 5.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
'Cause we know who is an expert on shutting down businesses in Lawrence......
promitida (anonymous) says…
Amy was the heart of Second Chance. I enjoyed working there for four and a half years. I am so sad to see it close. I'll miss the families who frequented the store when I worked there.
icacrynette (anonymous) says…
It was a nice place to go. The people there were always nice. It is too bad that they had to close! I have gotten a lot of nice clothes there for my girls, they always made sure everything was in good condition before they sold it. Thank you Second Chance!
nickhawk (anonymous) says…
I hate to see it close. We purchased a lot of very good clothing there years ago for our children.
lounger (anonymous) says…
Sad thing here. I knew when I managed the Salvation Army thrift store and the lease was lost a few years back that an economic downturn was coming. It seems that second hand shops are feeling added pressure from Government and regulations. I find it amazing that the Goodwill is still in operation-must be the kindness from Target's Donations...
badger (anonymous) says…
That's too bad. I bought some toys and clothes there for my nephews a few years ago, and found the folks there to be friendly and helpful.I get the idea behind protecting kids from lead and phthalates, but it does bug me to say that a secondhand store, if they're not willing to test all their merchandise, would be considered liable if someone brought them a toy and they sold it. It just seems like a short-sighted government decision that will hurt small businesses and encourage more people to throw out old toys instead of giving them to a secondhand store, and then go out and spend money on newly manufactured toys and fill up the landfills with packaging from them.I mean, if Target sold a toy that turned out to have lead in it, would it be Target held responsible or would it be the manufacturer? I think that's a question worth asking.