Using Old Navy or TCP jeans for custom items...allowed?

[joshNginger]

Oh I am so confused by all this!

I currently make kids applique tops, using cotton t-shirts from Old Navy and cotton fabrics.

I was thinking of adding some made to match ruffle jeans, which would be from Old Navy or The Childrens Place, but they have zippers and buttons and grommets...would they be allowed?

Now I'm not even sure if my shirts are ok...

Thanks!! :)

[Former_Member]

If Old Navy and The Children's Place are legally allowed to sell these items why wouldn't anyone else be allowed to resell them with embellishments? I think that as long as what you use to embellish is legal, you should be fine.

[heartsabustin]

If you're taking the garments and "upcycling" them or embellishing them, that is Etsy "legal." If you were buying them from those places and selling them as is, that would not be.

[Former_Member]

You will need to have the GCC's crom Old Navy or any supplier to prove that their items are CPSIA compliant.

First, I'm not sure what the legalities are regarding selling items from Old Navy, etc. to begin with. Many times, these shops will not allow you to embellish their products and then re-sell them. You will have to contact them for that information.

Second, you will need the actual test results for each type of item that you plan on embellishing. They may not want to provide you with that since they probably don't want people to embellish their products for re-sale. Again, you will have to contact them about that.

If it is a problem, there are many other suppliers where you can get blanks that are specifically sold to be embellished for re-sale and you will be able to get the GCC's/test results for those items....

[Former_Member]

oops...

crom=from

[joshNginger]

Thank you all for the replies! :)

I never realized that there may be a problem with embellishing a store bought tee...definitely food for thought.

Is there a list of suppliers floating around anywhere that provide blanks specifically for embellishment/resale?

thanks again!

[OhFaro]

I resell old (designer) clothes on ebay all the time. I don't say I made them though.

[Former_Member]

There are quite a few companies who sell blanks for these purposes. One is called "Just Blanks", but I don't think that they're the least expensive. A search for "blank t-shirts" should turn up a bunch of places to check out.

[Former_Member]

www.dharmatrading.com

[Former_Member]

Ooops, hit "send" before mentioning that Dharma Trading Company sells lots and lots of blanks!

[Former_Member]

As PicCircusDesigns said you will need from any supplier or retailer that you get the base clothing from a GCC, COC, or test results that have at least the lead levels for the non-exempt portions of the clothing reported to you in PPM. Most fabrics are exempt, but any buttons, zippers, snaps, grommets for lacing, any plastic or metal based additions will require you to keep copies of the test results or other paper work on file and matchable to a specific product that you sell. Also suspect are items that have screen printing instead of dying to produce the patterns on the fabric since the CPSC lumps most of the inks used to do this process as a surfacing coating akin to paint, which has stricter limits and more types of tests than other children's products.
Though it's required for manufacturers, importers, and retailers to have on file the test results there is no portion of this law that requires them to make the test results, GCCs, or COCs available to the public. It's doubtful that a major retailers like Old Navy or The Childrens Place are willing to to part with the required information to what they would consider a re-seller. Even companies like Gerber that acknowledge many of their products are used for embellished resale by crafters are reluctant to provide the required info unless you are ordering "factory direct", in which case you would in effect become an authorized reseller of their products. Basically even if you did nothing to the product in the way of embellishment you would still need to have the testing paperwork on file the same as a regular retailer would keep at their corporate office. Under the requirements of the CPSIA, in the case of being an authorized dealer, the manufacture is required to include the neccessary paperwork with each shipment.

[Former_Member]

American Apparel has really cute blank items. Lots of colors, too. They have a pretty decent wholesale option as well.

[thesittingtree]

I assume it's ok, but I hadn't thought of that. I was gifted a box of brand new blank t's (some being from old navy) and I hand dyed them and added applique. I'm selling them to raise money for our local food shelf. Going to check out your shop right now!!

[TheRusticHome]

You can sell them, cotton fabrics are exempt.
And if you are using Brand items from Old Navy, etc. you are fine as far as the zippers, etc.

[Former_Member]

TheRusticHome, the zippers and other non-fabric parts of the clothing should be CPSIA compliant but the only proof that she would have as to that would be her receipts that state that she bought the item during the time frame that required CPSIA compliance was at a certain level. The reciepts may not give the type of proof of "due diligence" of being assured that the specific piece is in complete compliancy with the government requirements.

[Former_Member]

I usually get my blanks from blankapparel.com - they ship them out very quickly, and their prices are reasonable.

[NotMyTreeStore]

I think buying items from a major manufacturer (and even having the receipt) is, in itself, due diligence. Major manufacturers are required to abide by the laws as well; therefore, it is reasonable to assume that their items are in compliance.

[soulinchains]

great links thanks

[Former_Member]

Just a word of warning - some stores such as kohl's don't approve of resellers. I do use their towels for embroidery but because they don't allow people to resell their merchandise, I don't make many of them.

[NotMyTreeStore]

I'm confused. How could a place like Kohl's (or any other place) possibly control or place specific limits on what happens to their merchandise once it leaves the store? They don't have a copyright or a trademark on a cotton towel. Goodwill can't resell things that are donated to them by people who originally bought them from Kohl's? Yard sales? Online auction sites? Something very unique and specific to a store's brand I can understand, maybe. But a towel? Or a plain t-shirt? I don't get it. Even books - which are copyrighted - can be resold.

[Former_Member]

jakboutique says:
I'm confused. How could a place like Kohl's (or any other place) possibly control or place specific limits on what happens to their merchandise once it leaves the store? They don't have a copyright or a trademark on a cotton towel. Goodwill can't resell things that are donated to them by people who originally bought them from Kohl's? Yard sales? Online auction sites? Something very unique and specific to a store's brand I can understand, maybe. But a towel? Or a plain t-shirt? I don't get it. Even books - which are copyrighted - can be resold.
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I wonder the same thing. I find this all so confusing. I want to make sure I am doing everything legally. For the teeny tiny amount of money we are making it is so much technical stuff. It is great that there are regulations to protect consumers but it sure makes it difficult for anyone to start up a business. A shame in this economy.
I think that any profit I may make this year will be thrown to my account to keep the IRS happy. ..Sigh..

[Former_Member]

This is from Kohl's website
"Kohl's offers merchandise to consumers through this Site and its retail stores. Kohl's is a retailer, not a wholesaler, and Kohl's does not sell to individuals or dealers for the purpose of resale to others. Kohl's reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to limit the quantity of items purchased per person, per household or per order"

[Former_Member]

This is from Kohl's website
"Kohl's offers merchandise to consumers through this Site and its retail stores. Kohl's is a retailer, not a wholesaler, and Kohl's does not sell to individuals or dealers for the purpose of resale to others. Kohl's reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to limit the quantity of items purchased per person, per household or per order"
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i don't know if that applies to upcylcing tho. i think it's aimed at those who would purchase and resell as is.

[Former_Member]

sunflowersbydesign says:
This is from Kohl's website
"Kohl's offers merchandise to consumers through this Site and its retail stores. Kohl's is a retailer, not a wholesaler, and Kohl's does not sell to individuals or dealers for the purpose of resale to others. Kohl's reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to limit the quantity of items purchased per person, per household or per order"
_________________________________________________________

i don't know if that applies to upcylcing tho. i think it's aimed at those who would purchase and resell as is.

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I have to agree that that is different. If someone wanted to purchase my hats and add a bow or something to them to resell I would not mind. If however, they were going to just resell them as is then I am not interested in that. It may seem strange to some but for many of us we are making such a small profit margin it is a insult that someone is going to profit off of our work.

I am sure that the big companies have there reasons for not wanting their items to be resold, but if you are altering it a creating something totally different it seems like that is different then just plain reselling. Because it is all so confusing I am avoiding getting into any more embroidery or any such work where I would have to buy a towel, bib, etc that I would be working with and reselling. I do not want to step on any toes and get myself in trouble.

[Former_Member]

There are quite a few places where you can get blanks specifically for the purpose of embellishing and re-selling and I'm sure they are less expensive than buying something retail....