Recall: Tris-Treated Children's Clothing Enjoined From Sale by Federated Department Stores

Court Enjoins Federated Department Stores, Inc. From Selling Tris-Treated Children's Clothing

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Aug. 31) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Judge Timothy S. Hogan, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, today signed a consent order permanently enjoining Federated Department Stores, Inc. from further sales of children's wearing apparel which contains the flame-retardant chemical TRIS.

Studies have indicated TRIS to be a potential carcinogen in humans.

The government's complaint filed at the request of CPSC charged that Federated stores had been selling children's wearing apparel containing TRIS in violation of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA). Such sales had been observed by Commission investigators as recently as August 13-24 in the following divisions of Federated stores: Gold Circle Stores, Wickliffe, Ohio; Gold Circle Stores, Bedford, Ohio; Gold Circle Stores, Canton, Ohio; Filenes Department Store, Boston, Massachusetts; Shillato's, Louisville, Kentucky; and Rich's, Decatur, Georgia.

Since August 19 the Commission has obtained injunctions against R.H. Macy 6 Co., Inc., Zayre Corporation, Allied Stores Corporation and Lamonts Apparel, Inc. to prevent further sales of Tris-treated children's garments by those stores.

These enforcement actions follow an order of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued on August 11, 1977, permitting the Commission to enforce a statutory ban of Tris-treated wearing apparel against individual companies b found selling the garments. Commission efforts to enforce the TRIS ban had previously ceased as a result of a June 13, 1977, order of the District Court for South Carolina.