Planet Laundry Nov 2020

INDUSTRY ADVOCACY

sponsored similar legislation in the House, expressing the laundromat industry’s concerns over these types of changes. The CLA, along with a number of vending industry associations, also has reached out to its contacts at the U.S. Mint. The result of these discussions appears to be a re-draft of the bill, which features amended the language, authorizing the Mint to indeed consider new coin metal compositions. However, the revised legislation would require that there be industry stakeholder engagement and that any composition changes be“seamless,”meaning that the resulting coins would be accepted in the majority of existing coin mechanisms and would not result in a major financial impact on small businesses that rely on coins. “There doesn’t appear to be an imminent threat to the quarter,”Wallace noted. “The CLA has been talking directly with the offices of the cosponsors of the legislation, and we are working with other trade groups that also are invested in making sure any changes to coins aren’t disruptive to our respective industries. “The language of the bill has been amended in such a way that we are comfortable with it and in a position to support it.” The Coin Metal Modification Authorization and Cost Savings Act is likely to be considered during the current Congressional session. CLA Opposes FTC Recommendation on Garment Care Labels The Coin Laundry Association recently submitted comments in opposition to the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendation to repeal the rule requiring clothing to include care labels. The comments were submitted jointly, along with those of the Association of Home ApplianceManufacturers and the American Cleaning Institute. The Drycleaning & Laundry Institute also separately submitted comments opposing the repeal, which would result in clothing manufacturers no longer being required to place care label instructions on their garments. “We believe care labels provide important information for our self-service customers, enabling them to successfully and properly launder their garments without damage,” said CLA President and CEO BrianWallace. “Care labels also are an important part of the very basic processing of garments at the wash-dry-fold counter. Most laundry attendants are trained to

look at the care label first to identify the proper way to care for particular garments. “If manufacturers were no longer required to include care labels, we feel the potential result very likely would be an increase in customer complaints regarding damaged garments,” Wallace continued. “And, for garment-care professionals, it would be a rather murky redress to require their customers go back to a clothing retailer or manufacturer for satisfaction over a damaged item.” Beyond the association’s submitted comments, Wallace also took a meeting with FTC Commissioner Rohit Chopra, to discuss the matter directly and further emphasize the laundry industry’s concerns over the repeal of this rule. “Hopefully, we’ve been able to stop the repeal of the current rule,”Wallace said,“but also perhaps motivate the FTC to revisit its current care labeling standard and to look for ways to improve it, based on today’s garments and modern cleaning methods.”

REVISED FOR 2020

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coinlaundry.org November 2020

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