NEWPORT — Dollar Tree Stores will have to permanently keep all jewelry off its shelves in Vermont and pay the State $42,500 in settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Vermont Attorney General’s Office in July 2014.
The suit alleged that Dollar Tree violated a prior settlement with the State to minimize children’s exposure to toxic substances by refraining from selling jewelry in Vermont. The lawsuit alleged that Dollar Tree failed to comply with a 2010 settlement under the Vermont Consumer Protection Act that resolved claims that Dollar Tree had sold products containing high amounts of toxic lead and cadmium.
According to the State’s 2014 complaint, Dollar Tree violated a provision in the earlier settlement barring it from selling any items “commonly understood to be jewelry” by selling jewelry, including rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, in its stores in Barre, Bennington, Burlington, Derby/Newport, and Rutland.
Under the new settlement, “jewelry” is defined specifically to include necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings, brooches and anklets, principally designed and intended as an ornament to be worn on the human body, regardless of the material from which they are made.
Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell noted that the new settlement “reflects my continued commitment to keeping products that may contain toxic substances out of the hands of Vermont’s children.”
