New safety rules for children's clothes have stores in a fit (Anti Lead Law)

The Los Angeles Times ^ | Jan 2, 2009 | Alana Semuels

[Question Liberal Authority]

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children's clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -- including clothing -- be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven't been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead.

"They'll all have to go to the landfill," said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

[Question Liberal Authority]

The way this law is written, it may be illegal in America to buy or sell any used toy. This law has the potential to put millions of people out of work.

[samtheman]

Socialist do-gooders on a rampage.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The testing-lab lobbyists got this law passed, no doubt.

[Troll_House_Cookies]

“They’ll all have to go to the landfill,” said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

WRONG.

Sell them back to China at a HUGE discount. Let them worry about it.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

This is a full employment bill for Lawyers(liars),
testers and foreign material makers.

[wedwo]

Come on people, what’s going on here? We’ve become a wimp nation. How do we stand up against this crap? Every day more and more of this stupidity is being shovel down our throats and we stand there and take it.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

They’ll all have to go in a “landfill.”
In our neck of the woods, that’s called an attic.
By the way...what do Californians call a black market?

[hermgem]

The same do gooders that brought you tripling of food prices after their degree to transform farmland into ethanol growing acreage.
Another side effect:
Dead zones in the Gulf while flushing fertilizer run-off down the Mississippi.

[CindyDawg]

Maybe also, it's a way to force Americans to buy new stuff to pump up the retail economy. If so, look for bans or stricter restrictions on garage sells next.

[668 - Neighbor of the Beast]

Psst! Hey buddy, wanna buy a romper?

[kaylar]

And look for a crack down on ebay sellers, too.

[Vinnie]

Sell them back to China at a HUGE discount. Let them worry about it.

They'll just grind them up and add it to the wheat gluten they ship here.

[oh8eleven]

Not a first ... anyone remember Tris?

Karl Marx and the Pajama Game
[snip] "In 1977, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned the sale of Tris-impregnated garments and forced manufacturers to take back millions of pairs of pajamas."

[Question_Assumptions]

If it prevents the sale of used toys and clothing for children, it will also hit poor people who rely on those things for their kids the hardest.

[Truth29]

Sounds like we need another bailout. s/ A crisis created by government which will then be used as the basis for another government invervention to help the people hurt by the government...

[pepsi_junkie]

Could someone help me understand how toxic lead really is? From actions like this you’d think it was worse than some sort of highly radioactive waste. I know lead poisoning is real and that it effects the brain but is casual contact sufficient? Lead based paint was a problem because it was being eaten by kids, not because it was being handled by them.

[polymuser]

This will reduce the future number of liberals and Democrats.

[DYngbld]

This will shut down consignment shops, and many other places that people with one income and several children shop.

Put a sign on the door that reads sale on all 48" doll cloths. (not intended for children under 12)

[Travis T. OJustice]

Also, Salvation Army, and Goodwill stores, where many low income people shop, or at least SHOULD shop, for bargain price clothes, but they rarely have Michael Jordan sneaks, apple bottom jeans (and boots with the fur) or Stop Snitching t-shirts.

[Travis T. OJustice]

I used to carry my lead sinkers in my mouth so I didn’t lose them, and never suffered any helath problems. Of course, in solid form like a lead sinker, they are less prone to causing health problems than when a lead paint dust is inhalable.