Like many parents, I clothe Kidlet in hand-me-down, second-hand-store, children's resale shop clothes. Can't afford to purchase new. Silly to purchase new when perfectly good like-new clothing is available otherwise. Right? We parents won't have a choice after February 10.
And handmade clothes? No way can anyone sell them. Forget earning money with your own handiwork.
I'm horrified. Is there nothing we can do?
From the Times article:
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.
UPDATE: Publisher's Weekly updates readers about book publishers' fight to exempt children's books from this testing restriction. Read the article here.