I googled.........

Here is a link that might be useful: New safety rules

It sounds like there were maybe many assumptions made in the article linked above.

There is much more of the actual law linked below.

Here is a link that might be useful: New Consumer Product Safety Law Greatly Expands Regulation of Products Manufactured or Sold in the United States

Thanks for the link, Debby. After reading that, I'm thinking that it needs to make headline news...right now and far-reaching!!! People are trying to economize now more than ever and thrift shopping is on the rise. Too many people won't be aware of this new safety rule and tempers will flare.

Leslie/KS (who will call the local Bargain Box tomorrow and see if they are aware of this)

This sounds like a bad law that required more thinking than it was given. I read about it a few days ago in the business section of our paper. With the Salvation Army, thrift stores, St Vincent DePaul, etc, there is too much at risk of being demolished by this law. They need to just grandfather everything in and understand that eventually things will come down the pike that all have been tested.

Oh boy another one. We in California are used to such things. You cannot buy many items on the shelves in our state without reading all the lead/carcinogenic cards scattered all over.

I agree with Sheilajoyce. More bad law. We have greater problems in the US to worry about than a snap on a child's item of clothing that will never come into contact with the child. The fear-mongering has gotten out of hand. We need to bring real science back into our schools and classes in critical thinking.

Good Grief! What kind of law will they think of next! I just don't know how we all we "adults" survived childhood without all these "laws" to protect us. Ha! Phooey!

I wonder, just wonder if it is not a way for retailers to help themselves out of the recession they are in? Or at least some of them pushed for this bill to pass?

I hope one way around this bill is for moms of this world to get together in neighborhoods and do clothing swaps. That is not selling. Swap clothes of their little ones, maybe that will catch on. With the economy the way it is it is a shame to have perfectly good clothes all going to the dump because lawmakers can't get their act together. The law is way too broad.

Just my 2cents.

I've been reading about this law...if you sew and make
items to be given to children, you will have trouble
because of this law!!

From what I heard on talk radio, yes, the new guidelines are coming, but I heard, it is for craft shows.

But I haven't read up on this at all.

Moni

Another ridiculous law....just seems that there is more than this to worry about.

This really gets my ire up. They are more concerned about clothing than they are about pedophiles and child rapists and killers. I think Congress needs another shakeup. They shoved all these articles down our throats with Nafta and overseas imports and now they are worried about lead? It is time to bring back made in USA! Someone should email this article to the big news people and let them see it!! Maybe then the people will get to see what is really going on while we sleep!!

More waste added to the landfills.. perfectly good clothing and toys.

Good grief! What's next?

Well, it might seem like a dumb law, but clearly this has to do with all the problems we've had in the past few years regarding imports, most notably from China.

The government has come under huge criticism for not being able to protect our food and manufactured goods coming in from countries that don't have the same safety standards at their point of origin.

I bought some cute Christmas mugs and plates from JoAnne's after clearance sale. I was thrilled until I brought them home, my husband looks at the bottom of the mug - it says "Made in China" and the first words out of his mouth were are they safe to use? And I had no idea. I'll bet no one from JoAnne's checked the lead content of the paint or sealer.

Major manufacturers with plants in China have an obligation to inspect their products to comply with US safety standards. But what about products bought from distributers who just purchase foreign goods made independantly?

I went ahead and used the mugs, but I have to admit, it made me stop and think.

I bought some cute Christmas mugs and plates from JoAnne's after clearance sale. I was thrilled until I brought them home, my husband looks at the bottom of the mug - it says "Made in China" and the first words out of his mouth were are they safe to use? And I had no idea. I'll bet no one from JoAnne's checked the lead content of the paint or sealer.

Try finding something that isn't made in China. And just because it says it's Made in the USA doesn't mean the products used to make the finished item, weren't made in China.

Back in the 50's and 60's everything was stamped "made in Japan". This thread has got me to wondering if the lead content of those items has been tested for the lead content. (plastic items and ceramic items) We used them and somehow we have gotten by. There are alot of antiques that have lead in them such as lead crystal. I am sure the antique dealers would want to do the right thing and take all the antiques that contain lead to the dump...I mean wouldn't that be the right thing to do??? But then we will have the problem on contamination in our land fills and we would need to decontaminate our landfills and that presents a whole other issue. OH, what are we to do?? We are going to H**ll in a hand basket. (tongue in cheek) Another law made by fear-mongers...Some people need to live in a sanitization tank. LOL

Well....it's inevitable....we're all gonna die!

Just put this on my tombstone. "Next time read the label".

Great. I don't buy things made in China...with one exception...the dadgummed shoes...Crocs that I wear. Almost everything I buy comes from yard sales or thrift shops. Every plate, dish, bowl, etc. in my house is made in USA, and most are over 40 years old. I have thrown out and given away beautiful dishes made in China. I don't do it as much for health reasons as just for the way I feel about having to buy every darned thing from China.

If they want to protect us...start at the Walmarts with their screwy testing machine and the dollar stores.

"Well....it's inevitable....we're all gonna die! " Yeah but I don't want to go before I have to. LOL

From the Mayo Clinic:

"Test imported dishware or pottery with a lead swab, available at most hardware stores, before cooking or serving food in it. Lead paints and glazes are still used outside the United States and Europe, and contaminated dishware and pottery -- particularly from Mexico and China -- has been found on store shelves in the United States.
Watch out for toys imported from China, cheap kids' costume jewelry and candy made in Mexico -- these products could be contaminated with lead and pose a risk to children.
Avoid drinking regularly from leaded crystal if you're pregnant."

Just saying.

I know quite a few people that couldn't clothe their family without 2nd hand places. And selling on Ebay, garage sales, etc, is a way for a LOT of people to help keep their families afloat financially. Hmmmm, maybe if we could have all the monies spent on the 2008 elections for all candidates for all offices, we could then give it to the hardworking, but still poor, people to live on in our great country.

Shirley

Egads! More from WebMD (can you tell I'm bored. LOL!)

"Lead is a very strong poison... A single high, toxic dose of lead can cause severe emergency symptoms. However, it is more common for lead poisoning to build up slowly over time. This occurs from repeated exposure to small amounts of lead. In this case, there may not be any obvious symptoms, but the lead can still cause serious health problems over time, such as difficulty sleeping or lowered IQ in children.

Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can affect children's developing nerves and brains. The younger the child, the more harmful lead can be. Unborn children are the most vulnerable.

Children get lead in their bodies when they put lead objects in their mouths, especially if they swallow the lead object. They can even get lead poison on their fingers from touching a dusty or peeling lead object, and then putting their fingers in their mouths or eating food afterward. Tiny amounts of lead can also be inhaled.

Testing shows that many children have too much lead in their blood. Overall, about 1 in 20 preschoolers have high levels of lead in their blood. Any child can be affected. Children living in cities or older houses are more likely to have high levels...

There are many possible symptoms of lead poisoning. Lead can affect many different parts of the body. Over time, even low levels of lead exposure can harm a child's mental development. The possible health problems get worse as the level of lead in the blood gets higher. Possible complications include:

Reduced IQ
Slowed body growth
Hearing problems
Behavior or attention problems
Failure at school
Kidney damage "

I think I'm gonna get some of those lead swabs and test those Christmas mugs :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Medline Encyclopedia : Lead Poisoning

This will actually benefit China. If people can't buy used clothing and toys they will buy new. China can make it cheaper - so they will sell a lot. I'm sure they will have to do lead testing before sending it to us.. so that may be helpful. Then again.. weren't they supposed to do testing on the dog food and all the other contaminated stuff they sent us?

I'm glad some (all?) of you were able to make sense of the law. The small print is difficult, and then you add in the 'legalize', and it's very hard to understand. Leave it to the politicians to mess things up. Oh, wait! they already have......I read part of it til my eyes protested & tried scanning more. I'm assuming the section that says 'distributors' are held accountable is where the thrift stores would be caught? Oh, brother! More legal junk to try to decipher!!

I am not undersanding why thrift stores would have to do anything? Would not the products have already been tested at the point of manufacture or distribution?

Then all they would have to do is put up a sign to inform people that the products may be older and contain lead. A sort of 'buyer beware' warning.

Tally, if you are interested, I can email you a review of the medical research literature on lead poisoning. I wrote it in 2005 so there are a few things that may not be up to date but the issues are the same...