The end of second hand?

I know numerous people who make baby/children's items by hand and sell them. I have bought numerous things that have been hand made for my children. Maybe you have too?? I would say that 97% of the clothes and toys that we buy for the girls are second hand and who knows how old. If it is in good condition and clean I have no problem buying it. One of my most favorite things to buy used is children's books because there are great deals to be found!! For those who only like to buy brand new, nothing will change in 2009, but for those like me who enjoy supporting small businesses who hand make toys and clothes and buy things used, life is about to get shaken up!! A bill has been passed and effective February 10, 2009 all children's products have to be tested for lead and must come with a certificate indicating as much. If something was manuactured before this date say, a copy of Green Eggs and Ham then it must get tested before it can be sold which will cost thousands of dollars, or it can not be sold and effectively will be destroyed.....libraries and second hand store will not be allowed to accept them even as donations!! This new bill is going to affect everyone who has children. It will affect books, clothing, stuffed animals, wooden furniture, any kind of fabric, hair brushes etc. Anything you can imagine that relates to children 12 years and younger. Second had stores and consignment shops will go out of business, small business owners who make burp cloths or winter hats will have to stop operation and you and I will have no choice but to buy toys and clothes from major manufacturers in places like China who will be the only ones who can afford to test their items. And costs for all children's items are going to go up because manufacturers are going to pass their testing costs onto the consumers!!

I'm all for taking measures to protect our children, but large toy manufacturers in China were the ones making items with lead and causing problems, not the stay at home Mama's who make doll clothes and sell them on ETSY. Below are some links that explain everything a lot better than I can. If you have kiddos and buy used or hand made childrens items please take the time to read these. We need to work together to make amendments to this bill!!

And just to give you an idea of how this could affect our life, here is a short list of items that we have that are used:

Maddie's bunk beds
Charlotte's crib and dresser
exersaucer
walker
bouncer
papasan chair
tricycle
4 strollers
3 car seats
baby swing
bumbo chair
countless toys
countless books

So Long Natural Children's Products?

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