No fun and games (literally) Latest ban in the U.S.

Hey, just wondering who out there has heard about this and what y'all think.

Basically, as of February 10th, it will illegal to resell children's clothing, toys, books etc. unless it can be proved that they have been tested for lead and phthalates. This includes (from what I can tell) selling vintage toys and books on ebay and craigslist.

ETA: another link

What about adults? :(

Dont we get clothes / toys / books / etc that were tested too? :(

If you like toys, they will have to be tested (if they were originally created/geared towards 13 and under) too.

Not really any of my business but how do they plan to enforce it? I mean really they cannot police every selling outlet, especially on ebay etc and if you are selling it on ebay and post worldwide will you still have to have it tested if say someone in the UK buys it where this law doesn't exist!

I can see that they are trying to do the right thing here by kids but...... hurmph!

Wow, even if people on ebay or with garage sales can get away with selling, that's going to have a huge impact on stores that resell children's clothing.  Ouch.

 

I mean, it's clear the problem it's meant to solve, but still...

That stinks! I know you can buy your own lead tester. I wonder if you can link it with your computer and create your own certificate that's required. I doubt it though cause it seems it would be easy to manipulate. This is just stupid...where in the hell am I supposed to file all of those certificates if I want to sell that crap at a garage sale or donate it? What do I do with all of the stuff that I have right now? Ugh! Stupid laws........

The two articles are very vague.  Manufactures need to provide certificates but it is not clear whether retailers or more importantly re-sellers will have to do the same.  But in the end, if it gets lead painted toys out of the mouths of children than it is a good thing.

Original Post by loriklorik:

What about adults? :(

Dont we get clothes / toys / books / etc that were tested too? :(

 I think you'll be fine as long as you don't put your clothes/toys/books/etc in your mouth lorik! 

Original Post by caverlady:

Original Post by loriklorik:

What about adults? :(

Dont we get clothes / toys / books / etc that were tested too? :(

 I think you'll be fine as long as you don't put your clothes/toys/books/etc in your mouth lorik! 

Putting these items in your mouth is only one small portion of the problem. The lead in the items leaches out. When you handle the item you are getting lead dust on your hands and clothes. You breathe it in and you accidentally ingest the lead dust through handling food and utensils.

It's still a stupid law.

Original Post by loriklorik:

What about adults? :(

Dont we get clothes / toys / books / etc that were tested too? :(

People tend to worry less about adults. Not saying that's fair or right, that's just how it is.

Honestly,as far as lead goes, I'd be less worried about a used toy or outfit from the Goodwill than about some of the cheap shoddily made new toys you find at 99 cent stores these days, as much as I love 99 cent stores.

This is so stupid. Parents need to be responsible. Is there a cheap, easy way to test for lead? If so then make it available to parents so they can test their children's own toys. Next thing you know there will be a law limiting the length of shoe laces so as to prevent us from unnecessary risk of tripping over our own feet. Give me a break. Yes, new toys should be tested, but if it extends to re-sales of used toys, that's just ridiculous.

Think about all the toys that would end up in a land-fill instead of ina new, loving home. I can't believe environmentalists wouldn't raise a stink about that. Actually, by all rights, shouldn't we have to test for lead before we throw it away into a landfill?

I have a bunch of toys I was going to take to Once Upon a Child and was toying (no pun intended, LOL) with the idea of waiting until after the Christmas Rush of resellers was over. Now I am definately going today. After Feb I may be stuck with the toys from what it sounds like and won't get any of my money back. That is crazy. I agree kids need to be safe but they should develop a better system?

Original Post by caverlady:

Original Post by loriklorik:

What about adults? :(

Dont we get clothes / toys / books / etc that were tested too? :(

 I think you'll be fine as long as you don't put your clothes/toys/books/etc in your mouth lorik! 

 But thats half the fun!! <3

Original Post by coffincritter:

 People tend to worry less about adults. Not saying that's fair or right, that's just how it is.

 Children are also much more suceptible to lead toxicity since it can cause developmental problems (which aren't a problem for fully developed adults) at doses lower than other toxic endpoints.

 The same amount of lead ingested by a child vs. an adult is a higher dose for a child since dose (from a human toxicology perspective) is dependent on body weight (i.e. mg of lead per kg of body weight).

Original Post by krilia:

Wow, even if people on ebay or with garage sales can get away with selling, that's going to have a huge impact on stores that resell children's clothing.  Ouch.

 

I mean, it's clear the problem it's meant to solve, but still...

 I'm wondering whether people might be able to sell the stuff to the resale stores anyway, and then the STORE not the person is responsible for the testing before they can sell it for use with a child.  Don't the stores usually go through a cleaning process and all that anyway?  I'd assume that they could just tack the testing on with all of that.  Though I'm not sure how they'd deal with the stuff they can't sell after testing.

Or maybe you can sell things, just have to put a disclaimer on them that says they are not for use with children... of course, you can't help what people do with them...

I'm thinking most of the really old toys and things would be able to get away with that.  Most of them are used as collector's items more than actual toys anyway... For example, I know a guy who collects those old lunch boxes especially the really old painted and imprinted metal ones, I don't know anybody who actually buys those to use for their kids' food...