Hum, What Do I Think?

Well I've been doing my best to understand a new law that will go into affect on February 10th. It's called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. If you haven't read or know about this one it has to do with the selling(or not selling) of all children' s items containing lead based or other"certain specific phthalates" what ever those are. Anyway, I think it is important that what we as consumers are sold are environmentally friendly and clean from harmful poisons. But, what this new laws is stating is that basically all items even at thrift and consignment stores, will have to fall under these guide lines, meaning, basically that everything on the shelves of these stores will either be tested for certain lead levels, or, be chucked in the bin, because they do not have the money to check for such things. I've even read stories that they will be a sort of "Rug Rat clothes police" out checking local garage sales handcuffing stay at home moms in the back of squad cars for selling their children's baby clothes. (That one seemed far fetched to me.) I've also read stories that tell us that legislation doesn't expect thrift stores and consignment stores owners who can't afford to test their products to be penalized under this law, yet in the same line it says that they that are found to be selling any product that has lead in it will be prosecuted. I can't figure it out! It all seems so muddy and mangled in knots. I can't find anything that can explain it straight for me. I don't want these stores to stop selling used clothing for kids. It's usually how I find decent jeans for my daughter. I can't afford to buy 4 pairs of jeans at $30 a pop every time she grows 2 inches! And, at the same time I quite confused because obviously, at the heart of this issue is to help create a more "Green" environment and to protect the kids. Well, isn't recycling clothing part of that ideal protect Mother Earth deal? And what am I? The grown up idiot that allows my child to eat paint chips? Plus, What am I supposed to do with all of these clothes my child grows out of? If the thrift stores can't use them and I can't sell them. I guess I'll just stand on a street corner with a sign that says "Kids clothing NOT for sale!" throwing them away seems such a waste. Perhaps Craig's list will be jammed packed with free children's items. Or perhaps, I won't see any changes? I don't know what to think about this!