No Charity Allowed

That is, if new regulations with many unintended consequences go into effect as written:

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.

Awesome. This article highlights the yin and the yang of regulation, reactionary over-regulation due to lax regulation somewhere half-way around the world.

This is not the right time to lay out my whole thought process on regulation and international trade, but suffice it to say I don't think that "Molly Orr, owner of Molly O Designs in Las Vegas" was planning to use lead thread in her Spring 09 line.