Fiber Expiration Dates?

Why is it that when you're working on a design with a deadline you learn the fiber you absolutely love for the project has been discontinued?  I wonder, how does one get on the "master list" to be notified the instant such a decision is made??  Does such a notification list exist?

There's this big discussion on various online groups about how Mainstay is going to be more like Maingone.  Anyone remember TLC's CaraMia?  Or how about Dazzelaire?  I'm sure you can think of yarn lines that you enjoyed using that are now gone; only to be revisited by digging through our stashes or by outbidding each other on ebay. 

Had I known "City Lights" was a discontinued yarn I wouldn't have submitted a design proposal calling for it.  It took me many hours of combing yarn manufactures websites, calling them, and visiting stores in three states to find the perfect replacement, Moda.Dea's Cashe'.  (I'd like to thank Berroco, Classic Elite, and Coats for their help! ) Fortunately the publisher understood my dilemma and gave me an extended deadline.  Whew!

But still, it would be great to know exactly when a fibers' lifespan will end to prevent this from happening in the future, right?  I wonder, should fibers have expiration dates printed right on the labels?  Hmmmm.

In the meantime, I signed up for workshops at the upcoming Crochet Guild of America's National Conference taking place this summer in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.  I'm really excited; one of the workshops (fingers crossed super tight) I hope to take is one with Melissa Leapman where she will share secrets of her successful career as an author/designer.  I enjoyed when she taught two special classes here in Connecticut so I know I will learn a lot from her.  (Maybe she knows if a "masters list of yarn expiration dates" exists -- and if so, how I can get regular copies of it!  We'll see!)