Toy Safety News Archive

Toy Industry to regulate itself in Maryland
11 Amendements attached to the bill weakened the lead and testing standards and pushes the effective date back by one year. Bill advocates blame the lobbyists hired by the Toy Industry Association.

Another two of toys from our Toy Safetey Report have been recalled
Magnetic Dart Boards Recalled By Henry Gordy Int’l; Ingested Magnets Pose Aspiration and Intestinal Hazards
-Plush Insect Toys Recalled by Dollar Tree Stores Due to Choking Hazard

States alter rules of game on safety for Toy Makers
29 state legislatures have introduced or passed laws regarding lead and other potential toxins in children's products. The bill in Washington is the toughest and some toy makers say they won't ship to toys to the state if the law is enacted.

Attorney General hotline set up to address dangerous kids' products
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan urged parents to call her office's product recall hotline (888-414-7678) if they need help identifying dangerous children's products that may be in their homes. 

Senate Debates Possible Ban on Phthalates in Toys
California was the first state to ban toys and child-products that contain more than trace amounts of phthalates. Sen. Feinstein is looking to expand the ban nationally as part of the Senate CPSC bill.

Plastic Easter Eggs linked to lead paint
In tests directed by Ashland University professor Jeffery Weidenhamer, his students found high levels of lead in paint in 13 out of 45 items. The biggest lead hazards were found in Easter egg spinning tops, plastic Easter eggs that typically are filled at home with treats, bunny hair clips and chick-style sipper cups.

Reebok fined $1 million for deadly lead charm
Two years after a Minneapolis boy swallowed part of a charm bracelet given away with a pair of athletic shoes and died of lead poisoning, the shoes' maker, Reebok, has agreed to pay the government $1 million to settle allegations that it violated the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Mega Brands recall 2.4 million magnetic toys
Mega Brands recalled MagnaMan action figures and Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. Pre-School magnetic toys. They said the magnets were were swallowed and inhaled.

State health council ban trinkets containing lead
The MA Public Health Council voted unanimously to ban the sale of children's jewelry containing lead. The ban will go into effect in June.

Washington State Senate OKs nation's strictest toy safety rules
Despite last-minute intensive lobbying efforts by the toy industry, the state Senate on Friday approved the strictest toy safety rules in the nation with a 40-9 vote.

Senate Passes Major CPSC Reform Act
The Senate passed on a 79-13 vote, the CPSC Reform Act. This bi-partisan legislation represents the most significant improvement in almost two decades to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the agency that oversees the safety of more than 15,000 consumer products in the United States.

Retail giants push toy safety
Toys R Us and Wal-Mart are trumpeting new, self-imposed rules that are designed to at least partially protect their businesses - and by extension the consumer - from the manufacturer and supplier problems at the root of the recall mess.

Real retail politics
Recent toy recalls lend urgency to congressional efforts to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But industry powers warn against increasing penalties and making data public.

Anxious parents go organic, at a cost
After all the recalls of lead-tainted toys last year, parents are choosing to err on the side of caution, even if it means paying more. 

Consumer Watchdog- an editorial in The New York Times
If there was ever a perfect moment for strong consumer product safety reform, this is it. The commission is not working well, customers need reassurance, and businesses need their confidence. Congress should remember that those nervous consumers are also voters.

Maryland House votes to curb lead in products
Maryland would hire inspectors to enforce a ban on manufacturing, selling, importing or distributing toys and other children's products containing dangerous levels of lead under legislation that passed overwhelmingly yesterday in the House of Delegates.

We "call foul" on false attack
U.S. PIRG joins other leading consumer groups in a release rebutting a 10-point memo attacking the bill.

CPSC announces recall of toy similar to one in U.S. PIRG's "Trouble in Toyland" report
The CPSC recalled the Godry/Family Dollar FUN 'N SAFE Magenetic Dart Board set but has not yet announced action on the Gordy/family Dollar "Fun 'N' Games Magnetic Dart Board" identified in our report. 

Product safety chief rips toy industry
Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Nancy A. Nord scolded the toy industry for not doing enough to keep its products safe, specifically for violating the country's ban on lead paint.

...then goes on to criticize strict safety standards
Ms. Nord objected to provisions in the Senate version of the product safety bill that gives state prosecutor greater authority to enforce consumer product laws, protest whistle-blowers, give the agency greater discretion to disclose details from companies of consumer complaints and potential product defects, and increase the penalities for safety violations.

Senators agree on product safety bill
A Senate vote is expected the first week of March. Product-safety legislation passed the House on Dec. 19 but the Senate bill has been the subject of negotiations since the new year. 

Toys "R" Us, Wal-Mart unveil new safety rules
Toys "R" Us on Friday announced new mandatory safety checks for its manufacturers that include third-party testing of each batch of toys that's imported into the United States and calls for a significant reduction in lead content found in paints used for coating toys.

Agency misses chance to ban lead in jewelry
The Consumer Product Safety Commission failed to exploit an opportunity to crack down on unsafe imports -- a lapse that consumer advocates say could leave children at continuing risk of exposure to lead-tainted toy jewelry.

Danger still lurks in the toy chest 
Six months ago, it seemed like hardly a day went by without a recall of dangerous toys made in China. Problem solved? Hardly. The recalls keep on coming, and so do the life-threatening injuries to children caused by dangerous toys.

Ban sought on novelty lighters
Novelty lighters are dangerous because some of them resemble children's toys

Hasbro sees cost of China-made toys rising
Hasbro expects a 14-15% increase this year in costs of China-made toys

Toy Magnet Swallowed?
Swallowing a magnet the size of a watch battery is unlikely to cause health problems, but swallowing two can be fatal.

The Next Step to Safety
The New York Times editorial on toy safety 

Parents frustrated over recall delays
6ABC News in NJ reports on how some parents are frustrated over recall delays. Andrew Hartung of the Hartung family in the video is taking his fight to Capitol Hill. 

Lead takes fun, games out of toys
The Center for Environmental Health and other investigators have found lead in virtually every category of children's products tested.

Worrisome chemical found in kids
A University of Washington study found higher phthalate levels in babies whose parents used lotions, powders and baby shampoo shortly before the tests

Safety agency slow to report hazards
U.S. consumer safety regulators typically take almost seven months to inform the public of dangerous products in cases where the manufacturers were fined for not promptly reporting the defect.

It's time for consumer issues to get attention
MSNBC's Herb Weisbaum lists the consumer issues that made headlines in 2007 and still need to be addressed in 2008

Do Presidential Candidates care about consumer issues?
Read about where the candidates stand on product safety.

'Thomas' toymaker settles suit over lead for $30M
The maker of Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys has agreed to a $30 million class-action settlement stemming from last year's recalls.

Ty takes high-lead doll out of stores
Ty Inc. pulls their "Jammin' Jenna" dolls from stores in Illinois after initially refusing to do so.

State lawmakers call for stricter toy safety regulations
Washington State lawmakers are eyeing a bill that would ban such harmful substances as lead, cadmium, and phthalates from children's products

CPSC boosts inspection at ports
CPSC will begin placing full-time staff at our nation's ports and boost inspection of toys, fireworks, electrical products and other goods.

Symbol of toy safety moves on
Bob, the nation's sole full time toy tester, has retired from the CPSC.

Consumer safety bill passes unanimously through House, waiting for Senate
The House passed legislation yesterday that would ban lead from children's products, require toy testing by independent labs, and boost funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission over the next several years. But the Senate left without taking up that bill or a version passed by a Senate committee in October, making it less likely that toys sold next year will be affected by any regulatory changes.

MomsRising.org sets up text tool
Text "healthytoys [toy name] to 41411 to search healthytoys.org's test results when you're in the store

Congress must address toy safety needs
Florida PIRG's Brad Ashwell and former CPSC chair Anne Brown author an OpEd in the Florida Sun-Sentinel

Ecology Center releases the result of their testing of over 1200 popular children's toys
Working with environmental health groups across the country, they developed a site where parents can search by product name, brand, or toy type to learn how the products rate in harmful chemical content. 

Fisher-Price pulls lead-tainted toy in Illinois but not other states

Asbestos turns up in toys, children's clay
The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children's play clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing, spackling paste and small appliances were among the products in which asbestos was found by at least two of three labs hired by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization.

New York Aids in Jewelry Recall
The CPSC recalled more than 500,000 pieces of children's jewelry due to excessive lead content

Parents told to watch out for dangerous toys
CNN article about Toy Safety, citing U.S. PIRG's toy safety report

Playing It Safe
U.S. PIRG shows you ways you can test toys right in the store.

W.A.T.C.H. released their annual 10 Worst Toys list.  

Curious George dolls linked to lead
The dolls are recalled due to excessive levels of lead in the surface paint used on their faces.

Aqua Dots Recalled
The CPSC issued the recall after children became unconscious after swallowing the beads. Once ingested, the beads released a chemical related to GHB, the banned date rape drug. Click here to see pictures of the product.

Parents seek resources for American-made toys
Illinois PIRG Director Brian Imus appears in an ABC News segment about the search for safer toys. Click here to view the segment.

Bush announces import action plan
The White House announced a 14 point plan but did not attach and budget and personnel numbers to their plan. Read our take on his plan.

New York Times editorial calls for strong CPSC reform

They urged Congressional reform of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and calls for a fix to the current part of the law that allows manufacturers to control the release of information about their dangerous products. Read our take on Section 6(b).

Dingell, Barton Introduce House CPSC Reform Bill
The "Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act of 2007" was introduced on November first. Click here to read more

Industries paid for top regulators' travel
The Washington Post obtained internal records that show that the current acting chairman of the CPSC, Nancy Nord, and the previous chairman, Hal Stratton, took nearly 30 trips that were paid in full or in part by trade associations or manufacturers. Click here to read the article.

CPSC Boss opposes strengthening of her agency
Nancy Nord, the acting chairman of the CPSC, has asked lawmakers not to approve the bulk of the legislation that would increase their authority, double their budget, and sharply increase its dwindling staff. Click here to read her letter. Click here to read our take on her letter.

Senate Committee approves CPSC reform
The Senate Commerce Committee approved a strong version of the CPSC Reform Act. U.S. PIRG's Ed Mierzwinski testified at a hearing for this bill earlier this month. Read his blog here.