MONDAY, Nov. 24, 2008 (Health.com) — Parents concerned about toy safety this season can rest a little easier than they did last year. After all, 2007 saw a tsunami of recalls, mostly involving toys made in China; this year the number of toys sent back for safety reasons declined somewhat after laws were strengthened. But in an area where consumers want 100% confidence, this holiday shopping season will once again fall short.
“You’re a step ahead of the game if you don’t assume that a toy is safe,” says James Swartz, the director of World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH). “Look at the toys critically armed with the information about the hazards that are out there and I think you’ll be more likely to have a safe holiday season.”
Some of the hot trends this year include toys that encourage children to get more exercise, are environmentally friendly, and feature cool electronic gizmos. Some big names are having anniversaries, too, which might spike popularity: Barney the purple dinosaur is 20 and Legos turns 50. (Check out our slideshow of kids’ most-wanted toys for 2008.)
More inspections, new laws, and better funding
In 2007, 25 million toys were recalled, including some of the most popular brands in the world: Polly Pockets, Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora the Explorer, and Barbie were among the recalled names.
By the summer of 2008, Congress had passed and President Bush had signed into law a tough new toy-safety standard called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. It requires mandatory testing of toys and sets thresholds for lead and chemicals, such as phthalates, in toys and other children’s products.
The law also boosted the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the federal agency charged with monitoring the safety of household products. The agency now has more money, has added staff, and has ramped up inspections in both retail stores and ports.
Cooperation between the United States and China has increased, and the closer scrutiny is helping. “We had a big reduction this year in toy recalls,” says Nychelle Fleming, a spokesperson for the CPSC. In 2007, there were 138 recalls and 97 of them were lead related. In 2008, there were 74 toy recalls, and 45 were lead related—a 50% decline. (Keep in mind that the year’s not over yet; that number could change.)
The CPSC’s newly created Import Security Division now has staffers at nine U.S. ports and has screened 681 toy shipments in the last seven months. About 296 were denied entry due to safety violations, Fleming says.
“The commission believes we are looking harder and actually finding fewer violations,” she says.
Meanwhile, toy makers reacted to the threat that the sensational recalls represented to a business so dependent on Chinese manufacturing, and industry organizations say they stepped up testing on their own.
“Consumers can rest assured that the industry has done everything it can to get the lead out,” says Robert Herriott, director of international and regulatory affairs at the Toy Industry Association. Toy manufacturers have “a personal interest, moral interest, and a vested interest in making sure their products are safe for the children who play with them,” he says.
Next: But you can’t relax yet
Comments (12)
I do avoid anything that a child even touches that are made in China. I was shocked last year when I shopped at a Disney Store and was going to buy a blanket that was made in China. When I checked the other items I was considering because my grand-daughter loves Princes items (she is 4 yrs.old) everything was made in China. It really took me by
surprise and shock that a child target like Disney Products were made in China. It sure took away my respect for Disney products altogether. I even commented, while I was on the purchase line, to another buyer about the China business recalls and it didnt seem to bother him a bit, he just shrugged. I left my purchases on the counter and walked out,never to return again.. Marian
Dear Marian,
do you live on a different planet, or what’s wrong with you?!?
EVERYTHING IS MADE IN CHINA, you better check out what you have on right now…
Wake up.
I’m with Marian. We shouldn’t just settle back and act as if we have no power over what is stocked on our shelves. DON’T BUY ANYTHING MADE IN CHINA. Manufacturing will then return to the United States along with all those lost jobs! Leo, don’t just resign yourself to the way things are now. Shop around, you’ll find alternatives.
Hi Leo, Yes Leo, I live on this planet and I am very wide awake. “choices” we all have them but to some peoples destruction,
they always or most of the time dont opt to exercise them in a constructive manner. I am 66 yrs old and have made sooooo many poor choices and suffered the consequences. I am not, at this age going to make choices that pour bad consequences on the children of this generation and my grandchildren are my priority as should be for all grandparents.
China is our enemy and why should we trust them with our childrens life and health. Sorry, you wont wake up and see the truth. Have a great day. Marian
Lol, China is not our enemy… It’s ignorant people like you that spawn racism.
“Use caution with riding toys such as scooters. They give kids the mobility to maneuver into traffic, a swimming pool, or another potentially life-threatening situation.”
ROFLMAO.
Why not warn parents not to let their kids walk, run or play at all. After all if your kids can walk they might fall over or run into traffic.
In fact all physical movement and exercise should be restricted unless under strict adult supervision.
Perhaps if we duct tape bubble wrap to our kids and send them to school in crash helmets? Not likely, the loud popping sound might make them deaf and the lead paint on helmets could be poisonous.
Stop them from eating solid food in case they choke.
Don’t let them outside in case it rains and they catch cold.
Don’t let them read books, they could get paper cuts.
You guys are just too funny.
The legislation spoken about in the above article has a MUCH more far reaching effect than imposing restrictions on imports. Take a look at this website to find out why handmade toys are in danger due to these testing policies:
http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
I agree with Leo. Everyone who wants to boycott China better send their computers back and all their electronics as well. All board fabrication is done in China. You can’t find a motherboard that’s not made in China. I work in the tech industry and I have had one person I got a call from who said that she didn’t want her computer because it was from China (personally I think it’s pathetic). I had to give her the sad news that all boards are fabricated in China due to the process costing less. She was not too happy about that.
Everyone can ‘fight’ China fabricated items, but you will live a very empty and disconnected life. China is not the enemy. It’s the corrupt business men who try to cut costs that are at fault, the government that doesn’t have regulations in place as well.
Related topic, but the reverse of your complaint… Did you know that South Korea protested US Beef because they were getting cuts from animals that were 34 months or more in age (FDA calls for 30 mo or younger for human consumption and I think 32 mo for dog food, for BSE prevention). Every country is at fault of not having appropriate measures in place for something they export. Deal with it and shop smart, or get creative and make your own things, and plant a garden.
People who blames always blame China must be Cold War relics or something. Whether China is an enemy or not depends alot on your actions and behaviour; if you keep acting like one hostile fellow, then you will tend to make enemies around you. Every country who manufactures anything for the global market has had problems now and then, including the USA, please don’t adopt a holier-than-thou attitude. The bottom line is: if you want quality products, then you must be prepared to pay more for them. If importers of these goods want to get the cheapest products and sqeeze the margins of the manufacturers to quote the lowest prices, the result is that you will not get quality goods. It’s all up to the importers to set what kind of product specification and quality level they want from the manufacturer. They must then be prepared to pay the more for the product. Please don’t just simply blame China. Blame your greedy importers who want to make the fattest profit. Blame youself for wanting cheap products. Are you prepared to pay high prices for quality prducts?
Last year my girl had received the Aqua Dots 3 days before the big recall. As dangerous as they could have been, I realized that I needed to begin making smarter choices in the things I bought for my girl and for other children. I no longer buy anything for a child that is imported from any country.
And I try now to buy things made in the USA before settling on the cheaper imports.
Some things are just not made here. (Like tv’s and computers.) But if they are, that is what I buy.
You could experience problems with anything you buy. No matter where it came from. But I figure I run less of a risk of having problems and I am helping to support my fellow countrymen each time the items I choose to buy were made in the USA.
a decent attempt toni, but nothing is really made here anymore except for food and very few fibers. even if something is “made in the USA”, its manufacturers more than likely imported the pieces that were necessary to assemble it from other countries, i.e. China. sure Americans SAY that they want manufacturing back on the home front and only want to get American made and blah blah blah, but tell me which of you who is town crying is going to step up and actually get in that factory and work for pennies on the dollar, or if not, one of you who would pay 5x as much for an item they could get for 5x less from another country. just saying…
uhhh……. Leo, not everything is made in china. Take legos for example, most of the parts do come from foriegn places, but i almost never see china on the list of places the pieces come from. DS lites are made in china, but the majority of the games are made in japan, and i’ve seen a few made in the usa.
and toni, not all foriegn items are dangerous.