After Recalls, Demands For Toy-Maker Accountability

	TROUBLE IN TOYLAND—We released our annual toy safety report in Washington, D.C., with Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.). We called on corporations to test their products before they hit store shelves.

In 2007, more than 25 million toys were recalled due to the risks posed to children by lead paint or loose magnets that can lodge in a child’s throat.

Unfortunately, we weren’t surprised by the recalls. Our annual toy safety report in 2006 uncovered four toys with lead levels ranging from 1.8 percent lead to 34 percent lead by weight.

But the recalls did have a silver lining—momentum for lasting reforms that would keep dangerous toys off the market has strengthened considerably.

Why So Many Recalls?
Unsafe toys made it to store shelves because toy manufacturers failed to ensure their own products’ safety. In part, that’s because our government routinely lets manufacturers off the hook. Our government spends less on product safety than ever before, even as globalization has fundamentally changed the way that products get to store shelves.

For the past 20-plus years, WISPIRG advocates have been trying to stop the flood of unsafe toys onto store shelves and, ultimately, into homes.

We’ve even supplemented the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) inspectors by doing our own annual toy survey, which has led to more than 100 recalls and other enforcement actions.

“It’s not enough to find out about unsafe toys after they hit storyeshelves,” said Mierzwinski. “It’s a stop-gap arrangement at best.”

That’s why we pushed Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to approve legislation to give the CPSC the funding and authority it needs to hold toy manufacturers accountable.

Toy Safety Bill In Congress
In November, the House and Senate introduced different versions of the Consumer Product Safety Modernization Act, which would lower the amount of lead allowed in products and increase the penalties that companies pay if they break the rules. We’re working to make sure that both bills have the strongest provisions possible.

We released our 22nd annual toy safety report as parents began holiday shopping and as members of Congress prepared to introduce the bill. Here in Wisconsin, the story was picked up by 7 local newspapers and 14 different television stations.

Toy manufacturers are already pushing Congress to allow voluntary standards with fewer penalties. “When it comes to the safety of our products, it’s clear that voluntary measures just won’t work,” said WISPIRG Advocate Bruce Speight. “We need more cops on the beat and a stronger CPSC so that toy manufacturers don’t repeat the same mistakes.”