Photo by: Chilli Head

Back in August 2008, we presented an article called Uncovering the Truth About Toy Safety, in which we explained the challenges parents face when selecting safe toys for their children. Ironically, at the same time, the United States Congress was also at work on this issue in reaction to widespread product recalls on toys imported from China, mostly due to instances of lead-based paint. That same month, President George W. Bush signed what would be called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act into law, which on the surface appeared to be a victory for parents and consumers concerned about obtaining safe toys and gear for their kids.

Closer inspection of the law, however, reveals a disturbing fact for many Organic Green Mommies and Daddies who already opt out of buying plastic mass-produced toys in favor of handmade and wooden toys like the ones available in our Organic Green Shop: this law, meant to protect American consumers might very well ban all handmade toys in the United States and put out of business the manufacturers and toy companies who already produce natural and non-toxic children’s products who not only have been on the vanguard of this issue for many years, but are also contributing to the American economy and American manufacturing in a significant and positive way during a time of economic upheaval and uncertainty.

The reason why? The new law places requirements on all manufacturers of children’s items to submit their products for prohibitively expensive third-party testing, which can cost up to $4000 per toy, a figure that for many low-volume, low-margin manufacturers and “mom & pop” toy companies (many of whom stock the inventory here at Organic Green Mommy) would simply but them out of business. In addition, the law is so sweeping and expansive, that it covers not just toys, but virtually all products made for children under 12, effectively rendering illegal any and all handmade children’s clothes and other items found at craft fairs or produced locally.

Larger multi-national toy companies who produce hundreds of thousands or millions of units would have little trouble complying with testing requirements, as the costs involved could be spread out over a much larger manufacturing process and absorbed with little effect on their profitiability or final cost to the consumer. The result of the law: parents will have little to no choice when it comes to purchasing toys for their children and will be effectively forced into purchasing toys from the very same mass-market manufacturers who were the culprits behind last year’s toy recalls, or face the risk of buying toys and children’s products illegally.

Clearly this law is devoid of commonsense and undermines American manufacturers and entrepreneurs in a significant fashion. You can read the law for yourself by clicking here.

A recent article in the Boston Herald explains the plight of one independent retailer in Massachusetts who is extremely concerned about the impact of the new on his business. This retailer is not alone in his concern and now, many manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and concerned American citizens are banding together to influence Congress and President-Elect Barack Obama to revise the law to exclude handmade toys.

What You Can Do

There are many ways to help ensure Congress revises this law in a way that promotes choice and doesn’t put a thriving and growing manufacturing sector out of business.

1) All concerned parents should write their representatives in Congress.

To contact your Representative in the US Congress, click here.

To contact your Senator, click here.

Don’t know what to write? Here’s a tip, keep it simple and respectful. Here’s a sample letter you can cut and paste into your note to Congress (courtesy the Handmade Toy Alliance):

From: [your name and address]

To: [your congress person or senator]

Re: Changes needed to the Consumer Product Improvement Act (CPSIA) to Save Handmade Toys in the USA

Dear [your congress person or senator],

Like many people, I was deeply concerned by the dangerous and poisonous toys that large Chinese toy manufacturers have been selling to our nations families. And, I was very pleased that Congress acted quickly to protect America’s children by enacting the CPSIA.

However, I am very concerned that the CPSIA’s mandates for third party testing and labeling will have a dramatic and negative effect on small toymakers in the USA, Canada, and Europe, whose toy safety record has always been exemplary.

Because of the fees charged by Third Party testing companies, many toymakers, especially makers of unique and beautiful wooden toys from Maine to Oregon will be driven out of business. Their cottage workshops simply do not make enough money to afford the $4,000 price tag per toy that Third Party testers are charging.

I urge you to quickly rewrite the CPSIA so that toys made in batches of less than 5,000 units per year or manufactured within the USA and trusted countries with established toy safety regimes such as Canada and the European Union be held exempt from third party testing requirements. Such toys could still be subject to random auditing by the CPSC.

If you feel that testing should still be required, then the CPSC should be made to offer free testing services for USA toymakers and importers from Europe or Canada with revenues less than one million dollars.

These toy makers have earned and kept the public’s trust. They provide jobs for hundreds and quality playthings for thousands. Their unique businesses should be protected. Please visit www.handmadetoyalliance.org to learn more about this issue.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,


[your name]

2) You can contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the legislative body overseeing the law itself.

Contact them directly by clicking here.

3) Sign the Handmade Toy Alliance’s petition.

4) If you are a Facebook person, you can become a friend of the movement there by clicking here.

5) Finally, you can contact President-Elect Obama’s portal for ideas by clicking on the widget below:

Bottom line, it’s not too late to force Congress to alter the law and return rational thinking to the subject of children’s product safety. The important thing for all of us to remember is that safe and healthy choices should remain in the hands of parents, and that parents should remain vigiliant and empowered when it comes to deciding what products they purchase and use for their children. Legislating an essential function of parenting is not effective, efficient, or common sensical. This is a call to action for parents to reclaim their solemn duty of protecting their children and fostering their growth.

Have a comment, question, or idea for a post? Email Paul by clicking here. In addition to founding www.OrganicGreenDaddy.com, Paul maintains a blog over at www.monkeyinmymind.com, commenting on politics, sports, film, and whatever else his Monkey has in store for him.

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Photo by: Marek Wojtal

Late in 2007, just as the holiday toy-shopping season was ramping into high gear, some of the biggest stories coming out of the $20 billion per year toy industry weren’t about the latest innovations or the next hot property. Instead, just about every headline about toys sold in the United States concerned wave after wave of toy recalls.

The major culprit, by and large, was excessive amounts lead paint used on toys originating from Chinese toy manufacturers. A major question emerging in the wake of these recalls was why were manufacturers continuing to use lead paint, despite American regulations requiring fewer than 600 parts of lead per million in paint used on consumer products like toys.

The answer shouldn’t be shocking to anyone. The reason manufacters were using lead paint was simple: it’s cheaper, up to one-third the cost of a safer paint mixture.

But here’s something that actually might be shocking to American consumers: Chinese regulations concerning lead paint are even stricter than those in the United States. A New York Times article on the subject tells us that, “on the books, China’s paint standards are stricter than those in the United States, requiring that paint intended for household or consumer-product use contain no more than 90 parts of lead per million.”

Which begs the question, if Chinese and American regulations are strict as they seem to be, why do dangerous toys keep slipping onto American store shelves, and what are parents to do?

The answer to the first question is disturbing in the sense that even a cursory examination into Chinese manufacturing processes reveals that by and large, strict regulations are nothing more than smoke and mirrors, and Chinese factories essentially will do whatever they want, or at least whatever the client wants when it comes to delivering the toys on time and according to budget. With the proliferation of big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Target, depressed consumer confidence, and increased competition, price is king and therefore drives production practices. As always, however, the old adage is true: you get what you pay for.

Which leads us to the second question, which concerns what we as parents are supposed to do given the uncertainty surrounding the latest products in the industry, especially those (nearly all) whose origins are in Chinese factories. With the “Go Green” movement building momentum in the United States, there are more and more options available to consumers who wish to purchase toys from manufacturers whose primary concern is safety, not making toys as cheaply as possible. OrganicGreenMommy’s Natural Toy Shop, featuring wooden toys, natural plush toys, and toys made from real rubber as opposed to potentially toxic plastics, is a great place to start.

Even parents who decide to purchase toys at mainstream retailers can practice safer shopping habits if they apply a few of the following tips:

• Read The Label. This point of course applies to food-buying as well, but couldn’t be more appropriate when it comes to buying toys. If you notice that a toy is “Made in China,” and is painted, realize that there is a possibility of that paint containing lead for the reasons cited above. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, of roughly 39 lead-related recalls this year, 38 were of Chinese-made goods. Is it possible to avoid Chinese toys while still shopping at Wal-Mart or Toys R’ Us? I’m not sure, but more than regulations and laws, consumer demand will always be a driving market force. If enough consumers demand higher standards, companies will be forced to comply or lose market share.

• Avoid Plastics. Besides the lead paint used to brightly color most toys, in some cases the plastics and chemicals used to make the toys themselves can be toxic. Whether or not there is a recall concerning plastics, in the United States, phthalates (pronounced thay-lates) are often added to make plastics softer and squishier. Phthalates are banned for use in consumer all over the world, but still not in the United States, and the mainstream toy industry is fighting the science that attests to their dangers tooth and nail, as currently phthalates are cheapest vehicle to achieve that desired consistency. More and more, however, there are alternatives available, this site, www.oregontoxics.org, has some great information on the subject. Alternatives like wood and certain textiles can be safer, and more desirable in a different way, as they encourage a naturalistic and tactile connection between your child and their surrounding world.

• Avoid Small Parts. While much of the focus has been on lead paint, choking hazards are perhaps a more acute concern to US consumers. Although not necessarily a “green” issue, this concern could fall under the category of “Conscious Parenting,” as we parents should try to present toys to our children that present possibilities for imagination and growth as opposed to automated, pre-programmed “fun.” The Center for Disease Control reports that around 2800 people die from choking each year, most of whom are children. While not exactly an epidemic, still something parents of which should at least be conscious.

• Encourage Imagination. Tying into my point above about encouraging a naturalistic connection to our children’s environment, this tip is perhaps the most important. What we as parents need to continue to realize is that we hold the power to shape and create exciting and playful environments that not only enliven with fun but also serve as powerful learning tools. My daughter has a blast playing with beautiful scarves, musical instruments, tea sets, non-toxic “play-dough,” and coloring books, none of which require batteries, expensive accessories, or backbreaking assembly and set up. Most of all, these playthings and activities encourage play from the inside out, cultivating imagination and encouraging connection to others and her outside world. In addition, she also loves “play” activities that don’t require toys or supplies at all, like helping us in the kitchen, weeding the garden, or wrestling with us on mommy and daddy’s bed.

Conscious parenting is about empowering ourselves and knowing that we can help reveal a beautiful and inviting world for our children that fosters their learning, emotional growth, and overall development.

For more information on the subject of toy safety, here is a link to the W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm) website. There is plenty of great information here, including lists of the “10 Worst Toys” of each year. Click here to see which toys made the list in 2007.

Have a comment, question, or idea for a post? Email Paul by clicking here. In addition to founding www.OrganicGreenDaddy.com, Paul maintains a blog over at www.monkeyinmymind.com, commenting on politics, sports, film, and whatever else his Monkey has in store for him.