With all the lead paint concerns and other recall issues on toys and other products, it’s become a bit daunting to shop for Christmas gifts for little ones. With the Christmas shopping season in full swing, it pays to have as much information as possible before purchasing toys for children on our lists. While some stores have recall notices right in the toy aisle (and often aisle after aisle of such notices) notes taped to shelves aren’t too reassuring.
Here are some other sources of toy safety information that will hopefully help us make safer choices:
Listed in order of most recent recall first, with hundreds of items, many of which have lead concerns but also includes other issues.
I wasn’t aware of this site. Apparently these recent recall crises have led to the creation of another program, “to provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe, hazardous or defective products, six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create www.recalls.gov — a ‘one stop shop’ for U.S. Government recalls.”
Mattel features a website called “Consumer Relations Answer Center.” Includes list of recalled products and a link for contact information.
This site says it is brought to you by The Toy Industry Association, Inc. and says toy safety is its top priority and that manufacturers and retailers are “re-doubling their efforts.”
Please look up each item you intend to purchase, and even if it isn’t on a recall list, read up on it. Many times products are questionable even if they haven’t yet been recalled. If you’ve made a purchase and have concerns, please continue checking recall lists or call the manufacturer.
Note: Toys we may not even suspect to be dangerous can be. I noticed at least one plush toy on the CPSC recall list at first glance. I wouldn’t have thought of plush toys in regard to lead paint, so I wanted to mention it in case others didn’t either.
*Also, keep in mind the CPSC has come under question in recent months and may not be the most adequate resource. Please, check other sources as well.