Our thanks go out to all our bloggers who took part in our collaboration with Parent Bloggers Network and the Consumers Union. The posts include helpful tips on finding safer toys, as well as ways you can make a difference by writing letters and speaking out to your local congresspeople.
And as a few bloggers reiterated, there is only ONE full-time staffer testing toys. ONE. And the person in charge has refused additional funding.
And even better, many of you probably received an email that includes an interview with Joan Lawrence, VP of Toy Safety at the Toy Industry Association. In this question and answer session, she clarifies the following:
- Toys are among the most statistically safe household items. Well I sure as heck hope so. They are TOYS. They had better be safe than a bottle of Windex.
- It's important to read the labels on the toys. I'm certain that most toys are not marked "may contain lethal amounts of lead in the paint." And children chew on toys, and may swallow pieces. While this might be on the warning labels, is it marked that if they do swallow them the magnets will clamp off their small intestine and kill them, OR send them into a GHB induced coma?
- All toys sold in the U.S. must conform to U.S. safety standards, regardless of where they are made. Well, guess what? No one seems to be enforcing these so called standards!
Thanks for absolutely nothing, Ms. Lawrence. We're not convinced. And we're taking action.
As a result of the efforts of the CU outreach (including the Blog Blast on Friday), more than 30,000 parents have signed on as Safe Shoppers and will be rallying in five cities (New York, Boston, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Francisco) kicking off on Black Friday.
If you'd like to be a part of these rallies, please contact us and we can forward your information over to the Consumers Union staff. If you can't be there in person, consider putting up a button supporting their cause.
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