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December 2, 2008 3:49:04 AM CST

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toy recalls

toy recalls news stories

13 Stories

 Wal-Mart Tightens
 Toy Safety Standards 

Retailer goes beyond government requirements

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal May 14, 08 1:49 PM CDT
(Newser) - Wal-Mart is adopting stricter toy safety standards, going above and beyond existing government requirements, the Wall Street Journal reports. The standards set hard lead limits, and encourage “traceability information,” to show where toys are from. Complying could boost toymakers’ costs by 5%-7%, but since Wal-Mart is the world’s top toy seller, expect companies to fall in line. More »

More about:  Wal-Mart • toys • toy recalls • lead tainted toys • Chinese toys • toy safety

'Regulation' No Longer a Dirty Word in DC

Wall St. woes, toy and food scares have pols of all stripes on board

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Mar 24, 08 11:38 AM CDT
(Newser) - "Regulation" is becoming less of a dirty word in Washington in the wake of the mortgage meltdown, woes on Wall Street, and scares over tainted food and toys. Many Democrats and even some Republicans want a shift from voluntary industry standards in vogue since the Reagan administration. "We're in for a potentially significant regulatory response," one economist tells the Wall Street Journal . More »

New Tests: 35% of Toys Contain Some Lead

Many offenders still on shelves, environmental health groups say

Associated Press Associated Press Dec 5, 07 2:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Toy shelves are still lined with lead, according to test results released today from environmental health groups in nine states. Checking 1,268 toys, the groups found lead in 35%, with levels often surpassing federal recall standards. Only 23 of those toys have been recalled. “This is not about alarming parents,” one official said. “We’re just trying to give people information.” More »

Lead Toys Get Charities Grinchy

Checking endless recall lists saps limited resources for many

MSNBC MSNBC Nov 21, 07 2:04 PM CST
(Newser) - Rampant toy recalls are putting a real cramp in the holiday spirit at many charities, MSNBC reports. Toy drives must devote so much manpower to checking donations against lists of lead-contaminated recalls that many have stopped the Santa act entirely. “You don’t know what you’re getting, you really don’t,” said one Salvation Army manager. “So we just throw them all away.” More »

More about:  Christmas • lead tainted toys • toy recalls • Chinese toys

Don't Blame China for Toy Recalls: Study

75% stem from
design flaws, not manufacturing

Globe and Mail Globe and Mail Nov 13, 07 6:13 PM CST
(Newser) - Don't blame China for soaring toy recalls, a new Canuck study says; the problem is design. "If you are going to get into a finger-pointing game, you should point it mostly on the design side," said a Canadian prof. "It has got nothing to do with China." Recalls of toys made elsewhere actually spiked higher than Chinese-made products, the Globe & Mail reports. More »

More about:  China • business • manufacturing • Mattel • toy recalls

New Chinese Toy Recall Sparks Fury in Congress

Consumer agency 'overwhelmed'

Reuters Reuters Oct 5, 07 4:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - The embattled Consumer Product Safety Commission announced yet another recall of dangerous toys from China yesterday as it came under withering fire in Congress over a recent wave of product safety problems.  Another half million toys made in China are being recalled because of lead paint contamination. The announcement was made just minutes before the acting chairwoman of the federal agency  testified before a Senate subcommittee. More »

500K Toys Recalled Over Lead

Levels above legal limit in China-made bookmarks, blocks, key chains

Reuters Reuters Oct 4, 07 3:19 PM CDT
(Newser) - Over half a million Chinese-made toys have been recalled due to dangerous lead levels, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today. Toys ranging from Winnie the Pooh bookmarks to Baby Einstein color blocks were found to contain levels above the .06% legal limit, Reuters reports. 192,000 dollar-store key chains were also on the recall list - not for children, but still unsafe. More »

More about:  toy recalls • lead tainted toys • lead poisoning • Chinese toys

Buyer, Beware of Recalled Goods on EBay

Online auction
stalwart warns users
to screen carefully

Associated Press Associated Press Oct 3, 07 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - After the recent recall of 21 million toys, eBay has cautioned its shoppers about buying tainted goods—and warned sellers of them they may be kicked off the site. The internet phenom says it’s unable to police all items in its marketplace, but will be providing tip sheets and links to a recall database. Indeed, eBay has little legal liability, AP reports. More »

More about:  eBay • Mattel • online auction • toy recalls • watchdog • Thomas and Friends

Recalls Our Fault, Mattel Tells China

Toy company admits
it bungled designs, recalled too many toys

Associated Press Associated Press Sep 21, 07 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The fallout from Mattel's recall of Chinese-made products took a bizarre turn today as the toy company apologized to Beijing and took the blame for design flaws in lead-tainted toys, AP reports. In a meeting with China's top product safety chief, a Mattel VP called the recalls "overly inclusive" and apologized for hurting "the reputation of Chinese manufacturers." More »

More about:  China • Mattel • toy recalls • lead tainted toys

Toymakers Play Games With Regulations

Call for more safety testing a cynical move, Slate critic contends

Slate Slate Sep 12, 07 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser) - The toy industry’s new safety-testing push may succeed in rebuilding trust, but it’s likely to leave dangerous ways unchecked—and the big guys know it, argues Slate’s E. Marla Felcher. The current scandals are matters of enforcement, not of the regulations themselves, but the new call for third-party testing looks, superficially, like a step forward. More »

More about:  Christmas • toys • recall • Mattel • toy recalls • product safety • lead

China Agrees to End Lead Toy Imports

After third Mattel recall, Beijing seeks to end fallout

CNN CNN Sep 11, 07 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - After three recalls by Mattel and growing nail-biting among parents, Chinese officials have signed an agreement with Washington to stop using lead paint in imported toys, CNNMoney reports. Although the US outlawed sales of lead-painted toys in 1978, Chinese-made products containing the hazardous metal continue to seep into the market. Today's announcement signaled China's desire to preserve its market presence in America. More »

More about:  China • toys • recall • Mattel • toy recalls • lead

Recalls Will Increase 'Made in China' Prices

New quality standards are expected to pinch consumers' pockets

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Sep 9, 07 10:44 AM CDT
(Newser) - Following a series of high-profile toy recalls and international criticism over China's export standards, the the cost of merchandise bearing the "Made in China" is expected to rise at least 10% in the next year, the LA Times reports. "For American consumers, the big China sale over the last 20 years is over," says one economist. More »

More about:  China • exports • recall • Chinese economy • toy recalls • foreign labor • labor costs

US, China Grow Closer Despite Touchy Issues

Bush accepts Olympics invitation; talks recalls, environment with Hu

New York Times New York Times Sep 6, 07 3:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - President Bush accepted an invitation today from China’s president to attend next summer’s Olympics, a gesture that will likely anger human rights activists but may increase pressure on Beijing, the Times reports. In a 90-minute meeting in the eve of the APEC summit, Hu Jintao and Bush also discussed climate change and recalls of Chinese-made toys. More »

More about:  George W. Bush • China • climate change • United States • Australia • military • human rights • Olympic Games • Hu Jintao • toy recalls

13 Stories

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