Just in time for the holidays: a list of the most dangerous toys on the shelves in stores today.
With a record-setting 25 million toys recalled this year, “parents are much more aware of the dangers that can be posed to their children,” said Virginia Robnett, assistant field director with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which released a report on hazardous toys Tuesday.
A total of 59 toys were identified by PIRG, including those that pose potential choking hazards, such as Bob the Builder doll, and those not properly labeled, including some Mattel Hot Wheels cars. Also listed were toys with small parts, like a Home Depot tool set and those with magnets; toys that contain lead, like Curious George doll; and those with other potentially toxic chemicals.
The dangers we’ve “highlighted for years are now in the frontpages of newspapers and before Congress,” Robnett said.
PIRG is lobbying Congress for more resources, staff and funding for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which issues or assists companies in issuing recalls of hazardous products.
PIRG also wants the commission to have more authority to “speed up recalls and hold wrongdoers accountable,” Robnett said. Import surveillance should also be improved and lead should be banned in children’s toys except for trace amounts, she added.
There are already two pending pieces of legislation in the House of Representatives dealing with the issue.
Concerns over recalled items are now spilling over into the holiday season.
Local independent toy stores haven’t carried many of the toys that have been recalled. None of the toys sold by One Two Kangaroo in Arlington were recalled, according to owner Charlie Majdi. The vast majority of Majdi’s toys come from China, but he only selects products geared toward the specialty toy market that are manufactured in factories where there is strict independent oversight.
“Consumers are going to be increasingly spooked about toys made in China,” said Steven Posavac, associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.
One local chain, Tree Top Kids, only had 18 items recalled.
“We have yet to have a huge mad rush except for RC2,” said Catherine Porterfield, vice president of marketing. RC2 Corp. recalled Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys in June and September due to lead paint violations. Tree Top Kids has seven stores in the metro area.
