New Toy Safety Standard Announced

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So we’re  delighted to announce that we reached a safety standard for this holiday season with a large number of toy companies (both large and small). We’ve been working on this issue since the end of last year’s holiday season.

As you may recall our Platinum Award winners last year were tested with two independent labs.  The final list included products that were determined to be lead free. We thought we could continue this policy but soon discovered  that there can be trace amounts of lead.  As a result, toy companies would not sign our safety verification form.  We then moved to the American Academy of Pediatrics definition of trace amounts at 40 ppm.   Several companies signed off at this level but not the majority. We spoke to many  quality assurance managers — they all said basically the same thing–that there could be contamination in the toy making process that could easily bring a toy above the 40 ppm.  At this point, we felt as if we were back where we started. Do we not review products? How would that work when it excluded many of the major toy companies.

After several weeks–we got a consensus.   We now require companies to verify the following:

products do not exceed 100ppm  for surface coated lead

products do not exceed 200ppm for substrate lead

product meets California’s law on phthalates

This is really a stop gap measure until the federal legislation kicks in (assuming the President signs the bill). We can not independently verify by testing the products we receive- but we have gotten companies to sign our form!

The federal legislation is chockful of good things from our point of view: mandatory third party testing, standards for testing; fines for non-compliance and more resources and oversight for the CPSC. What you may not know is that the lead levels for the bill are phased in–600ppm within 180 days of enactment; 300ppm within one year of enactment and 100ppm in three years.

So we were really pleased that we got so many companies to agree to the lower levels for this holiday season. As much as we’d love to claim victory–the pressure comes from a greater source in the free market system…the retailers responding to the demands of their consumers.

So now we can get back to looking at toys in terms of their play value.

As I write this, the cartons of new products are arriving-there are the new potty doll contenders, new wooden trains, new baby toys… It feels like the North Pole – fun, but not to worry, we’re working very hard!

Toyland Joins the Ethanol Debate: Lil' Gas Pump

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I spend a great deal on the beach during the summer hanging out with a friend who is an energy expert – he’s a nuclear engineer by training and now puts together major energy deals. Two weeks ago I asked for a ten point plan–how do we fix our energy crisis. Our conversation got very heated (sorry)…I went home feeling depressed that we did not have a coherent plan that our smartest minds had put into place decades ago. Now we are left scrambling for stop gap solutions…

What does this possibly have to do toys? I came back to our office to discover that the traditional “gas pump” toy now has a very political energy agenda! The new Tonka Lil’ Gas Pump allows you to select your gas — one of the choices is ethanol! The box makes no mention of the corn based alternative–but the toy itself allows you to select ethanol by placing the corn logo in the down position. The back of the toy also has a diagram (done in plastic relief) showing how ethanol is made.

Lead: How much of an issue?

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We are still working with toy companies to get everyone on the same page in terms of lead content as part of our review process–in fact I believe we are making really great progress which we will share as we get closer to the fall.  My question, its been almost a year since the whole issue exploded–is it something you’re still thinking about when you go to the toy store?   Are there other safety concerns that you feel need to be addressed?

Outdoor Fun Toys

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Since I did the outdoor segment on the Today Show last week, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about the really big inflatable ball — the ball is from Hearthsong.  Our recommendation is that you buy the pump they offer if you don’t already have one!  And as I mentioned on the show–you really do need to supervise the use of this product which is marked 6 & up. As soon as we went off air on Thursday all the kids wanted a turn inside the ball while the other kids rolled them around. It’s fun, but needs an adult around.

Don't Wake Hulk- Great fun!

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Hasbro’s new version of the classic, Don’t Wake Daddy, now features the Hulk.  He reminds us more of the Friendly Green Giant actually!  The game play remains the same.  You have to push the button on the Hulk’s bed and hope that you don’t wake him- for if you do, he will pop up out of bed, much like a Jack in the Box.  The tension of not knowing when it would happen always made me twitch–but hey, that’s just me.  Most kids love the random, unknowing experience.

Testers also liked the addition of Spiderman and Friends to the game.  The game is designed for 3 & up (older threes in our view would be more likely).

Monopoly Town

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We thought this was such a clever preschool version of the classic game.  Mr. Monopoly is in a little car (very cute) and he travels around the board on a little track.  All very age appropriate and fun so far.  He tells you how many spaces to move–which is also fun and interactive.  You know there’s a but coming….right?

The problem is that when you move him, he sometimes gets stuck and/or moves too quickly and when he does either, the count is off.  The whole concept of having a concrete moving “counting” experience is lost since it’s not always accurate. Too bad.  We hope they can address this issue — the premise of the game is fun.

Mall Madness meets Hannah Montana

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“Hit the stores to see what bling bling you can cha ching with the stars of the Hanna Montana show!” – screams the box of this updated classic.  While I’ve never been a fan of Mall Madness, our younger testers do seem like the game play. For Hannah Montana fans–this will probably be a hit.

Thoughts?

Rainy Days

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While it’s so gross and rainy outside, we found the perfect craft kit!  Scrap ‘n Stuff Umbrella from Alex is just right.  The see thru umbrella (with pink trim) comes with pockets all along the inside.  The kit also comes with fabric, ribbon, stickers, etc. to add your own art work to each pocket.  You can also add personalized pictures.  May just cheer someone up on a cold rainy day!