U.S. toy importers clamor for safety checks

As if taking the cudgels from the federal government, American toy making companies requested the former to issue an order requiring toy importers to undergo intensive safety checks on every toy that they sell in the country. The said move was a clear result of the issue concerning the recalls of toys made in China, which were found to be contaminated and thus, unsafe to use. The discovery has greatly affected toy importers operating in the U.S.

The said proposal came from the Toy Industry Association following a discussion held last week. The plan, however, was not designed to egg the federal government to perform a large-scale check among the merchandise of U.S. toy importers.

According to the proposal, independent laboratories will be commissioned to perform the safety checks on the toys of the American toy companies and importers. Bigwigs, however, admitted that such measure has been implementor to be not enough to effectively ensure product safety.

The unprecedented move could't be made on a more proper timing, since the fast approaching holiday season will most probably flood the market with toys and other goods. The toy importers, together with retailers, are racing against time to make sure that their toys and goods that are out in the market do not contain traces of lead as well as other safety issues.

The toy importers and retailers were particularly concerned over the safety of their products since the doubts of the buying public has been growing following the controversial recall of Mattel, Inc. of toys from China that are found to contain lead paints considered as health hazards. As such, they are requesting that everyone in the business observe strict safety checks.

Frederick Locker, a Toy Industry Association lawyer, said that the lead-in-paint issue has hurt the industry so much. He countered, though, that the setback will benefit the industry such that it will learn to observe more stringent measures to make sure that the industry will be bolstered and enhanced. The association includes, among others, Mattel, Hasbro, Lego, and several hundreds of toy manufacturers and importers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPS), the agency that will be the main implementor of the program, is yet to issue its stand regarding the proposal. However, the main concern on the part of the commission is its resources, particularly its manpower. The CPSC's number of working staff suffered more than 10 percent cut during the Bush presidency. In this regard, it will be very hard for the agency to effectively check all the products of the American toy importers and manufacturers. Donald Mays, product safety planning senior director of Consumer Reports, stressed the need for the federal government to impose frequent product safety checks to make sure that the proposal will produce satisfactory results that will hopefully ease the burden being suffered by U.S. toy importers and manufacturers.