Metro Monthly

By Jessica Sprowl
Metro Monthly Staff Writer

Shopping for children for Christmas can be overwhelming. Does Susie want the singing-Hannah-Montana-concert doll or the Hannah Montana-with-purple-outfit doll? And now, with over 20 million toys being recalled in recent months, consumers are faced with more questions: “Is a particular toy the make and model of a specific recall? Has this toy been recalled? And, could this toy be recalled?”
With all the news coverage of the toy recalls, even children themselves are becoming aware of the dangers of some toys.

Karren St. Clair, a resident of Niles, laughed when she talked about her 5-year-old son sitting on Santa’s lap and asking him not to get him toys from China.

“It’s kind of funny because he is so aware of it,” she said. “He asks where the toys are made.”
Even the boy’s grandmother is giving money this year because she doesn’t want to give her grandson anything dangerous, Clair said.
While shopping at the Southern Park Mall with her 6-year-old grandson, Sherry Sinibaldi, a resident of New Castle, said her nieces are not going to shop until right before Christmas so that they know all the recalled toys.

“It’s very scary. We had to send several Thomas the Tank toys back, and found out some of the specialty ones could not be replaced,” she said.
Sinibaldi said she already received her replacement Thomas the Tank toys, and was refunded for the specialty Thomas the Tank toys that could not be replaced.

Sinibaldi also got a Simplicity crib for her 9-month-old grandson and then found out has an optional recall on it, and is too scared to put it together. She is waiting to hear back from the company on the recall and steps to follow.

“I am investigating all toys this year,” she said.
For Ethel Lewis, a grandmother from Boardman, having to take the toys away from her grandchildren is the saddest thing.
“What frustrates me is why it is not tested before it hits the shelf. It’s horrible having to take a toy away from a child,” she said.
Lewis said she is trying to shop more conscientiously this year, and is finding herself buying more educational toys and a lot more clothes.

“Learning is fun anyways,” she said. “I’m buying toys, but I am not buying as much this year.”
Lewis said she also enjoys taking her grandchildren to Barnes & Noble as well. On Halloween, she took one of her grandsons into the store and they picked out a book together and then stayed for Story Time. “It was nice. We just sat on the floor with popcorn and listened,” she said.

Amy Neral, community relations manager at the Boardman Barnes & Noble, said as soon as recalls come out, the company pulls everything from the shelves.
“The company is very conscientious about checking toys,” she said.
Another important point Neral said, is to know what the recall is and what company makes it. For example, the Curious George plush doll Barnes & Noble carries, is not the same make and model that was recalled, she said.

When it comes to looking for alternative means for children’s gifts this Christmas, Neral said there is so much more you can do. “There is such a variety outside of toys,” she said. “Books never have lead paint on them. You can’t go wrong.”

With 20 million toys being recalled recently, that number may seem huge to consumers, but Shelliah Gilliland, director of public relations for etoys.com, said 3 billion toys are sold in the United States every year, and less than 1 percent of overall toys were recalled in 2007.
“Eighty-percent of toys are made outside of the U.S.,” said Gilliland. “Even though someone may have a toy that says ‘Made in U.S.A.,‘ smaller parts may be subcontracted and made in other countries.”
Consequently, Etoys.com has created a safety center on its Web site for consumers to be aware and confident in the toys they are buying, Gilliland said.

“We have a good relationship with our manufacturers. We will pull any recalls immediately from our site and then quarantine the items in our warehouse,” she said.

One advantage Etoys.com has over walk-in toy retailers is that the company can notify the customers about recalls through emails and then gives specific steps to follow for recalled toys. The company has offered this service for seven years now, and it’s not something the company has just started due to recent recalls, she said.
“What we in the toy industry are hoping for is better regulations in inspecting for toy safety,” Gilliland said.

The Consumer Product and Safety Commission can also send out recall announcements through email alerts if consumers sign up on its Web site: www.cpsc.gov, said Patty Davis, a lead hazard specialist at the CPSC.

“U.S. retailers, importers and manufacturers have stepped up the testing of their products at the insistence of CPSC to make sure they comply with all U.S. laws and safety standards,” she said. “The large number of recalls you’ve seen in recent months are a direct result of increased testing and scrutiny.”

The CPSC cannot promise no other toy recalls will me made, but what consumers should know is that toys on store shelves have gone through more scrutiny and testing than ever before, Davis said.
One online retailer, Back to Basic Toys, has recreated a line of classic toys. The company also offers a section called “Shop with Confidence,” where it offers toys made in North America and Europe. “We understand the concern parents have with shopping for their children,” said Ken Moe, general manager.

He said the company has its own independent testing labs, and makes sure all the toys on its Web site have passed the U.S. safety inspection standard, ASTM, and the European safety inspection standard.

“A lot of our toys are low-tech and from a lot of “mom and pop” shops,” Moe added.
Robert Herriott, director of international affairs at the Toy Industry Association, said the TIA is working with Congress to create a federally mandated toy-testing program. Such a program would seek to ensure that toys sold in the U.S. meet government safety standards and be tested appropriately by an accredited facility.
“The industry has long recognized the seriousness of lead and helped establish the federal standards for lead in children’s products over 30 years ago,” Herriott said.

In 1998, the toy industry agreed to abide by an even more stringent standard for lead than the federal regulations. For these reasons, news of toy recalls for lead content is especially concerning, he said.
Consumers should know that toys sold in the United States are the most highly regulated and monitored in the world, Herriott said.

But despite these efforts, the TIA recognizes that recent experience has shown that, while America has very strong toy safety standards, there’s a need to strengthen the testing and inspection systems used to ensure that toys exported to the U.S. are safe.
Herriott also said the U.S. is working with China to improve toy safety.

“Collaborative efforts between the U.S. and China have led to the development of the Chinese Compulsory Certification (3Cs) mark, which requires stringent testing of toys and other products manufactured for sale in, or imported into the Chinese market,” he said.

The TIA has also created another Web site: toyinfo.org, for consumers to check facts, toy safety and recall information.