Bob Johnson

This week I had the opportunity to attend the International Toy Fair in New York City. The annual conference is a massive meeting of manufacturers, retailers, independent toy producers, small businesses, importers, and licensors from around the world. But this year, it was an unofficial conference on the confusion surrounding the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

Since the act was passed and signed into law last year, questions have far outnumbered answers. To address some of these, the fair included a toy safety briefing. Hundreds of people attended, including speakers from the Toy Industry Association and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the specifics of the law. Nancy Nord, Acting Chairwoman of CPSC, spoke to the impracticality of “testing presence, not just risk of exposure,” which she said makes the law unenforceable. Clearly, CPSC needs to clarify what the new law will mean, and make sure those choices are focused on protecting child safety.

Walking around the fair itself, I was surprised to hear how many manufacturers and retailers seemed equally confused about the CPSIA. No one seems to understand the law or how to comply. Manufacturers fear that certain provisions in CPSIA may force them to replace proven, safe compounds with untested ones – putting our children at risk from unknown chemicals. Retailers are confused about testing requirements which indicate only the presence of chemicals, not any kind of risk of exposure to children. Laboratory representatives say some tests required by the law don’t exist. Small and large producers are worried about of the cost and complications of CPSIA. Parents say they don’t know how to tell which toys are safe, or which retailers are playing by the new rules. The fair was awash in questions and confusion about the new law – hardly a recipe for safer kids.

If there is that much confusion among the professionals in the toy industry, just imagine the plight of parents.

And that is where our concern lies at the Child Safety Task Force. Piecemeal approaches to toy safety-e.g., this toy is “widget-free”-doesn’t really address the needs of parents and their children. The solution must be comprehensive and based on scientific integrity.

We need to reexamine the CPSIA, and clarify for manufacturers and retailers how best to move forward. The law does no good if people don’t understand it, or how to comply. More to the point, regulations governing child safety are not helpful to consumers if they are not aimed at real concerns, and based on sound science. CPSIA is clouding the already murky waters of toy safety- we need the CPSC to focus on science and not politics as it decides how to implement CPSIA.

In the meantime, it is certain that the CPSC and Congress will hear more of the exasperation I heard this week. The question is, will they listen?