The independent consumer advocacy group World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH) recently released its annual list of the 10 worst toys, and, despite all the recalls issued this year, over 60 affecting millions of toys, all but one of the toys are still for sale. The list was met with criticism from both the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Toy Industry Association (TIA), an industry advocacy group.
Referring to the recently-recalled Aquadots, WATCH’s attorney said, “Why are toys being made with known toxins? . . . . The best interest of toy children need to be put before the best interests of toy companies.”
In response, a spokeswoman for the CPSC said, “Toys that are for sale right now have gone through more investigation and more scrutiny than any year past.”
There certainly is some truth to this, since one of the ten toys, a rubber-band gun, is a toy that would have caused no alarm whatsoever, but the question is whether this investigation and scrutiny is leading to safer products for our children.
A spokeswoman for TIA said, “In general, the products are safe as intended to be used.”
Clearly, this standard is insufficient, since we cannot make sure that kids only use toys as intended. However, hopefully we can make sure that the toys are given proper and adequate warnings that clarify what would constitute its intended use. While toy manufacturers cannot possibly anticipate every circumstance, they must strive to make toys as safe as possible.
If your child has been injured by an unsafe toy or other defective product, contact the product liability lawyers at Pomerantz, Perlberger, & Lewis, L.L.P to give toy companies more incentive to make sure their products are safe and adequately labeled.
