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Chinese factories now produce eight out of every ten toys sold in the US

WASHINGTON, DC – 09/13/07 – US toy company executives and several major retailers are calling for legislation aimed at strengthening inspections of imports, particularly those from China.

Their appeal at a recent Senate hearing follows a series of recalls of Chinese-made toys, many of which have been found to be tainted with lead-based paint.

Testifying at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association, called for a mandatory program to require that all toys sold in the US be subject to standardized tests to ensure their safety.

Around 80 types of toys that have been sold in the US since May have been recalled including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, and Dora the Explorer characters.

"We are encouraging the federal government to adopt a requirement that all toys sold in the US undergo inspection to assure that they conform to our standards," said Keithley.

Gerald Storch, the chairman and chief executive officer of the US retailer, Toys 'R Us, endorsed the call, saying he “strongly supports the strengthening of third-party testing requirements.”

The Senate hearing came a day after China agreed to ban the use of lead paint on Chinese-made toys as well as fireworks, lighters and electrical products exported to the US.

Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), praised the agreement."These are significant achievements," she said.

These agreements, she said, "signal that the Chinese government is serious about working with the CPSC to keep dangerous products out of American homes."

But Nord faced tough questions from several senators who wanted to know why her agency did not “do more” to stop imports of children's jewelry from China despite knowing that many of those products had been found to contain lead.

Nord answered saying her agency “does not have the legal authority to ban imports from China, but is seeking a change in regulations to address the issue.”

Her response drew a sharp response from Committee member Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Illinois).

"I could just tell you that what you just said is of no consolation to families across America that you are somehow caught up in a rule-making process, when you know that one out of five pieces of children's jewelry has dangerous lead content," he said. "Americans expect our government to protect families and children."

Durbin has introduced a bill to modernize the Consumer Product Safety Commission, boost its funding and increase fines on companies that are determined to have sold unsafe products.

The Consumers Union, an independent nonprofit organization, supports the bill, as well as the toy industry's call for more inspections of imports.

Sally Greenberg, Consumers Union's senior product safety counsel, says inspections cannot be left to Chinese factory owners.

"China suffers from the absence of a rigorous regulatory system and endemic problem of corruption and a lack of a free press, making it crucial that American companies doing business in China undertake third-party independent inspections and certification systems and make those systems transparent," said Greenberg.

Beijing has vocally defended its products, asserting saying most are safe with Chinese officials blaming the media for exaggerating the problem and saying China would not be experiencing an export surge if its products were of poor quality.

China currently accounts for 70% of toy exports worldwide, and a full 80% of toys sold in the US.

Last week, Southern California-based Mattel, the world’s largest toy maker, announced its third toy recall in a month – a call-back of 800,000 toys, including 675,000 accessories for one of the company’s biggest sellers, its iconic Barbie Doll.

The toy giant’s last recall, announced in mid-August, covered about 19 million toys worldwide. They included toys made in China that either had excessive amounts of lead paint or had small magnets that could easily be swallowed by children.

On August 1, Mattel’s Fisher-Price division said it was recalling 1.5 million preschool toys featuring characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo because of lead paint.

That action included 967,000 toys sold in the US between May and August.

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