Federal Law a Tribute to Participatory Government
By Carter Keithley
President, Toy Industry Association
August 2008
With his approval of the Consumer
Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the President has signed into
law aggressive legislation that strengthens the safety of all consumer
products in America---including toys. The legislation creates new safety
standards, imposes mandatory toy safety testing to assure standards are
met, and improves the recall system through a new product tracking
mechanism. It also bolsters the Consumer Product Safety Commission
with added funding and authority to help it fulfill its mission to
protect American consumers.
Over the course of just ten
months, the U.S. Congress heard the concerns of consumers and public
interest advocates; examined scientific evidence relating to potential
safety hazards; studied current supply chains and safety systems; and
listened to industry engineers about the best ways to further enhance
product safety. The swift adoption of such a major piece of
legislation, and the development of solid and sensible compromises on
difficult issues, is a credit to our participatory system of government,
the wisdom of our Members of Congress, and the sophistication of their
staffs. Consumers can feel confident in the added safety
assurances that the legislation provides.
The toy industry is proud to have
played a responsible role in this process. The Toy Safety
Certification Program (TSCP), which our industry is developing with the
help of safety authorities, will help to quickly fulfill the
requirements of the new legislation. The new law and the efforts
of the toy industry to quickly conform will provide necessary
reassurances to consumers that toys sold in America this holiday season
and in the future are safe for their children. The toy industry
takes seriously its responsibility for the safety of its
products.
Here are some highlights of this
important safety legislation:
-
All toys must be certified as
safe, based on testing by accredited laboratories following standardized
testing procedures.
-
Existing “voluntary”
toy safety standards now gain the force of Federal
law.
-
A new limit for the total lead
content in children’s products.
-
The use of phthalates to soften
the plastic used in some children’s products will be controlled at
the national level pending a requirement for additional study to
re-evaluate their safety.
-
Tracking labels or other
identifying marks will be required on toys so that, should a safety
issue arise, affected toys can be identified and recalled more
easily.
A strengthened and invigorated
Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is a major focus of the Act,
is also a worthwhile outcome in the legislation. But Americans
should not think that it is the CPSC’s mission to pre-screen all
consumer products sold in the U.S. Our nation has long benefited
from a robust and flexible system involving independent safety verifiers
that enable tens of thousands of new consumer products to be brought
safely to market each year. The CPSC is a backstop and ultimate
authority supporting that system, and it needs to have the manpower and
resources to fulfill that mission. The legislation recognizes this
– and that, conversely, a top-down governmental approval system
for consumer products would neither be an efficient – or effective
– system.
Over the past 12 months since the
first major recalls, the toy industry has undertaken unprecedented level
of inspections and re-inspections to help ensure toys on shelves this
coming holiday season are safe. The toy industry promises our continued
commitment to making safe toys and our constant vigilance to making it
right.
That is our pledge.