Toy Association’s Matthew Lenz Speaks on Chemicals in Children’s Products at Chemical Watch Conference

October 19, 2020 | Matthew Lenz, The Toy Association’s director of state government affairs, participated in a roundtable on October 16 during the “Key Regulatory Updates: Europe, Asia and the Americas” virtual conference produced by Chemical Watch. The conference offered chemical safety, compliance, and regulatory professionals across a wide range of industries with a closer look at the latest updates in global chemicals control legislation.

During the U.S. state-level panel, Lenz discussed regulatory updates to chemical programs for children’s products in New York, Vermont, and Oregon and their potential impact on the toy industry; offered predictions for what the 2021 legislative landscape would look like for chemical regulation in toys; and discussed the 383 chemical bills that were monitored and/or advocated on by The Toy Association over the past year.

The U.S. state roundtable was led by Terry Hyland, managing editor for North America at Chemical Watch, and included Meredith Williams, director of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, and Ken Zarker, pollution prevention section manager for the Washington State Department of Ecology.

“This was an important opportunity for The Toy Association to speak to an international audience about regulations impacting the U.S. toy industry, especially as we expect to see even more activity next year as legislatures start to return from the pandemic, and with states potentially becoming even more active depending on the outcome of the federal election,” said Lenz.

As previously announced in last week’s update from The Toy Association’s state government affairs team, the Association is actively working on behalf of its members on regulatory issues in California, Connecticut, New York, Oregon, and Vermont and continues to work on legislative measures in New Jersey and Massachusetts, while also monitoring interim legislative activity on priority issues across the country.

To learn more about The Toy Association’s advocacy initiatives at the state level, contact Jennifer Gibbons, vice president of state government affairs.