Toy Association Advocacy Honored for Advancing Battery Safety in All Consumer Products

October 25, 2022 | Ahead of Toy Safety Awareness Month in November, which serves to further educate parents and caregivers about safe toy shopping, safe product selection, and safe play at home, Senator Richard Blumenthal presented The Toy Association with a copy of Reese’s Law signed by President Biden, heralding the organization’s advocacy work in helping drive the passage of the comprehensive battery safety bill.

Under Reese’s Law, named in honor of 18-month-old Reese Hamsmith who passed away in December 2020 after swallowing a button battery from a non-toy product, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is now working to apply strict toy safety requirements for child-resistant closures on battery-operated toys more broadly to other consumer household products. Button and coin cell batteries that are sold separately must also comply with federal child-resistant packaging rules.

“We hope that American families can breathe a little easier in knowing that the long-standing toy safety standards for batteries that have safeguarded children for decades will now be applied to other commonly accessible household items,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “We are especially grateful to the Hamsmith family and Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn for their shared commitment to this critical piece of legislation and helping guide Reese’s Law to passage. As we enter another holiday season when more battery-operated products enter homes, we will continue to educate parents and caregivers on how to remain diligent.”

As part of its advocacy for battery safety, The Toy Association has previously testified before the Senate about battery safety and other product safety concerns and urged the CPSC to apply the proven successful toy industry model for battery safety to other products common in children’s environments during a CPSC priorities hearing in April.

The Toy Association’s official statement on button cell batteries can be found here. Toy professionals can learn more about Toy Safety Awareness Month here or contact The Toy Association’s Kristin Morency Goldman for more information.