How ethical is the toy industry?

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By Lauren | December 16, 2008

The holidays are upon us, and just about everyone is bustling around with last-minute shopping and preparations. We already have a million things to worry about. So, do we really need to be anxious about the safety of the toys we buy?

CNN recently reported that researchers at the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan bought more than 1,500 popular toys at American toy and department stores and tested them. They reported that approximately one third of the tested toys showed medium or high levels of contaminants such as lead and arsenic. The toy industry disputes the findings, but it’s difficult to imagine that the researchers got it wrong over 500 times.

The federal government has been working to regulate contaminants in toys but, with over 85% of American toys being manufactured abroad, it’s questionable how effective those regulations will be. Walmart and Toys R Us have announced programs to enhance the safety of the toys they sell, and kudos go to both companies for the effort. But until toy manufacturers and importers set and enforce rigorous standards with their vendors, toy safety is likely to continue to be a problem.

Mattel and other toymakers recently settled an environmental lawsuit brought by the State of California and the City of Los Angeles, agreeing to pay a $1.8 million dollar settlement and reduce the levels of lead in their products. Come on, people! Why did it take a lawsuit to make you take this critical step? There shouldn’t be toxic chemicals in kids’ toys, and you know it. Get your act together now, or Santa may leave great big lumps of coal in your stockings this year.

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