December 19th, 2007
According to many families with toddlers, such as the DeHaases and Austin-based Christy and Brian Morrison, building blocks are back; books and hand-made products are preferred. And suddenly, “buy local” and “buy American” has become more compelling than ever.
“Parents have got so many things to worry about that it’s just overwhelming,” says Tracey Easthope, director of the Environmental Health Department at
“We don’t want to use the phrase ‘toy scare.’ There are many other products besides toys that need to be regulated. Our broader point is not to alarm people but to give them information – and also to urge them to tell their legislators that we need a better system that protects consumers. Our laws regulating chemicals in products, in all products, generally aren’t very good.”
Unfortunately, the proof is in the CPSC’s long lists. This year’s record-setting recalls have thrown parents into a frenzy and sent children to hospitals – many with irreversible health issues. En masse, parents are now demanding action and requesting manufacture updates. More than 100,000 American parents have signed up for the CPSC’s email recall list since the recalls began. And some politicians are acting.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, who co-sponsored the Consumer Product Safety Reform Act in the wake of on-going recalls, said in a Tampa Tribune article published Dec. 9, “I don’t have any faith in the Commission,” referring to the CPSC, the federal agency charged with testing and monitoring 15,000 non-food products in the U.S. The Tribune article noted that the CPSC’s staff has shrunk by half since 1980 and that less than 1 percent of toys arriving from
