Trouble in Toyland 2003
11/25/2003
Executive Summary
Toys are safer than ever
before, thanks to decades of advocacy by product safety advocates and parents
and the leadership of Congress, state legislatures and the Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC). Nevertheless, as parents venture into crowded malls
and browse for the perfect toy on the Internet this holiday season, they should
remain vigilant about often hidden hazards posed by toys on store shelves.
The 2003 Trouble in Toyland
report is the 18th annual Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) survey of toy
safety. This report provides safety guidelines for parents when purchasing toys
for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves
that pose potential safety hazards. PIRG’s research focused on four categories
of toys: toys that pose choking hazards, toys that are dangerously loud, toys
that pose strangulation hazards or could form sharp projectiles, and toys that
contain toxic chemicals.
PIRG researchers visited
numerous toy stores and other retailers to find potentially dangerous toys and
identify trends in toy safety. PIRG also conducted our third survey of online
toy retailers. Key findings include:
Choking Hazards
Choking on small parts, small balls and balloons remains a leading cause of
toy-related deaths and injuries. At least 140 children choked to death on children’s
products between 1990 and 2002, a rate of about 12 deaths a year. Our researchers
found:
• Manufacturers and retailers
continue to sell toys that have small parts but are not labeled with the statutory
choke hazard warning.
• Toy manufacturers are
over-labeling toys by placing choke hazard warnings on items that do not contain
small parts. We are concerned that this will diminish the meaning of the labels,
making them less useful to parents.
• Retailers are doing a
better job of placing choke hazard labels on bins in which toys with small parts
are sold, as required by law.
• Balloons are still manufactured
and marketed in shapes and colors attractive to young children and often sold
in unlabeled bins.
Strangulation and Other
Hazards
The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has set safety standards
to prevent strangulation by cords and elastics attached to toys as well as eye
and other injuries from toys that are projectiles. These standards and other
ASTM standards are enforceable by CPSC. PIRG researchers found:
• The popular yo-yo water
ball poses particular hazards to young children, including strangulation and
other injury to the eyes, neck and face.
• PIRG researchers found
one toy with a long elastic cord and bead at the end, which may pose a strangulation
hazard to small children.
• Manufacturers continue
to market cheap dart guns and bow and arrow sets that include hard projectiles
with flimsy suction cup tips that easily pop off.
Loud Toys
Almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss, according
to a 1998 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
ASTM promulgated a new acoustics standard for toys in November 2003, setting
the loudness threshold for most handheld toys at 90 decibels; the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that prolonged exposure to sounds
at 85 decibels or higher can result in hearing damage. PIRG researchers found:
• Several toys currently
on toy store shelves may not meet the new ASTM standards for appropriately loud
toys once they are implemented.
• Several toys currently
on toy store shelves exceed 100 decibels when measured at close range.
Toxic Toys
In addition to posing choking and other hazards, toys can expose children to
dangerous chemicals. PIRG researchers found:
• PIRG surveyed more than
40 toy manufacturers and book publishers about their use of phthalates in children’s
toys and other products. Of those who responded, most reported that they have
stopped using phthalates in teethers, mouthing toys and other toys and products
intended for children under three, although several admitted that toys for older
children may contain these chemicals.
• Manufacturers are selling
play cosmetic sets that include nail polish containing toxic chemicals, such
as xylene and dibutyl phthalate.
• Tests have shown popular
polymer clays used for crafts, such as Fimo and Sculpey brands, contain up to
14 percent phthalates by weight and may expose children, as well as adults,
to dangerous levels of phthalates through inhalation and ingestion.
Purchasing Toys On The
Internet
Increasingly, parents are turning to the Internet as a convenient way to shop
for toys, especially during the busy holiday shopping season. PIRG researchers
conducted its third annual survey of online toy retailers, finding that more
online toy retailers than ever before are displaying some sort of choke hazard
warning on at least some of their toys—although mandatory requirements are still
necessary. Specifically:
• One-third of online retailers
surveyed (13/41) displayed some sort of choke hazard warning next to toys that
otherwise by law require such labeling on their packaging, although most retailers
do not display these warnings consistently on their Web sites.
• Four online toy retailers
use the statutory choke hazard warning on their Web sites., and six additional
retailers use the statutory language but do not include the statutory warning
symbol  .
Since CPSC has yet to require
online retailers to include choke hazard warnings on their Web sites., however,
the majority of retailers still do not include choke hazard warnings next to
products that otherwise legally require this labeling. Other gaps identified
in the survey:
• Of the retailers surveyed,
only half (20) allow consumers to shop for toys by age group. Of these 20 Web
sites., six post or direct parents to toys that are not age-appropriate.
• Eleven of the online retailers
provide no manufacturer age recommendations for the toys we surveyed.
Recommendations
To consumers and parents:
Be vigilant this holiday season and remember that:
• The CPSC does not test
all toys.
• Not all toys available
meet CPSC regulations.
• Toys that meet all CPSC
regulations may still pose hazards, ranging from choking and hearing loss to
chemical exposure.
• Online toy retailers do
not have to provide the same safety warnings that otherwise are legally required
on the packaging of toys sold in stores.
• Be aware of “hand-me-down”
toys. Keep younger children away from toys with small parts designed for their
older siblings.
To the CPSC:
• Reexamine the parameters
by which toys are judged for age appropriateness.
• Enlarge the size of the
small parts test tube and require that rounded toys meet the same choke hazard
standards as small balls.
• Enforce the new ASTM acoustics
standards for loud toys and consider strengthening the standards to reduce the
sound threshold for handheld toys from 90 decibels to 85 decibels.
• Require manufacturers
of the popular yo-yo water ball to label the toy with warnings about potential
strangulation and other bodily injury.
• Require online toy retailers
to display safety warnings otherwise required by law on toy packaging on their
Web sites.
• Require manufacturers
to label toys, not merely packaging, with manufacturer identification.
• Ban phthalates in toys
and other products intended for children under five.
To toy manufacturers:
• Aim for 100 percent compliance
with toy regulations.
• Use statutory choke hazard
warnings on retail toy Web sites.
• Put manufacturer identification
on toys, not just packaging.
• Do not make handheld toys
that produce sounds louder than 85 decibels.
• Do not manufacture and
market balloons for children under eight years old.
• Cease using phthalates
in products intended for children of any age and label products PVC and phthalate-free.
To toy stores and online
toy retailers:
• Clearly label bins containing
small toys, or the toys within the bins, with appropriate warnings.
• Consider the height of
bins containing toys with small parts. Make sure they are high enough that children
under three cannot reach them.
• Make sure all balloons
are packaged with a statutory warning. Never place loose balloons in bins. Do
not sell balloons aimed at an age-inappropriate audience.
• Display mandatory choke
hazard warnings next to toys with small parts, small balls, and balloons sold
on Web sites.
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