Toy Police Talk to Parents About New Toy Rules

At a Town Hall meeting held in New York City, Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum was joined by parents and consumers to talk toy safety.  The discussion centered around new federal safety rules that are in place for toys that will give American consumers greater confidence when they go shopping this holiday season. Chairman Tenenbaum informed the audience that starting this year:

• federal limits for lead in paint on children’s toys dropped to 90 parts per million, which is among the lowest in the world;
• toys for children 12 and younger must now be tested and certified that they meet the new lead in paint limits;
• children’s toys cannot be made or sold with more than 300 parts per million of total lead;
• children’s toys cannot be made or sold with more than 0.1% of six prohibited phthalates;
• and most children’s toys now fall under mandatory standards, instead of voluntary ones.

“It is important to make safety a priority when making your holiday toy purchases this season,” said Chairman Inez Tenenbaum. “CPSC has worked hard this year to give parents and grandparents greater confidence that the toys they seek to purchase have enhanced safety protections for children.”