China agrees to lead paint ban in U.S. toy exports

BY KEIKO MORRIS | keiko.morris@newsday.com

6:51 PM EDT, September 12, 2007

Toy industry experts and retailers viewed China's agreement to ban the use of lead paint in toys exported to the United States as a step toward ensuring toy safety but noted that recent recalls of Chinese-made toys already have spurred domestic manufacturers and retailers to develop a far more stringent inspection system than the one that had been in place.

At the Consumer Product Safety Summit held Tuesday, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine signed an agreement with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to establish a plan that will eliminate the use of lead paint on toys exported to the United States. China also promised to increase inspections of consumer products bound for the United States and to assist the CPSC in tracing hazardous products in China.

"We haven't had time to study the full details, but we understand it does commit China to undertake some additional enforcement . . . of safety regulations for exported products," said Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association. "We are in favor of that. However, we are quick to say that while we welcome any additional layers of safety, the ultimate responsibility of safety of toys is on us."

Mattel has been at the center of the last several toy recalls for hazards including lead paint and small magnets that could cause problems if swallowed. The scrutiny Mattel has received will push the industry to a new level of safety, both retailers and industry experts said.

In Washington Wednesday, testimony to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee detailed loose Chinese standards and spotty U.S. enforcement that have contributed to the recalls. Mattel CEO Robert Eckert said the company could have done a better job overseeing subcontractors and that the company would now test the safety of Chinese-made products with its own laboratories or with laboratories certified by the company.

The attention to the toy recalls "has already been positive in the sense that they are paying attention to it and the companies are going to be held more accountable, Sean McQuade, vice president of Matty's Toy Stop, which has five locations on Long Island and one in Westchester County, said in an interview. "Obviously, the more checks and balances you have, the better off you are."

Chris Byrne, a toy expert and contributing editor of Toy Wishes magazine, likened recent events to the Tylenol scare in the 1980s. "That changed how pill bottles were made not just for Tylenol but for everybody," Byrne said. "I think this is going to be industry changing, a whole new standard and whole new levels of testing to win back consumer confidence."

The Toy Industry Association has commissioned the American National Standards Institute to help establish standards and procedures for inspecting products in the Chinese factories as well as making sure the inspectors are qualified.

The association has also invited the federal government to propose safety requirements for testing the products coming off the manufacturing line, Keithley said. Because these standards and protocols likely won't be in place until after the new year, the association is recommending that toy companies retest toys as they come into ports and retest them at their distribution centers for the upcoming holiday season.

Despite the recent uproar over recalls, experts like Byrne and retailers live McQuade note that the recalls have been relatively small compared to the number of products imported from China.

While Mattel has vowed to impose stricter standards for safety testing, companies like the Walt Disney Co. and Nickelodeon that typically license their characters for toys have announced the unusual action of developing their own safety inspection and review system of toys featuring their cartoon creations.

Lynn Usher, owner of Einstein's Attic in Northport, said that the pact with China will change little for her. She recently began testing the toys in her store with devices purchased in a hardware store and said she is continuing her search for more efficient and reliable testing methods.

"I don't feel better at all about that," Usher said. "They killed my trust on that one. I am definitely going to do the best that I can to make sure whatever I carry is safe."

This story was supplemented with reporting by The Associated Press.