Family Safety - Sesame Street Dolls Threaten Kids’ Safety - August 2007

Being a good parent is always a tough job. But it seems to be getting tougher, with the recent discovery that some popular toys are covered with lead paint which could poison preschool children.

Just last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CSPC) announced the recall of nearly one million of these toxic toys, including dolls of Elmo, Big Bird, and other Sesame Street characters. All the products were made in China for sale in the United States.

This was not the first time that Chinese imports posed life-threatening danger to American kids. Earlier this year, the CSPC recalled 1.5 million wooden toy trains and 6.7 million pieces of children’s jewelry, because the items were coated with lead paint.

The recent recalls raised serious questions about the CSPC’s ability to prevent injury, by keeping dangerous goods from reaching retail store shelves. At present, the agency lacks a permanent chairperson and a quorum on its three-member commission, which means it cannot impose fines or take legal action against companies violating consumer safety rules. In addition, the federal agency only has 100 field inspectors, so that it cannot effectively monitor compliance with safety standards or follow up on citizens’ complaints about potentially dangerous products.

Thus, the CSPC has to rely heavily on businesses to make sure that their goods are not dangerous. Yet even the largest corporations appear to be having difficulty monitoring the manufacturing of their products in countries like China, which now produces 80% of the toys sold in this country. In response to the recent toy recalls, the CSPC and major toy distributors claim that they are looking for ways to strengthen safeguards, and Congressional leaders have asked the CSPC to report on whether it should be inspecting all toys imported from China.

Hopefully, these initiatives will lead to real protection for American consumers. In the meantime, the news of toxic imported products can only leave consumers – especially parents – with more questions than answers.