What's New
Senate Passes Major CPSC Reform Act
The Senate passed on a 79-13 vote, the CPSC Reform Act. This bi-partisan legislation represents the most
significant improvement in almost two decades to the Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC), the agency that oversees the safety of more than 15,000
consumer products in the United
States.
“Better product safety requires a comprehensive approach –
fewer toxic toys, more money and authority for the CPSC, more disclosure to the
public of hazards, more enforcement by state attorneys general and more
independent testing of toys and other children’s products,” said Ed
Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director. “We intend to work with the
House and Senate to quickly package the best elements of both their bills into
a final bi-partisan law.”
Read more...
For regular updates, see the blog static.uspirg.org/consumer.
How You Can Help
Now that the CPSC bill passed the Senate by a resounding 79-13 vote, all that’s
left is for the House and Senate to negotiate their two bills so that they can
send a final law to the president. However, the National Association of Manufacturers, which
includes toy companies and others that make products regulated by the CPSC,
continues its opposition to passage of the best parts of both bills and may try to delay or even kill the reforms.
Click here to email the National Association of Manufacturers and ask them to support the strongest possible CPSC reforms.
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Overview
While most toys on store shelves are safe, we continue to find toys that pose a range of safety hazards to small children. As a result, parents and other child-care providers need to remain vigilant in order to prevent toy-related deaths and injuries.
Recently, TexPIRG broadened the scope of unsafe toys to include toys labeled as phthalate-free. Our analysis last year shows that even some products labeled phthalate-free contain the dangerous chemical.
Toy manufacturers should act swiftly to recall unsafe products and give parents the information they need to allow them to purchase safe toys for their children. TexPIRG and our allies have prompted recalls or regulatory action on over 100 toys.
