Kazoo Toys on Toy Recalls

http://origin.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_7411070

Recalls: No joy in toys
Recalls have parents worried, kids confused, officials critical
By Howard Pankratz
The Denver Post
As do all 1-year-olds, Cyanna Schutz tends to put every toy in her mouth.

As far as her mom, Kaliea, is concerned - given the current avalanche of toy recalls in the United States - that is not good for Cyanna.

"There seems to be a recall every day," said Schutz, 34, of Denver. "I'm very concerned. I make sure every toy is OK."

In October there were 29 recalls of products that had excessive levels of lead paint in them. Most of them were toys made in China.

Then, on Wednesday, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled a very popular craft set, Aqua Dots, composed of beads coated with a chemical that converts into a "date rape" drug when swallowed.

Two children - including 20-month-old boy who swallowed about a dozen beads - slipped into comas after ingesting the dots.
For Melissa Brill, mother of 22-month-old twins Evan and Aaron and 3 1/2-year-old Ashley, the recalls have been a nightmare.

She has thrown away 15 toys and turned her house upside-down in her search for parts missing from the toys she has discarded.

And she is afraid that wherever her kids go, dangerous toys may be lurking - day care, a toy store or the pediatrician.

"The list (of recalled toys) is exhaustive," said Brill, 35, of Lone Tree. "We have to go through every single toy box. We have nine toy boxes. It is a lot of work!"

Not only did she have to throw away toys, but she also had to explain to Ashley why the toys were pitched.

"It was hard for my 3 1/2-year-old to understand," Brill said.

She is concerned not only about her children but also about other kids to whom she has given toys.

"It's a huge worry," she said.

One mother, Erin McCauley, 35, of Denver, is eager to get her 5 1/2-year-old son, Cole Hajde, tested for lead poisoning.

"I'm very nervous about it," she said. "I'm sure I've got (bad toys) lurking all over my house. I'm flipping things over to see where they are made."
She said the list of recalled toys on the Consumer Product Safety Commission website is overwhelming.

"They are pages and pages long," McCauley said. "It is unbelievable how long the list is."

The commission has been criticized by various federal legislators, including Rep. Diana DeGette, a Denver Democrat.

Earlier this week, Nancy Nord, acting head of the commission, appeared before a subcommittee on which DeGette sits. At the hearing, Nord was grilled for taking industry-paid trips to trade shows.

"Nord didn't seem to recognize that it had the appearance of impropriety," DeGette said Thursday. "She is old enough to know better."

Legislators want to require that all toys be tested by an accredited third party and certified by manufacturers that they meet safety standards. They also want to increase funding for the agency to increase staff levels, increase safety commission agents at U.S. ports of entry and improve antiquated testing facilities.

Wednesday's recall "is just another glowing example of the need for comprehensive reform of our consumer system," DeGette said. "While I commend the CPSC for recalling these toys promptly, recalls alone do not solve the problem. Only a small percentage of the products recalled are actually returned, leaving many sitting in our homes just waiting to harm children."

Diana Nelson, owner of Kazoo & Co., 2930 E. Second Ave., has not had to discard any toys and is now inundated with parents trying to find safe toys for their children.

"Not an hour goes by that I don't receive a call where they ask where our products are made," Nelson said. "We have people coming in who have gone through all their children's toys and thrown them out.

"They are looking for replacements, other options and other choices."

Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com

Mattel takes a spin with 'RollBots'

By Staff -- Playthings, 9/4/2007 7:54:00 AM
OTTAWA—Amberwood Entertainment has entered into an agreement with Mattel to develop toys and other products based on RollBots, a Canadian-import animated series launching next year.

Twenty-six half hour episodes of the series, for kids ages 6 to 11, are currently in production. Commissioned by Canada's YTV, a division of Corus Entertainment, RollBots stars robots that roll at extreme speeds on rollercoaster type tracks through Flip City, a community that contains 11 different tribes of bots. The show is scheduled to debut in fall 2008 with product to follow.

"We are pleased to have entered into this agreement with Mattel. It demonstrates the appeal of the property and will certainly have a positive effect on the brand," said Jonathan Wiseman, vice president of sales and acquisitions at Amberwood.

Holly Stein, vice president, licensing ascquisitions for Mattel Brands added, "We are looking forward to working with Amberwood Entertainment on this new and unique television property. Rollbots has many of the necessary characteristics to become a great new entry in the kids market and our partnership brings us the opportunity to work together to create engaging and innovative products that bring the property's unique features and storylines to life."

Founded in 1997, Amberwood Entertainment is a full service production company specializing in animation. The company creates, finances, produces, and distributes children’s and family programming for the global market, including a broad network of licensees, some of which are Teletoon, Family Channel, CBC, BBC, YTV/Treehouse, Radio-Canada, TFO, Porchlight Entertainment, France 5, United Films Group, RMP Licensing, Cattleya, MediaSet, RTI, TSR, TVB, KIKA and YLE.

Mattel buys Out Of Box Games

By Staff -- Playthings, 8/28/2007 12:35:00 PM
EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—Mattel has acquired the rights from Out of the Box Publishing to manufacture, distribute and market several games properties, including the award-winning Apples to Apples.

“We are thrilled to add these successful games to Mattel’s growing portfolio of games,” said Tim Kilpin, general manager/senior vice president, Mattel Brands. “Out of the Box Publishing has established a great foundation for success, particularly with Apples to Apples. And much like our own Uno brand, the games we have acquired are easy to understand, family-oriented, and most of all, fun to play. Our strengths in areas like international distribution and brand management should allow us to build upon the strong momentum Out of the Box Publishing already established.”

Out of the Box, Madison, Wis., has sold more than 3 million units of Apples to Apples since its launch in 1998. It recently earned the 2006 Toy of the Year award for Game of the Year.

In addition to Apples to Apples, games included as part of the acquisition include Snorta, a game where each player chooses the sound of a typical farm animal and as players quickly flip over cards, tongue-tied players stumble and stutter to blurt out the animal sounds of the other players; and Blink, a fast-paced game where two players race to be the first to play all of their cards by matching the shape, count, or color on the cards.

“We are pleased that Mattel will be able to utilize their global leadership and resources to take these games to the next level,” said Mark Osterhaus, president of Out of the Box Publishing.

Out of the Box will continue to support its remaining game line as well as publish new games, according to the company.

Lego reports growth

LEGO Group reported 5% revenue growth in the first half of the year because of higher sales of classic products like City, Technic and Star Wars lines. The toymaker also raised its full-year earnings forecast. Lego, known for its colorful plastic building blocks, said Wednesday that pretax profit in the first six months rose 3%, to $32 million, compared to the same period in 2006. Sales to the U.S. market rose "especially well."

small World Toys Answers Recall

August 21, 2007



Dear Retail Partner:

In an effort to address the current concerns about the recent recalls of toys that have paint with excessive levels of lead, we want to assure you that Small World Toys has always and continues to take the necessary actions to ensure the safety of our toys.

Toys sold in the U.S. are subject to strong mandatory regulations and voluntary standards, making these toys among the safest products in the home. Small World Toys has rigorous procedures in place that it directs its vendors to follow to assure that all of the products it imports in the U.S. comply with applicable mandatory and voluntary standards. To the extent possible, Small World Toys also conducts tests on and inspections of products after they are received in the U.S.

Toy safety is an ongoing, year-in, year-out priority at Small World Toys. We are committed to continuous testing and inspections to ensure the highest quality and safety of the products we distribute. We are confident that Small World Toys will continue to develop and distribute the great products that have kept us in business for the past 46 years.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Sincerely,
Pam Dunlop
Safety & Compliance Manager

Schleich responds to toy recall

August 21, 2007


Dear Schleich Customers:

The safety of children is paramount and a critical priority for all toy companies and Schleich is committed to this endeavor.

Toy safety standards and regulations both here in Canada and in the U.S.A. are stringent and many toy companies go beyond these standards in their manufacturing. The North American toy industry has effective systems and processes in place when defective /unsafe products are identified or reach the market place.

The recently publicized toy issues were first identified by the respective companies who have been diligent in voluntarily recalling their products and advising the general public. In-depth investigations are being conducted by these companies into how this has happened. Both Health Canada and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have reported that there have been no injuries relating to these recalls.

You asked us whether Schleich toys are safe. We understand your concerns and can assure you that our toys meet or exceed the applicable toy regulations.

Schleich GmbH believes that toy safety is a maximum priority. Schleich has an internal quality control department and it is supported by external test centres. Our products have always been made using materials which at the time of production were classified as safe. Schleich toy figures comply with all national and international guidelines and regulations, e.g. the strict provisions of the European Standard for Toys (EN 71) and the American Specification for Toy Safety (ASTM F963-03). We have also in-troduced our own regulations and test methods which are often more stringent.

We obligate our raw material suppliers and other suppliers to comply with these regulations. We also hire independent and authorized laboratories to carry out regular tests regarding the materials, the paints used for our products and the finished toys (saliva and migration tests, for example, are performed by these laboratories).

We hope that this information addresses your concerns regarding the safety or our toys and the steps we take to ensure this safe aspect of our toys. Thank you for your interest in Schleich products.

Yours truly,
Sam Armstrong

Edushape responds to toy recall

GOOD MORNING TEAM!

We have received several calls from you as well as our customers with respect to the China Lead Paint & Magnet frenzy hitting our industry.

Attached is a rough list of Products Made in China. Note that the majority of our products are now manufactured in China due to competitive market pricing. I know this is not the avenue you were looking for however its want is necessary in business today.

(FYI…..All Music by Halilit and Interstar products are lines that we only Distribute and are made in Israel)

Please share with your customers that…..All Products Produced by and Distributed by Edushape Ltd.: (additional testing points are addressed as required by product type and by Federal Law Requirements)

- Meet and or exceed ASTM and CE specifications for products sold in the USA and other countries World Wide.
- ASTM 16CFR 1303 - Lead Free requirements as required by CPSC & CPSA regulations
- ASTM F963 07e1 - Magnets meet the NEW CPSC & CPSA standards issued in May, 2007
- ASTM 16CFR 1500.3 (c, (6),(vi) for Flammability requirements
- ASTM F963-03 – void of Heavy Metal requirements – Section 4.3.5.2
- ASTM 16 CFR 1500 – “Federal Hazards Substances Act Regulation”

Know that over 50% of our products are sold to Childcare Institutions with-in the USA and have met all requirements for Child Safe Products at this level, one that is most sensitive in the care of our children when they are out of parental care. Should any of your customers need backup reports we will be willing to forward them at any time. (FYI…each report is, on average, 16 pages long)

Hope this helps and feel free to give me a call to discuss further if needed.

GOOD LUCK….and as always, THANK YOU for your continued efforts in supporting Edushape Ltd.

Kindest Regards,
Judith Culberson
National Sales Manager
Edushape Ltd. USA