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www.toysafety.org watch@toysafety.org
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Edward M. Swartz, Esquire
Founder and President
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Contact:
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Joan Siff
Karen Goldberg
(617) 723-6511
1-(877)-55-WATCH
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James A. Swartz, Esquire
Director
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Date and Time:
Location:
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November 16, 2000 10:00 am
Franciscan Children’s Hospital Chapel
30 Warren Street
Boston, MA
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WORLD AGAINST TOYS CAUSING HARM, INC.'S "10 WORST TOYS" LIST INCLUDES NATIONALLY KNOWN NAMES SUCH AS "ERNIE",
"BART SIMPSON", “LOONEY TUNES”, AND "MICKEY MOUSE" BEING SOLD BY MAJOR MANUFACTURERS AND RETAILERS.
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W.A.T.C.H. INC.'s ANNUAL "10 WORST TOYS" CONFERENCE:
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CHILD SAFETY SHOULD NOT BE A GAME OF “HIDE AND SEEK”
Boston consumer advocates and trial attorneys, Edward M. Swartz and James A. Swartz1 , on behalf of W.A.T.C.H., Inc., presented W.A.T.C.H.’s annual nominees for its “10 Worst Toys” list at a conference in Boston at The Franciscan Children’s Hospital. The focus for the 2000 conference was on the “hide and seek game the toy industry and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are playing with dangerous toys and children’s lives.” Hazards are being hidden in a cloud of ambiguity and inaction on the part of the toy industry and the government. Rather than forcing the public to seek out these dangers, the CPSC should readily provide consumers with the information needed to protect children from hazardous toys before the toys reach their homes.
This year the new millennium offered an opportunity for new starts-however, many toys in the marketplace and in our toy boxes remain dangerous and available. Last year
alone, the CPSC reported at least sixteen (16) toy-related deaths, and an estimated 152,600 toy-related injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms. The CPSC, recognizing that there is a
serious problem with dangerous toys, has recommended that toy companies adopt the CPSC’s “Top Ten List” of safety principles. This initiative is positive, but incomplete. The toy
companies and the government must also listen and act when dangerous toys are brought to their attention. In the powerful multi-billion dollar toy industry, where profits are often put before safety, the investigation and recall of a hazardous toy may be deemed too costly to a toy company. This leads to body count consumerism-action taken only after a product has injured someone.
The “10 Worst Toys” list is one of the ways W.A.T.C.H. continues the fight to protect our children from unsafe toys.2
Protecting our children will, however, take more than a list of illustrative harmful toys. Safety for our children in the year 2000 and beyond will only occur when preventing injuries caused by
unsafe toys becomes a number one priority for the toy industry and government regulatory agencies.
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1Edward M. Swartz and James A. Swartz are consumer advocates and
nationally known trial attorneys. Edward M. Swartz is the author of Toys That Kill (Vintage-Random House, 1986); Toys that Don't Care (Gambit, Dist. By Houghton Mifflin, 1971); Slaughter
by Product (Kluwer law Book Publishers, 1986) and Hazardous Products Litigation (2nd ed. Lawyers Cooperative Pub., 1988), as well as many other books and scores of toy articles in both professional and lay journals. In the past, Mr. Edward Swartz has been a lecturer on products liability and related issues at the Boston University School of Law. Mr. James Swartz has recently co-authored the articles, "Protecting Our Children," 116 Products Liability Advisory 8 (October 1998), and "Warning! Injury Prevention Mandates Safer Designs and Adequate Warnings"125 Products Liability Advisory 12 (July 1999).
2Edward M. Swartz, the founder of W.A.T.C.H., began the fight against toys causing harm to our children over 30 years ago.
At that time, the national Commission on Product Safety asked him, as a product liability expert, to report on whether there were toys in the
marketplace that presented a safety risk to children. Because of Mr. Swartz’ testimony, many new toy safety standards were recommended by
the Commission. However, the toy industry response that there was “no problem” with toy safety prompted Mr. Swartz, after further
research, to publish the book Toys That Don’t Care. The “10 Worst Toys” list became a means to annually update the public on toy
safety. Mr. Swartz and W.A.T.C.H. continue these efforts to keep public informed with the yearly nominees for the “10 Worst Toys” list.
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INDUSTRY AND GOVERNMENT FAILURE TO INFORM THE PUBLIC
FACT: November, 1999: W.A.T.C.H. informs the CPSC of its nominees for the 1999 “10 Worst Toys” list.
FACT: March, 2000: CPSC writes to W.A.T.C.H. stating that “one toy [on W.A.T.C.H.’s 1999 list] failed to meet the
small parts requirement under 16 C.F.R. Part 1501” and that it “requested the firm to stop sale of the product.”
FACT: The CPSC did not identify the product, the manufacturer, or retailer in its letter to W.A.T.C.H.
FACT: May, 2000: W.A.T.C.H. writes requesting the CPSC identify the product.
FACT: To this day, the CPSC has not identified the product, and has failed to inform W.A.T.C.H. and the public of a recall.
The CPSC is playing a game of “hide and seek” by acknowledging that a toy on W.A.T.C.H.’s 1999 “Worst Toys” list
violates the small parts requirement under 16 C.F.R. Part 1501, while hiding the identity of that toy. If the interest of the
CPSC is, as it should be, to prevent injuries from dangerous products, consumers must be made aware of identities of hazardous toys.
When the commission determined that a product violating a safety regulation had been sold, an immediate recall was the
minimum action that should have been taken to help prevent injuries to children by making some effort to remove the
dangerous toys from toy boxes, homes and schools. This “conspiracy of silence” must be stopped. More action must be
taken to protect the public from inadequately designed and defective children’s products.
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE:
SKY DANCERS RECALLED AFTER YEARS OF NOTIFICATION
AND MANY UNNECESSARY INJURIES
FACT: The Sky Dancers Flying Doll by Galoob Toys, Inc. is a nominee on W.A.T.C.H.’s 1996 “10 Worst Toys” list.
FACT: No immediate action is taken by the government or toy companies to remove the hazard from the marketplace.
FACT: 150 injuries to children and adults from Sky Dancers are reported including “eye damage (scratched corneas
and incidents of temporary blindness), a mild concussion, a broken rib, broken teeth and facial lacerations that required stitches.
” (CPSC News, June 27, 2000, Release # 00-134) (emphasis added).
FACT: June 2000: CPSC and Galoob recall 8.9 million Sky Dancers (CPSC News, June 27, 2000, Release # 00-134).
FACT: October 2000: Galoob assessed a civil penalty of $400,000 but denies that it violated any laws administered by
the CPSC (CPSC News, October 23, 2000, Release # 01-017).
In 1996 there were two toys on W.A.T.C.H.’s “10 Worst Toys” list, “Sky Dancers” by Galoob Toys, and “Star
Wonders” by Placo Toys. They were so similar that we treated them as one toy for purposes of our 1996 toy list. What
followed with these two virtually identical toys is sad. First, the TMA responded in typical fashion to the 1996 list, as it
has done with regard to our lists for the past 30 years by protesting that all the toys on the 1996 list were “safe”. Next,
the CPSC, in cooperation with the TMA and the manufacturer, initiated a 1997 recall only of the “Star Wonders” doll. Its
virtual twin, the “Sky Dancers” doll, was not recalled until October, 2000. Moreover, the year 2000 action was taken
only after 150 injuries were reported from use of the toy. This dilatory conduct should be condemned. As can be seen
from W.A.T.C.H.’s description of the toys’ hazards in 1996, it was obvious that both toys had the potential for serious
bodily injury and should have been recalled together. The $400,000.00 civil penalty to be paid by Galoob, once finally
called to task by the CPSC, is yet another example of the TMA and CPSC doing “too little too late”.
As this unfortunate example illustrates, multiple injuries often must be reported before any action is ever considered.
Child safety needs to come before industry profits.
NOMINEES FOR THE “10 WORST TOYS” LIST
ILLUSTRATE HAZARDS
James Swartz then presented W.A.T.C.H.’s nominees for this years “10 Worst Toys” list. The list exposes potential
hazards in some toys sold today, despite efforts year after year to educate and inform the industry. Swartz stressed that
these particular toys are illustrative of some hazards in toys being sold to consumers, and should not be considered as the
only hazardous toys on the market. Nominees for the year 2000 are as follows:
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THE SIMPSONS BART ACTION SET
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Price:
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$9.99
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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Manley Toy Quest, Los Angeles, CA 90064
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Purchased:
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Toys R Us
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Age Recommendation:
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"AGES 5 AND UP"
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Warnings:
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"DO NOT USE ANY PROJECTILES OTHER THAN
THOSE ADVISED BY THE MANUFACTURER. DO NOT SHOOT AT POINT-BLANK RANGE” and other warnings.
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 POTENTIAL FOR EYE INJURIES!
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The slingshot sold with this “action set” is capable of forcefully firing the plastic
balls with which it is sold, which themselves have the potential to cause serious
eye injuries. It is also foreseeable that creative children will load the slingshot with
other hurtful objects, with potentially disastrous results. Incredibly, we have pointed out on many occasions to manufacturers and retailers, including Toys R
Us, that it is illegal for slingshots to be sold in Massachusetts and several other states1 as it violates a law which bans, among other things, the selling of
slingshots. Toy manufacturers and buyers for national chains should be aware of
and abide by the laws which specifically prohibit the sale of such items. This
products potential for severe bodily injury is real. This toy, and others like it, should be banned everywhere. Other states, such as Florida, Illinois and
California have similar statutes, and at least 11 other states proscribe the use, possession and/or sale of such dangerous weaponry.
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1Mass. Gen. L. ch. 269, §12 (1987):
Whoever manufactures or causes to be
manufactured, or sells or exposes for sale, an instrument or weapon of the kind usually known as a ...sling shot.... shall be punished by a fine of not less that fifty nor
more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more that six months; provided, however, that sling shots may be manufactured and sold to clubs or associations
conduction sporting events where such sling shots are used.
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CLASSIC HORROR PSYCHO SAW
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Price:
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$14.99
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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The Paper Magic Group, Inc., Scranton, PA
18501
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Purchased:
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Spencer Gifts
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Age Recommendation:
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"For ages 5 and up"
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Warnings:
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"CAUTION: Batteries should be replaced
by an adult. Do not mix old batteries and new batteries” and other battery related cautions.
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POTENTIAL FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL HARM
AND IMPACT INJURIES!
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This bloody, realistic looking “psycho saw” invites children as young as 5 years old
to “push button for bone-splitting chainsaw sound”. It is unforgivable for manufacturers and retailers to expose our children to such gruesome and violent
toys. Moreover, this gruesome weapon is made of heavy, rigid plastic with the potential for causing blunt trauma injuries.
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SESAME STREET’S CHECK-UP ERNIE
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Price:
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$19.99
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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Fisher-Price, Inc. a subsidiary of Mattel,
Inc., New York, New York 10010
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Purchased:
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K-Mart
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Age Recommendation:
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"11/2+ Years"
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Warnings:
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"NOTE TO PARENTS: Before your child
plays with this toy, use scissors to cut the plastic attachment(s) that holds figure in place and discard the
pieces”.
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POTENTIAL FOR CHOKING!
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Ernie, the well known Sesame Street character, is marketed for children as young
as 18 months as “a great pal to play doctor with!” Check-up Ernie is sold with a flat, rigid plastic 4½” tongue depressor, a slender plastic 4½” plastic thermometer
and small stuffed frog attached to Ernie’s shirt pocket by a 3” cord. The items marketed with this toy, specifically recommended for oral age children, could be
mouthed and occlude a child’s airway. In particular, the very nature of a tongue depressor invites unsuspecting children to mouth the toy. Children have been
known to choke on long, slender toys that become lodged in their throats.
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JUNGLE GYM JUMP-O-LENE
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Price:
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$26.99
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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Index Recreation Corp., Long Beach, CA
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Purchased:
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K-Mart
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Age Recommendation:
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"Ages 2-6"
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Warnings:
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"CAUTION: USE ONLY UNDER COMPETENT
SUPERVISION" and numerous other warnings.
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POTENTIAL FOR BROKEN BONES,
SUFFOCATION OR OTHER SERIOUS INJURIES!
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This inflatable indoor/outdoor jungle gym has numerous warnings and cautions on
the packaging, the package insert and on the bottom of the “play center” itself. It
would be virtually impossible for a child between the ages of 2 and 6 to do as the manufacturer instructs, to “follow all safety rules to avoid broken bones or other
serious injury”. Also among the warnings concerning obstructions, sharp objects, balconies, stairways, windows, swimming pools, hard surfaces, open
flames and space heaters, to name a few, appears the following warning: “Not to be used as a bed as a child may become wedged between the wall and floor and
suffocate”. The suffocation hazard is not identified anywhere on the packaging or packaging insert.
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DISNEY’S MICKEY JACK-IN-THE-BOX
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Price:
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$9.99
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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Fisher-Price/Arcotoys, Inc. a Mattel
Company, Woodbury, NY 11797
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Purchased:
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K-B Toys
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Age Recommendation:
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"12+ months"
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Warnings:
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"NOTE: Do not tehter drumsticks by
string or cord to avoid possible entanglement”.
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POTENTIAL FOR CHOKING!
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This multi-colored Mickey Mouse Jack-in-the Box and Drum is sold for
one-year-olds with a “NOTE” advising not to tether drum sticks by string or cord to avoid possible entanglement. The manufacturer, however, fails to warn of this
toy’s most significant hazard - the slender, rigid, 3½” long drumstick which could be mouthed by a baby, and could lead to a choking tragedy.
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WARNER
BROTHERS CHARACTER PLUSH CLOCKS
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Price:
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$18.00
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Manufacturer or Distributor:
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Warner Bros. Studio Store, Burbank, CA 91522
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Purchased:
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Warner Bros. Store
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Age Recommendation:
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None
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Warnings:
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"CAUTION: To eliminate any potential
safety problems, please remove the hangtag and all plastic attachments before presenting to children”.
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POTENTIAL FOR LACERATION AND
INGESTION INJURIES!
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These assorted soft, plush, stuffed characters each hold a working quartz clock.
Incredibly, despite the fact that these items are sold for babies and children of all ages, the tag of one of the plush characters purchased contained a small stick on
label stating in very small print: “FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSES ONLY THIS IS NOT A TOY”. The only “safety” problem identified by the
manufacturer also appears on the toy’s tag, which addresses removal of the hang tag and/or plastic attachments. There are no warnings or cautions regarding the
clock itself, which is easily removed from the toy. The clock’s plastic face can shatter into sharp, ingestible pieces. Moreover, the clock hands, and the pin
which holds them in place, themselves present ingestion hazards for small children.
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