CEO DATELINE - Toy group defends product safety as holiday season approaches
CEO DATELINE - Toy group defends product safety as holiday season approaches
- November 16, 2016 |
-
Walt Williams
Consider joining CEO Update. Membership gives full access to the latest intelligence on association management, career advancement, compensation trends and networking events, as well as hundreds of listings for senior-level association jobs.
A consumer watchdog group has released its annual list of the 10 most dangerous toys on the market, but the Toy Industry Association says such concerns have little basis in reality.
Among toys making this year's list by the nonprofit World Against Toys Causing Harm are a slingshot that shoots "slimeballs," a Nerf handgun and giant inflatable "body bumpers" that small children can wear to bounce off each other.
"Although parents have a right to expect that toys they give to their children are safe, unsafe toys remain an ongoing problem," W.A.T.C.H. said in a statement. "Due to poor design, manufacturing and marketing practices, there are toys available for purchase today with the potential to lead to serious injury and even death." http://bit.ly/2fWbTUe
In a statement, TIA urges consumers to "don't believe the hype" about dangerous toys. The association said its own review of both W.A.T.C.H.'s list and that put out by another consumer group—the U.S. Public Interest Research Group—found their data was "unreliable and consistently fails to support their allegations that the listed toys present any danger to children at play."
"(E)ach holiday season, a small group of non-governmental organizations seeks to generate publicity and donations for themselves with their alleged ‘unsafe' toy reports," TIA CEO Steve Pasierb said. "These reports are not backed up with credible, scientific data, and instead needlessly frighten families during an otherwise joyful time of year."
TIA noted that none of the listed toys have been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The association also said that W.A.T.C.H. doesn't test the toys it criticizes while the methods used by PIRG are flawed. http://bit.ly/2ghtbQI
MORE CEO DATELINE