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Charities Worry about Recalled Toys

Some have stopped accepting toy donations

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 30, 2007    Spanish

• California Warns Retailers On Lead • Mattel Settles Suits Over Dangerous Toys • Target To Pay $600,000 For Violating Lead Paint Ban • Tougher Safety Requirements For Children's Products Now In Effect • Toys 'R' Us Launches Unsafe Baby Products Awareness Program • New Safety Agency Chief Pledges Greater Openness • Obama Names New Consumer Product Safety Chair, Boosts Budget • Toymaker Fined $1.1 Million For Consumer Violations • Maryland Stores Stop Selling Toys With Lead Paint • Toymakers, Craftspeople Up In Arms Over New Safety Law • Thrift Stores Protest Ban on Lead Toys • Target Launches In-Store Recall System • Do's and Don'ts of Holiday Decorating • New Jersey Finds Recalled Toys in Four Stores • Mattel Agrees to Lower Lead Paint Levels in Toys • Consumers Cautioned About Dangerous Toys • Soon-To-Be-Banned Plastic Toys Flooding the Market • Safety Agency Warns of Safety Hazards in Cribs --- • More Consumer Safety News • Recall Notices

Parents aren’t the only ones worried about toy safety this holiday season.

Charities that give toys to needy children share those concerns in the wake of the millions of toys recalled in recent months because they contained lead paint, tiny magnets, and a chemical that could cause children to become unconscious.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this year pulled a record 25 million toys -- mostly made in China -- off the market. The recalls included such popular toys as Barbie, Elmo, Curious George, and Thomas & Friends wooden toys.

And the number of recalled toys is expected to grow.

CPSC officials, who are charged under federal law with protecting consumers from unsafe toys and other products, have indicated more dangerous toys could be recalled and, at least theoretically, pulled off the shelves before Christmas.

Donations turned away

Some local charities are so worried about the safety of toys they’ve stopped accepting them from donors.

“Goodwill is still accepting toy donations, although a few -- Hawaii, Denver, Springfield Massachusetts -- did stop accepting toys in the wake of the recalls,” Goodwill Industries International’s spokeswoman, Christine Nyirjesy Bragale, told us.

Salvation Army Thrift and Family stores across the country have taken similar action.

“While national Salvation Army policy does not include a recommendation to stop accepting toys at our Thrift and Family store locations, the local stores are granted sufficient autonomy in their decision,” according to a statement the Salvation Army issued regarding the toy recall.

“In some cases, where there is not sufficient staff or volunteer support to identify potentially unsafe toys, Thrift and Family Stores have made the educated decision to stop accepting toy donations. These measures are temporary and determined on a case-by-case basis by individual locations.”

The recalls, however, have not affected the annual Marine Toys for Tots campaign, a spokesman said.

“Most of our donations come in after Thanksgiving, and by now the retailers have removed the recalled items from their shelves,” said retired USMC Major Brian A. Murray, vice-president of operations for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation.

Toys for Tots, Murray added, always inspects the donated toys for safety.

Nonetheless, Bill Grein, vice-president of the Toys for Tots Foundation, told a Philadelphia newspaper that concerns about the toy recalls came up during the group's annual conference of coordinators in September.

"We'll be getting between 15 million and 19 million toys donated to us," Grein told The Philadelphia Inquirer earlier this month, "and we're not going to be able to verify with 100 percent certainty that they're safe."

Still on shelves

Some recalled toys are still on store shelves, according to an investigation by the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.

Earlier this month, investigators with that office found recalled toys on the shelves of nine stores in New Jersey: six Cost Cutters throughout the state, a Dollar Zone Plus in Gloucester City, a Lot-Less Closeout in Newark, and a Family Dollar Store in Perth Amboy.

“The fact that our investigators found recalled items available for purchase underscores the need for shoppers to be vigilant about toy safety this holiday season,” New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram said, adding the stores immediately removed the recalled items from their shelves.

Charities say their employees are vigilantly checking all the toys donated this year to be sure they’re safe – and not included in any recalls.

“(And) store employees will frequently spot check shelves to ensure that none of the recalled items slipped through the initial screening,” said Goodwill’s spokeswoman Bragale.

She added: “At Goodwill, one of our top priorities is keeping our shoppers safe. Handling recalled products has always been a part of our business process. Donations processors are trained to recognize some of the ‘top’ recalled items, such as certain types of cribs, children's clothing with drawstrings, hair dryers with the wrong plug - these are identified by the CPSC.”

The Salvation Army said its employees are also trained to recognize --and remove -- recalled toys and other items from its stores.

“The Army is taking steps locally and nationally to remove recalled products from circulation in our Thrift and Family stores, and from our other social service programs that may also be affected,” the organization said.

Consumers can help

Charities say consumers can help them with their safety efforts this holiday season.

How?

“By not donating recalled items to us,” Goodwill’s spokeswoman Bragle said. “Not only is safety a concern, but donors should remember that Goodwill uses the proceeds from its retail stores to fund job training programs that benefit hundreds of thousands of people each year. Every dollar we spend disposing of an item we cannot sell is a dollar we don't have to spend on these vital programs.

“Before giving an item to Goodwill,” she added, “consider whether or not you would give it to a relative or a friend. If you would, then the item is fit to donate.”

Bragle said her organization will keep a watchful eye out for these recalled toys and other unsafe items -- even after the holidays are over.

“We know from our experience (that) in the years ahead, we are likely to see these items in our donation stream; people will tuck things away in their closets and garages and, years later, forget or not even know that a particular item has been recalled. Keeping up is a challenge, but we work diligently to do so.”

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