PRODUCT TOY SAFETY INFORMATION FROM OUR SUPPLIERS
MELISSA & DOUG PRODUCT TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
From day one, we’ve signed our names, Melissa & Doug, to every product we make. We take that signature seriously --- it’s our commitment to you that you can trust the products you bring into your home. As parents, every time we make a product for you, it also has to pass the test of coming home with us, where we enjoy playing with these same toys with all six of our children.
No matter how carefully we design our products, we believe there’s no substitute for TESTING, TESTING, and MORE TESTING. The key to assuring the safety of our products is not simply insisting our factories follow our instructions, but to go one step further and AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST, not only once, but at various phases of the production process. This is something we’ve always done.
Additionally, we specifically test our paints and coatings very frequently, to be sure our toys meet or exceed government recommendations limiting heavy metals and lead in children’s items. We have cabinets full of thousands of passing test reports, and these passing results have been verified by 3rd party independently accredited testing laboratories, considered by many to be the best scientific laboratories in the world.
Please continue to enjoy our toys with confidence, knowing that each and every time we design and craft a toy, we’re not only making them for you, but for our own kids too.
KIDKRAFT PRODUCT TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
Dear Parents and Retailers,
At KidKraft, safety and quality are our top priorities. The children's products industry has undergone some pivotal changes in both safety and quality and KidKraft products remain compliant with all new laws and policies.
As you know, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) went into effect for lead and phthalate limits on February 10, 2009. On August 14, 2009, the act was updated with lower lead limits and regulations regarding tracking labels. KidKraft's products meet these new restrictions and we already ship products with detailed tracking information.
KidKraft has employed third-party certified labs for many years to test our products and see that they meet all applicable U.S. regulatory safety standards. Our testing program ensures that the products meet or exceed all requirements, including mechanical hazards, lead and other heavy metals, and flammability.
Also new this year is the California Air Resources Board (CARB) ACTM 93120 requirement that sets limits on formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products being sold into California. All KidKraft factories and products are CARB compliant and will remain so as the CARB phases are implemented over the next four years.
You have my commitment that KidKraft remains vigilant in ongoing testing and auditing to deliver products you have come to trust.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Steven Z. Lampert
President
DOUGLAS CUDDLE TOYS, INC. PRODUCT TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
February 2009
Dear Douglas Customer:
We all know that the issue of toy safety has been in the news. We are happy to share some information about the Douglas safety program.
All of our products are designed here in Keene, N.H., by experienced designers who understand the Safety Regulations.
Members of our management team make regular trips to our production factories to ensure that the quality and safety standards we require are in place. In this case, being a smaller company has its benefits. We have a strong relationship with a limited number of high quality factories. None of our items are made by subcontractors.
We employ our own quality/safety inspectors to be on site during production.
Each style we make is tested on regular intervals by independent testing labs. This ensures that all of our products meet or exceed the US Government and the voluntary Toy Safety Standards.
In addition, we inspect every incoming shipment received at our warehouse for one last quality check.
For over 50 years, Douglas has been a family owned business making high quality stuffed animals for children of all ages. The safety of our customers has always been a top priority, and will continue to be so in the future.
Thank you for your support and interest in our products. Please feel free to call us if we can help with any safety related questions.
Sincerely,
Scott T. Clarke, President
1-800-992-9002
LEVELS OF DISCOVERY PRODUCT TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
An Important Note About Safety
In recent months there have been many warnings issued regarding the potential dangers of unsafe product, especially that which is produced in China. At Levels of Discovery we take these matters very seriously and want to share with you our safety standards and procedures:
1. We produce our product in a single factory in China where we are virtually the only customer. Therefore, the standards are our standards and are rigorously upheld and followed by the factory's management and staff. Prior to founding Levels of Discovery, I had been doing business with this factory for fifteen years and it continues to have an excellent and unblemished quality and safety record.
2. All of our products are tested by an independent, 3rd party, internationally recognized testing laboratory. They conduct all required and recommended testing as developed by the CPSC (US agency) and other regulatory agencies. No product is allowed into production until all tests have been passed and I have received the full, detailed report.
3. Our paint is continuously re-certified to ensure compliance with all standards for lead or heavy metal content.
As we have said before, "We treat our products like they are being made for our own children!" In fact, the entire Levels of Discovery team owns and regularly gives our products to family and friends. I promise you, as the owner and CEO, that we always have and will continue to take the design, quality and safety of our products very seriously. We want you to be satisfied and comfortable with your Levels of Discovery purchases, so if you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
Jeff Hutsell
Owner/Founder and CEO
Levels of Discovery
BABALU TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
Dear Valued Customer,
Babalu Inc., creators of FeltTales and babalu basics, is a small toy company that prides itself on quality products. We are very familiar with the factories where our products are manufactured, and visit them regularly. We also test our products via accredited third party testing facilities to ensure that they meet all current safety standards.
Our latest testing results, completed in February 2009 from an approved and accredited testing facility is completed and is on file in our office. All results were within standards for both the February 10 and August 13, 2009 deadlines.
Our specific certificates of compliance are available on our website. You can find us at http://www.babaluinc.com. If you have any questions regarding our product, please feel free to contact us via the link on our website.
Sincerely,
Blair Everett
MAGICFOREST, Ltd. CONSUMER PRODUCT TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
Magicforest, LTD
Exclusive Importer of Italian Brands: Sevi, Trudi and Olli
300 West Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire 03301
Ph. 888-665-6344, Fax. 603-6773
The new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) has regulations and benchmarks to help ensure that children’s products in our market are safe. One of the most important new rules is that products intended for children age 12 and under are tested by a scientific laboratory, accredited by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Magicforest is an importer of children’s toys and games from the Italian company, Trudi. Trudi brand products are manufactured with the brand names: Trudi, Sevi and Olli. Because the new law is sweeping, and some misinformation exists in the marketplace, we supply the following information in the form of ‘frequently asked questions’ FAQ) to help you, as our customer, navigate through the complexities of this new law and summarize the responsibilities that apply to both of us.
Why is the CPSC involved? The CPSC is the branch of the US government designated by the new CPSIA to be responsible for implementing, regulating, and enforcing the new mandates.
Why does the testing laboratory have to be accredited by the CPSC? Because the lab must demonstrate their ability to properly test in conformity to the American Society of Testing Materials standard ASTM F963-07.
What is the ASTM F963 standard? This standard (ASTM F963) is specifically aimed at determining the:
- Age appropriateness, especially for 36 months and younger.
- Presence of choking or physical hazards in the form of small parts, balloons, marbles, or magnets- Presence of carcinogens or hazardous chemicals in surface paints and/or components like lead,cadmium, and AZO dyes, for example.
The standard has been around for a long time, but is updated from time to time as new potential hazards
come to light.
What are the new labeling requirements for advertising? The presence of choking or physical hazards in a children’s product has required a label on the front panel of the product for over 20 years. It was mandated by a specific section of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), and was updated recently to include magnets because of intestinal damage that can occur if they are ingested.
As a retailer or consumer, you probably have seen these warning labels. There are clear specifications about the size and content of these labels. The CPSIA now mandates that the warning labels must also be included on advertising that end consumers use to make a purchase. This includes advertising in print as well as onthe web. Magicforest does not currently sell products on its website nor does it produce printed material designed for end consumers. Magicforest is a wholesaler. However, we are happy to supply retailers with a list of products that require these warning labels under the new CPSIA rules.
You can download a list of the items that Magicforest imports that require a warning label from our website:
http://www.magicforest.com/trudi/sevi_warnings.pdf.
The products that Magicforest imports that require a warning label are a selection of items marketed under the Sevi brandname. If you are selling product to retail customers using an on-line web store or a brick and mortar store using printed flyers or catalogs for your customers, you are now required to put these warning labels near the advertisements for each product. Please feel free to contact us if you need help or have questions.
What does the CPSIA have to do with the ASTM F963 standard? It changed the standard from a voluntary one to a compulsory one. Most manufacturers followed the ASTM standard but the new law forces every manufacturer or importer of children’s products into the United States to abide by it. All Magicforest products have been tested and passed or exceeded the ASTM F963 standards before Congress made them compulsory. The products we import were also tested and meet all requirements under the toy standards in the European Union (EN-71 parts I, II, and II).
What are phthalates? Phthalates (pronounced ‘thalates’) are chemicals used as plasticizing agents in plastics to make them softer. There are thirteen of them and at least six may be hazardous at high exposures Scientific research is currently ongoing; the effects of these chemicals on young children is unknown. None of our products contain phthalates. The CPSIA aims to limit the amount of phthalates in products designed for young children (<36 months) in 2009. Testing must be done if there is reason to believe that phthalates are in the product. A common misconception is that every product must be tested for phthalates. This is not true. For example, there is no reason to test a wooden toy for phthalates if there are no plastics used in the product.
What does the CPSIA do about lead in children’s products? The CPSIA seeks to severely restrict the total amount of lead in children’s products, and not just on the surface of the product; it limits the total lead content. Electronics and those components not easily accessible by a child have been exempted. Lead and other heavy metals like cadmium are known to cause brain damage. Lead was added to gasoline and paints in the past. Laws were put into place long ago to end this practice in the United States. This has not necessarily been the case in other countries, so we should be vigilant in this global marketplace. Some of our wooden toys from Sevi use pigments and paints on the outside surface. Sevi uses vegetable based, non-toxic, and child-safe pigments. On a few Sevi items, a clear varnish layer is used to protect the integrity of the underlying silk-screened image. These finishes are tested individually for toxic chemicals including lead and cadmium. A simple test you can perform yourself is to rub, as if it were a crayon, one of our painted items on white paper. The pigment will show on the paper if it is vegetable based. None of our products contain lead.
What is a Certificate of Conformity? Compliance of the new testing requirements is transmitted tointerested parties with a Certificate of Conformity (COC). There are specific pieces of information that are included on the COC’s: the item number(s), description(s), age grading, the manufacturer, the lab, etc. The CPSC has (2/1/09) delayed this requirement for one year. Magicforest imports merchandise manufactured by the Trudi company under the brand names: Trudi, Sevi and Olli. Trudi is an Italian manufacturer with factories located in China. A team of Trudi quality assurance personnel are on-site full-time to assure the integrity of their products. They adhere to the guidelines of the ANSI E1 rules for quality assurance. Our supplier, Trudi, uses independent laboratories that are either accredited or soon to be accredited by the CPSC. For each product that Magicforest imports, there is a lengthy scientific report generated by the testing laboratory. The results are technical, but we have extensive experience in testing and analyzing materials. Magicforest reviews these tests and only imports products that pass the requisite ASTM tests and are properly age-graded before it certifies them to meet the new CPSIA requirements. If you or your customers desire a more technical explanation, we’re prepared and happy to accommodate.
We have a certificate (COC) for every product we import as a wholesale company. The Magicforest certificates are available via email, fax, or email upon request and will soon be available on our website. Please phone or email us if you require them.
The matter of safety is important to us. We want to you feel confident that Magicforest products are very safe, age-graded carefully and appropriately, properly labeled and certified.
Please call or email us if need help or have questions on any issues pertaining to the new CPSIA.
Thank you.
Dr. Robert Leuchtner, President
Magicforest, Ltd
888-665-6344
Email for questions: sales@magicforest.com
CROCODILE CREEK TOY SAFETY STATEMENT
Our Philosophy
Please be assured that we at Crocodile Creek regard the safety of the children in our world and the safety of our products as being of the utmost importance. Our product development departments work closely with our manufacturing facilities to see that our products conform to all of the appropriate safety standards.
Lunchboxes
All our current lunchboxes are child safe with lead-free linings and are PVC free and phthalate free. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards as well as FDA recommendations.
Bibs
All our children's bibs are currently made of 100% cotton and are PVC free and phthalate free. They are coated with TPU (Thermo polyurethane) which provides the bibs with an easy-to-clean surface. These materials are considered to be both child safe and lead safe. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.
Playground Balls
Our playground balls are made of natural rubber and contain no PVC or vinyl. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.
Placemats
Our placemats are made of polypropylene and are PVC free. They also conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.
Concerns about Lead in Children's products
We are committed to making all our products child safe and lead safe. Though many of our products are currently being produced in China, we work with independent testing firms to see that our products are child safe and conform to the appropriate safety standards. We also work with an independent company who oversees the production and quality control in our factories to assure a continuous high level of quality in Crocodile Creek products.
If you have any additional questions about these or other Crocodile Creek products, please don't hesitate to contact us.
The folks at Crocodile Creek.
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