Mattel Allowed to Use In-House Labs for Toy Testing

Published September 02, 2009

Washington, DC — Mattel will not need to have its toys tested by independent, third-party labs, a requirement called for in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), due to a recent decision by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The commission granted Mattel the exemption after reviewing the company's in-house safety tests and being assured that its labs are free from corporate influence, according to an Associated Press report. Seven Mattel labs in Mexico, China, Malaysia, Indonesia and California were named "firewalled third party laboratories" by the commission.

The decision - and the fact that no notice of it was made on the CPSIA website - has prompted claims of favoritism and drawn ire from other companies who will have to pay third-party labs to test their toys.

Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary were one of reasons the CPSIA, which set new limits on lead and phthalates, was created in the first place. The law was developed after the rash of toy recalls starting a few years back, which included six recalls of more than 2 million lead-tainted Mattel products in 2007. Mattel eventually agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty.

The new law also requires companies that make toys for kids age 12 and under to have their products tested by third-party labs, a process that can cost anywhere from a few hundred to several thousands of dollars, which led to complaints from smaller companies that the new requirements would put them out of business or cause them to dump their products.

_{Sesame Street toys - CC license by}_{Valerie Everett}

Toray Increases Production of Plant-Based Plastic for Vehicles Toray Industries has begun mass-producing its part-plant, part-petroleum materials, already used in some Toyota vehicles, for use in carpeting, door trim, upholstery and other vehicle parts....	Australian Councils Push for National E-Waste Ban Four regional councils have adopted a ban on sending electronic waste to landfill, in the hopes that the move will force the federal government to finalize a national recycling scheme....
Sprawling L.A. Shrinks Water and Energy Use Commercial and industrial properties in sprawling Los Angeles reduced their water consumption by double-digits in July, while overall energy use fell 318 gigawatts during the 2008-2009 fiscal year -- more than half of which was driven by Los Angeles businesses using a slew of successful incentive programs....	Your Data Center is Much too Cold Although most data center managers keep their facilities between 68 and 71 degrees Fahrenheit, the most cost- and energy-effective temperature is a balmy 80 degrees, a server expert at Intel said last week....
How Ted Kennedy Helped Shape Energy and Climate Change Policy With the death of Senator Edward Kennedy, America lost a vigorous supporter of clean energy and the environment....	China Leads the World in the Race to Go Green China is taking advantage of the green technology revolution that the challenge of climate change provides, according to a new report launched recently by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Beijing....
ConEd, Viridity, Boeing Seek $46M in Fed Funds for NY Smart Grid Efforts Consolidated Edison Inc. is partnering with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Viridity Energy, the Boeing Company, Columbia University and others to apply for $46 million in stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy to help fund demonstration projects for a $435 million smart grid program....	Implementing Existing Green IT Solutions Can Cut IT Costs by 17 Percent A new study by CDW finds that companies could save millions every year by implementing energy efficient procurement policies, power management solutions and virtualization technologies....

News

Mattel Allowed to Use In-House Labs for Toy Testing

GreenBiz Events