New Rules For Toxic Toys In Washington

Way back in 2008, we worked to pass the Children’s Safe Products Act (CSPA) to help protect Washington kids from toxic chemicals in toys and other products.  And now, after many hearings and a long wait, the Department of Ecology has released the final version of the Rule. That means that the legislation is finally being implemented!

This first in the nation law requires makes of children’s products to report what toxic chemicals are in their products.  The Department of Ecology put together a list of 66 “chemicals of high concern to children,” including chemicals linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive abnormalities, and requires manufacturers to report to Ecology when their products contain any of these chemicals.  This information, once collected, will be made available to consumers so parents can make informed choices when buying products for their kids.

This won’t happen all at once, and there are unfortunately still some loopholes in the law that make it less useful.  For example, a manufacturer will have to report that they use a specific chemical in their dolls, but not how many dolls or what specific dolls.  However, as our Policy Director Laurie Valeriano said, 

We’ll keep watching and advocating for parents and kids as this rule goes into effect.  Check out the Komo news story here, and read our full press release here.

Photo courtesy of flickr user Igal Avshman (igalavshman)