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Product Safety

 

What's New

New "Trouble in Toyland" Report

Florida PIRG's 24th annual Trouble in Toyland report comes out on Nov. 24!

This year's report focuses on three categories of toy hazards:

• toys that may pose choking hazards
• toys that are excessively loud
• toys that contain the toxic chemicals lead and phthalates.


Also new this year, Florida PIRG is launching a new interactive tool accessible via smart phone or computer that will help parents and other toy-buyers avoid some common hazards. Learn More

 

How You Can Help

Protect kids, not chemical companies

Last week the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- the agency charged with keeping toys and other products safe -- announced they would let manufacturers ignore Congress and allow them to sell toys laden with toxic phthalates until they run out.

Email the CPSC and tell them that toys with over-the-limit levels of phthalates need to come off the shelves by February 2009, as the law states.

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Current Campaigns

Toy Safety

Toy manufacturers should act swiftly to recall unsafe products and give parents the information they need to allow them to purchase safe toys for their children. Read more.

Food Safety

To provide the safest food possible, the federal government must work with state and local governments and allow them to do what it takes to protect public health. Read more.

MORE INFO: 

Our product safety net isn’t up to the job of protecting us from dangerous product.

America is facing a hyper-competitive, globalized marketplace, with enormous pressure to cut costs—and cut corners. And at the very moment that both corporate CEOs and top government officials should be demanding greater vigilance, we've seen regulations weakened or repealed and funding for watchdog agencies slashed.

High-profile recalls of food, drugs and other consumer products has families wondering what else is slipping through the safety net.

In 2007, 25 million toys were recalled because they were laced with lead or contained small, powerful magnets that could perforate a young child’s intestines. Before that 60 million pounds of pet food recalled because they were peppered with rat poison. Drug-maker like Merck were exposed for selling Vioxx even after their own clinical trials showed that the drug had lethally dangerous side effects. The drug ended up ending the lives of thousands after 2 million people were prescribed the drug
 
That’s why, along with PIRG leaders in 23 other states, we’re launching the Corporate Safety Challenge. Together, we want to challenge CEOs to take action on product safety before another major recall occurs. We need to challenge our government to set better standards, hold companies accountable, and put enough cops on the product safety beat to get the job done.