Toys "R" Us Recalls Chinese-Made Art Sets

Retailer Says Some Black Watercolor Paints Contain Excessive Levels Of Lead

(AP)  Toys "R" Us is recalling thousands of art sets made in China due to excessive levels of lead in some black watercolor paints.

Wayne, N.J.-based Toys "R" Us Inc. and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall Thursday, saying printed ink on the packaging of the Imaginarium Wooden Coloring Cases also contained lead. They said no injuries have been reported.

"Toys "R" Us has terminated its relationship with Funtastic, effective immediately," the company said in a printed release.

The 213-item set contains crayons, pastels, colored pencils, fiber pens, water colors, a palette and other art supplies in a wooden carrying case.

Childhood exposure to lead can lead to reduced intelligence, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, research has shown.

Earlier this month, Toys "R" Us removed about 160,000 vinyl baby bibs from its Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores, as well as its warehouses, as a precaution after two bibs made in China for one supplier showed lead levels that exceeded company standards.

Toys "R" Us sold about 8,300 of the art kits nationwide from October 2006 through this month. The company said it had bought about 27,000 total.

The wooden art set passed a safety test as recently as April 2007, but failed a recent retest, according to the company.

Toys "R" Us bought the sets from Funtastic, a unit of a Hong Kong distribution company called FPL Group. They are manufactured by a company in Ningbo, China, called Danxiang International Trading.

"Toys "R" Us will continue to hold all manufacturers accountable for meeting our safety standards and will take immediate and decisive action on any items we consider remotely questionable from a safety perspective," the company said.

Consumers are advised to immediately return the sets to the nearest "Toys "R" Us for store credit, or call 800-869-7787.

The privately held retailer operates more than 1,500 stores worldwide.

Mattel Inc. recalled 19 million Chinese-made toys in July, including dolls, cars and action figures. Some of those items were contaminated with lead paint.

[incog-nito]

In order to make good on my pledge to boycott all merchandise including clothing that are made in China, from this day forward I will be going nude.

[nancycelatto]

"Consumers are asked to take the products away from children and return them to the nearest "Toys "R" Us store for store credit, the CPSC said." WHAT?!? Oh *bleep* no!!! I''m demanding a full refund, not lousy "store credit". They sold an unsafe product, it''s MY choice where I choose to spend my money, NOT theirs! I don''t EVER intend to purchase another toy from Toys R Us for my child again.

[hypnotoad72]

Oh no.

Certain electronics are probably fine, I mean I don''t lick or eat DVD players - d you? - but plenty of items are not made in China, nor do they need to be in our global economy. Heck, plenty of desks are other items are still made here, with regulations to ensure people don''t get poisoned, maimed, or killed.

Plus, surely a better built product is one people would flock to because it wouldn''t break down so quickly? That''s a good way to generate brand loyalty, which ensures customers returning.

Now accidents and oversights CAN happen, even in the most controlled of environments, but even I am certain something is suspect... and are the Chinese contractors to blame, or the multinational corporations that hire them?

[olebd]

In order to make good on my pledge to boycott all merchandise including clothing that are made in China, from this day forward I will be going nude.
Posted by incog-nito at 03:48 PM : Aug 30, 2007
+ report abuse

You may want to change your screen name then LOL

[nskduke1]

Let us ban China goods. We don''t need to wait for Congress to finally get involved, we just stop buying China goods and start buying American goods. Listen American people thes stores you want to advoid shopping at are Wal-Mart and big brand store names.

[erasmus6]

I wonder if they are testing all things from China? If not, what is it about these things that has made them decide to test them, I wonder.

"I don''t EVER intend to purchase another toy from Toys R Us for my child again." posted by nancycelatto

Listen Nancy, you need to get a grip. Toys R Us isn''t the only place that has toys from China. EVERY store has toys from China and you better believe that most of them have lead in them, they just haven''t tested them.

[brianbwb-2009]

I''m sure all the fake "neocon" globalization nuts will be blaming the liberals for this one, too.

I can hear it now; "...if the liberals wouldn''t tax us so much, we could afford to do inspections..."

C''mon liars and bushmeat, where are ya?

[usayesterday]

What came first:

Lower prices, or lower wages?

I hate to use the old cliche, "you get what you pay for", but that is what is essentially happening here.

If we continue to demand more more more, for less less less...

...then lead poisoning is but one side effect of our penchant for cheap products.


Striving for "dirt cheap" will eventually give us dirt!

[Rontimcoe]

They are doing this on Purpose !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It doesn''t take a rocket scientist to figure it out !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rushlimpdrug]

The problem is even bigger than we imagine. Every low price store catering to very low income people sells krap from china.
Unsuspecting customers have no idea what they are buying.
There is no quality control on krap from these places.
It goes on every day.
The American system used to care about the country.
That is now lost thanks to the elite politicians and profit seekers.

[QueenRaMeLo]

Look like the U S would have learn''d by now to NOT buy from the chinese.. Gessh
Some beaches trying to kill us....

[erasmus6]

"Every low price store catering to very low income people sells krap from china." posted by rushlimpdrug

It isn''t just the low price stores like Walmart that sell toys from China.

I don''t know about the U.S. but here in Canada, Toys R Us is not a low price store catering to the poor. And also Mattel has it''s toys in all stores.