Zhu Zhu Hamsters and Toys R Us

If you’re a die-hard Black Friday shopper, know that Black Friday starts at TRU at midnight Thanksgiving night. The first 100 people on line will get a ticket to buy one Zhu Zhu Hamster.  As with any hot toy, the price gauging has begun-with prices set a ridiculously high levels on-line.

Kudos to Toys R Us and Wal-Mart

We were delighted with today’s news that both TRU and Wal-Mart have raised the bar on safety standards for toys.  Not waiting for Congress to act, these two super retailers are moving the industry along in producing safer products.Both retailers are joining California in banning phthalates (a softener added to plastics that has been linked to serious health risks) and reducing the levels of surface coated lead way below the current federal standard of 600 ppm (parts per million) to 90 ppm.  What’s left?  We will continue to call for the same reduction in embedded lead.  Only the state of Illinois regulates the levels of embedded lead (requiring toys sold in the state to have levels below 600 ppm).  The CPSC reports that a child died from lead poisoning after ingesting a charm that had excessive levels of embedded lead.  This is a real risk that also needs to be addressed in all products for children.We need the government to follow the market–set the standards and require mandatory testing.