Toymaker giant Mattel exempt from toxics testing rules

New toy safety regulations are in the news again after the Consumer Product Safety Commission has granted the country’s largest toymaker an exemption.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act requires third-party testing of toys to ensure that toymakers large and small are adhering to strict new guidelines. The guidelines regulate how much lead, among other toxic chemicals, are allowed in toys. The guidelines were instated in the aftermath of massive toy recalls in 2007.

Now the Associated Press reports that Mattel was granted an exemption from third-party testing. Instead the toymaker will be able to do its own testing, in its own labs.

Critics say this exemption gives Mattel a competitive advantage. A huge complaint against the CPSC regulations has been the cost of testing – several hundred to several thousand dollars per toy tested – which has small toymakers crying foul.

Mattel lobbied Congress aggressively to be sure the regulations allowed for in-house testing as long as corporations could prove their labs had a sufficient “firewall” between testing and toy production.

Mattel was a major culprit in the ’07 toy recalls and just a couple of months ago the company paid a $2.3 million penalty for excess lead in its toys.