Toy Hype Tempered By Other Issues

Dancing bananas in pajamas, a giant Radio Flyer wagon and a life-size Cat in the Hat joined in Monday’s circus-like kickoff of the toy industry’s annual product expo.

But the painted faces and intricate costumes couldn’t mask concerns over toy safety and child labor that haunt toy makers and their trade groups.

Toy Fair, which runs through Feb. 17, started with all its usual hype as manufacturers used far-flung techniques to capture retail and media attention. Spotted in showrooms and on street corners were models dressed as blond Barbie, “Star Wars” action figures and the rock-group Kiss.

Industry officials also touted the 6.3 percent sales gain in toys and video games in 1996, according to the Toy Manufacturers of America, a New York-based trade group.

While all the hoopla helped deflect more trying issues, it hardly erased them.

Trouble continues to arise over toy safety. Manufacturers don’t knowingly manufacture dangerous toys, but rather loose federal guidelines and scant government oversight sometimes allow harmful toys to reach the general marketplace.

“We do as good a job as any product-oriented industry in the world” when dealing with toy safety, said David Miller, president of the Toy Manufacturers of America, who defended the industry’s practices during a morning news conference.

But critics charge that manufacturers allow products on the market that aren’t always safe and could easily hurt children.

“There is sort of the attitude that we’ll put (the toy) out there and no one will get hurt,” said Janice Shields, of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

In 1995, there were 21 reports of toy-related deaths, and 17 of the victims were under 5 years old, according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington.

Greenpeace on Monday demonstrated outside Toy Fair to protest the use of polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC) in children’s products like bathtub and pool toys. They allege it can cause health hazards, including liver and kidney lesions and cancer.

“The toy industry said they can’t get rid of PVC and we think they can,” said Joel Tickner, a scientific researcher at Greenpeace who said negotiations between toy industry officials and the environmental group broke down last week.

Also plaguing the toy industry are concerns over child labor practices, especially outside the United States. While child labor is banned under the TMA’s code of conduct, even industry officials concede it’s tough to watch over.

“Monitoring is hard,” said Miller of the TMA. “Not so much for the larger companies, but for the smaller companies.”

While companies defend their labor practices, child labor advocates say that many young workers are hired through local contractors working for U.S. toy makers.