Over 25 million
toys have been recalled this year, many because of lead paint. But there have
been other awful culprits as well – including a chemical that can form GBH, the
date rape drug, when swallowed. According to Consumers Union (CU), the
publisher of Consumer Reports, “2007 has been the Year of the Recall, but it can also be the Year of
Reform.”
There’s a bill
that CU and other consumer advocates want the U.S. Senate to pass this week, called the “Consumer Product Safety Reform Act of 2007,”
and known in bureaucratese as “S. 2045.” This bill will give the Consumer
Product Safety Commission (CPSC) the resources it needs to protect us from
dangerous products.
S. 2045 calls for:
- Independent testing of children’s toys and products
for lead and other safety hazards. - Lowering the level of lead allowed in these
products. Increasing inspectors and inspections. According to Consumers Union,
the CPSC currently has a total of 15 inspectors at U.S. ports, and it has only
half the staff it had when it opened in 1973. - Protecting whistle-blowers.
- Raising the fines the CPSC can collect – from $1.83 million to $100 million.
- Improving
the agency’s ability to disclose important safety info.
In getting out the word about
S. 2045, Consumers Union put together a very cute cartoon
on this problem that I plan on sharing with my nine grandkids. I know they’ll
enjoy the cartoon and agree that toy safety is really important. I’ll show them
the
form letter I filled out, courtesy of CU, to send my Senators about S. 2045.
They’ll no doubt want to do likewise, so we’ll personalize their letters to
make their ages clear to the old folks in the Senate.
I love it – an easy way to
have a serious conversation with young people about the importance of consumer
advocacy and whistle-blowers, about getting what you pay for and what to do
when there’s a problem, and most importantly, about the gifts that really
matter – all while they sharpen their computer skills.
Making sure the toys and
other products that come into this country are lead-free and safer seems like a
no-brainer to me. Thanks for leading the charge, Consumers Union!
Will you join me in
supporting CU’s child safety efforts? If so, you can see the cartoon and write
to your Senators by clicking here.
It won’t take more than a couple of minutes and the kids you save may be your
own.
Nancy Castleman – Co-author of
"Invest in Yourself: Six Secrets to a Rich Life" and founder of Good Advice Press. Nancy has spent
the last 23 years teaching people how to get out of debt, save money, and live
better on less. She writes on all these subjects for CreditBloggers.com.
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