Yes, we definitely appreciate and understand your concern. Please be assured, we test for lead VERY frequently.

It's quite possible to make great quality children's items in China, which meet all safety regulations, but the key point is that you have to test and inspect very frequently to be sure that your factories are always following your instructions explicitly. I assure you that's exactly what we do.

From our experience, the key to doing this correctly is not simply to insist that your factories follow your instructions, but then to go one step further and to AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST very frequently. That is the most important part of the process, and it's something our company has always taken VERY seriously.

Thanks again for asking, and for your support also.

Your Dedicated Customer Service Team

Dear Valued Customers,

In response to the latest concern regarding the use of lead paint in the manufacture of toys, PlanToys would like to reassure all retailers and consumers that PlanToys is manufactured with the highest safety and environmental standards in mind. We build 100% of our products within our own factory, so we control the entire process from wood selection and manufacturing to shipping.

• PlanToys is manufactured from replenishable rubberwood.
• Plantoys uses a natural kiln dry process, in place of chemical treatment, to preserve and stabilize the wood, thus making all PlanToys products preservative-free.
• PlanToys uses natural, water-based dyes in place of any type of paint to add accent colors.
• PlanToys has won the following standards and awards for safety, environmental sensitivity and innovative design:

  ISO 9001 - Quality Management
  ISO 14000 - Environmental Management
  OHSAS 18001 - Occupational Health and Safety Management
  SA 8000 - Social Accountability Management
  ASTM & EN71 - Toys Safety Standards
  Parent's Choice Awards
  Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Awards
  

PlanToys takes tremendous pride in providing safe toys that are manufactured with sensitivity toward our environment. For more information about PlanToys, please contact our office at (866)517-7526

Play safe With BRIO Toys

There has been much publicity lately surrounding the recall of several consumer products, including toys, made in China. You can feel confident knowing that all BRIO products, including the wooden railways system and toys, are very safe to play with. BRIO uses a lacquer paint, free of dangerous amounts of toxic materials, including lead. The lacquer paint has been thoroughly tested for toxins in independent laboratories at ITS and SGS and we continuously keep testing our batches in laboratories on a regular basis, and not just on a one-off basis.

Every component of every new product we manufacture is tested before the product is produced to make sure that the final product meets and conforms to heavy metal (toxicology) testing as under mandate by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) for US and Canada and all industry standards within EN part 3.

After a competitor's first product recall a few months ago, BRIO even decided to triple check on the procedures that are in place, to make sure that everything is performed according to the already set standards. Further testing was carried out, on all the paint used, for all our products and sent for analysis. And as we of course expected, none of the tests showed any abnormalities.

Safety is always one of our main priorities.

Creating products that are safe enough for young children involves extensive research and testing. It is absolutely key in our minds.

BRIO is well known and celebrated for its long history of making safe and secure quality toys and we pride ourselves with that. If you have any concerns at all, we want to assure you that we are here to answer any questions you might have.

We thank you for your confidence and support.

Very truly yours,

Thomas Bräutigam President & CEO Sweden

Guidecraft Inc. prides itself on 40 years of manufacturing quality products that put children and safety first. We take safety very seriously and adhere to a strict testing regimen, which consists of both regular and periodic testing of our products to affirm compliance with standards that meet or exceed safety regulations mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, as outline is ASTM F963. While conducting those tests we uncovered a problem with our Floor Puppet Theater (G51054) that has caused us to issue a voluntary recall. Please note that this recall only involves Floor Puppet Theaters sold from June 2006 through August 2007.

(Fine Wooden Toys has not sold this particular item.)

Moving forward, we now require batch paint testing by purchase order, performed by Bureau Veritas Hong Kong, prior to shipping any products from the factory involved in this recall. Additionally, we are performing ongoing testing on our products and we will advise you should we uncover any additional problems.

I assure you that we will continue to make it our mission to put children and safety first.

Regards,
Jason Fein

At Blue Orange, we manufacture all of our games in the Far East like most of our competitors. But as a responsible company, we spend the time and investment it takes to make quality games that are not only unique and safe, but also respect the environment.

1) We create and design all our games in house, here in San Francisco. As a hands-on company, we are part of the solution through a direct partnership with our personal manufacturer.

2) We use natural materials in the creation of our games (wood, resin, water-based paint), they are mostly hand made and require hours of detailed work.

3) Our manufacturer in China has been a family business for over 3 generations. The quality of their products is effectively and stringently controlled, achieving an ISO9001 certificate, passing US and Europe international quality standards (ASTM963 and EN71). Our own employees in China QC each production to ensure the highest quality.

4) Additionally, we cherish our natural environment and understand the need to preserve our planet. Therefore, we at Blue Orange have committed to plant two trees for every tree used to create our games.

Our dedication to quality, safety and the environment earned us more than 50 industry awards in the past 5 years as well as the first ever given prestigious "Green Toy Company Award".

For further information please check our website www.blueorangegames.com or contact us at 415-252-03723.

Where are your toys made?

We are asked this question almost every day by parents concerned about their child’s safety. I am always thrilled to answer this question. Parents asking questions about a product’s integrity is something we have encouraged from the beginning of our 9 years in the toy industry. However, to guarantee a toy is safe, the more important question is not where it’s made, but how it’s made and of what materials. Determining the country of origin is no guarantee of a toy’s safety. It’s important to ask specifically what the manufacturer is doing to ensure their toys are safe. THAT is the REAL question.

Our toys have been made in America, Sri Lanka, China, Chile and Vietnam. Although the factories and countries vary, one thing stays consistent; our involvement in every aspect of production and our commitment to the safety, quality and integrity of each toy. ImagiPLAY was founded with the mission to make high quality toys that inspire young imaginations and introduce children to the natural world, that are safe for the child, their planet and all the people and creatures upon it. I firmly believe that a commitment to a child’s safety extends to the well-being of their planet and all the communities involved in the making of that toy. Toys with Integrity.

That is why we use only all-natural, chemical and preservative-free, sustainable materials, colored with tested and confirmed, non-toxic paints. The materials we use are not only safe for children, but are earth friendly and socially responsible. To us, these concepts go hand in hand. How could we in good conscience produce a product that is safe for a child to play with, but devastates precious forestland, or leaves workers in perpetual poverty? How could anyone call that a “safe” toy?

We work exclusively with small, family-run factories or cooperatives. By developing a close relationship with each small factory, we can control every aspect of our toy making – from the materials used to the way workers are treated. We develop relationships with EVERYONE involved and ALL are included in our mission. At our factories, all workers are paid a fair, living wage and are treated with respect. Every worker is given authority to stop production whenever they detect a safety or quality issue. Our experienced craftsmen and women take pride in their work, and it shows in our toys.

The wonderful, brightly colored paints we use for our toys come from a very reputable paint company, with a division devoted entirely to producing non-toxic paints for children’s toys. None of their paints have ever been recalled. Our paints are tested by a third party testing agency, SGS International, before they are applied to the toys and again by the Chinese Government, who has mandated that every toy made for export be tested for lead and other heavy metals before it can leave the country. To leave no stone unturned, once we receive the toys in America, we test the paints yet again.

As a grandmother, I take children’s safety very seriously. That is why I founded ImagiPLAY. To ensure that my grandchildren and their children will grow up healthy and strong in a world with blue skies, dense forests and oceans teaming with life, experiencing fully all that I’ve been blessed with in my lifetime and more.

Dear Customer,

Safety is the most crucial ingredient of product quality and I wanted to communicate with you about how we at Shure Products Inc. are managing this critical responsibility.

All of our products adhere to Consumer Product Safety Commission standards and are tested on a random basis for ASTM F963-03 Standard Consumer Safety Specification on Toy Safety and ASTM D4236 conformance. Our full-time team of China-based quality inspectors visits our factories for every shipment prior to authorizing delivery. Our quality team performs a variety of tests on each product as appropriate with the merchandise classification according to AQL Test Standards and Random Inspections.

As the recent series of events in our industry has revealed, however, all manufacturers will now need to “take their game to a whole new level” regarding safety. It is now clear that trusting product safety specifications and laboratory testing of product samples is not sufficient. We must ensure that these safety specifications are met completely during the manufacturing process. As a result, in addition to “safety first” product design specifications and independent safety lab testing for each and every product in our line, going forward we plan on implementing the following “safety net” for all goods we manufacture:

1.) We will increase random testing on particularly sensitive safety issues during production runs (for example, even if goods pass testing, we will require additional testing before accepting goods from a particular factory).

2.) We will further enhance our own internal safety testing process by having a full-time safety engineer on our staff.

3.) All paints purchased from our certified suppliers will be retested prior to use in the factory. Our goal for safety is nothing short of a 100% success rate. While we understand this is an ambitious goal, we will do everything in our power to achieve it.

Our new Vice President of Operations, Mr. David Grunin, an engineer with many years of manufacturing and quality assurance expertise, and I are available to answer any further questions you may have.

Best regards,

Thomas S. Shure
Founder and CEO