It’s Time to End the Toxic Toy Story.

Toys R Us' flagship store in Times Square, NYC. Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vippe/

Today, CHEJ, the Teamsters, Clean New York, & WE ACT for Environmental Justice hit the streets of NYC in a spirited rally and news conference outside Toys R Us’ flagship store in Times Square, NYC.  We were joined by our allies at the Lower East Side Girls Club, NYPIRG & Greenpeace. You can read our press release here.

Flanked with signs, banners & balloons that read, “Tell Toys R Us: Stop the Toxic Toy Story”, we’re calling on the mega retailer to stop selling toxic PVC toys.  We tested toys at the event using an XRF analyzer, passed out flyers to concerned parents and children, and even returned a box full of toxic PVC toys to the store (taped in bright yellow “caution” tape).

Toys R Us & Toy Story 3 – the Toxic Connection

Woody, Buzz and all your favorite Toy Story 3 characters have returned to the big screen & toy shelves, but they’re hiding a toxic secret.  Last month, new testing by the Ecology Center found that many of these toys are actually made out of PVC.  It’s not just Buzz and Woody, but even Barbie! Other productsthat tested positive for PVC include the Defender Buzz Lightyear figure, Bucket O’ Soldiers, and Buzz and Woody figurines, among others.

Walt Disney Co expects retailers including Toys “R” Us to sell $2.4 billion in Toy Story 3 merchandise this year.

Last month, we and the Teamsters leafleted movie theaters showing the premiere of Toy Story 3 in more than twenty-five cities across America. Check out the story in Variety about the campaign, and this great blog post from the Soft Landing.

Victories and Broken Promises.

Two years ago, we declared victory (scroll down to 2/08) when Toys R Us agreed to phase out the sale of toys containing lead, phthalates, reduce the use of PVC, and offer more PVC-free toys.

At the time, they committed to:

“REDUCTION OF PHTHALATES AND POLYVINYL CHLORIDE (PVC) USE:
All manufacturers have been notified that by the end of 2008 juvenile products sold in any Toys“R”Us or Babies“R”Us store in the United States must be produced without the addition of phthalates that have raised concerns about infant safety.

Additionally, as we move closer to our goal of offering PVC-free products, we have already begun replacing PVC and phthalates in juvenile products manufactured exclusively for Toys“R”Us, Inc.”

Unfortunately, it’s clear Toys R Us and their parent company, KKR, have broken their promises.

What Parents Have to Say.

Clean New York’s Bobbi Chase Wilding spoke at the event with her two daughters, including her newborn.  According to Bobbi…

“This is unconscionable,” said Bobbi Chase Wilding of Clean New York, and a mother of two, “As a parent, it’s hard enough to protect our kids from obvious hazards.  But Toys R Us makes our jobs harder when they don’t tell us about toxic chemicals in children’s products. Toys R Us needs to fully disclose all dangerous chemicals in their products so we can make informed decisions. But that’s not enough: we need to pass legislation that enforces transparency and replaces toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. Our children’s health is at stake.”

Commissioning a Report for Congress.

CHEJ and the Teamsters are commissioning a new report for Congress, focusing on Toys R Us’ Toy Safety Policy and Practices, with a concentration on its failure to phase out PVC.  We’ll be releasing it just in time for the 2010 holiday shopping season.  The report commission will be chaired by Professor Peter Orris, Director of the Occupational Health and Safety Institute (OHSI) at the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois, Chicago and Director of the Global Toxics Program. Professor Orris is one of the leading authorities on toxic exposure in America.

We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore.

This isn’t the end.  The Teamsters General President James P. Hoffa put it best when he said:

“This is just the beginning. As long as KKR’s Toys R Us fails to ignore the welfare of American consumers and their children, we will keep taking action to inform the public and demand legislative action.”

Stay tuned for photos, video and more about our action in Times Square!