International Law

More Fun With Toys

By Stan

From the Wall Street Journal:

In a move that has alarmed the toy industry, lawmakers in the state of Washington have overwhelmingly passed a bill that would set the toughest restrictions in the nation on the lead content of children’s products.

I’m about to complain, but before I do so, let me preface my complaints. I am not upset that the State of Washington is trying to protect its citizens. I am also not being critical of a government setting really tough exposure levels for toxic substances. All this is fine, even if it creates new problems for China-based manufacturers/exporters.

What I am upset about is that the only reason that Washington State and a bunch of other U.S. states are engaging in this frantic lawmaking is that this issue was a hot one last year and a lot of news agencies carried a bunch of stories about it.

That’s how things become political priorities. That sucks.

Was lead, or these other chemicals, safer ten years ago? Have manufacturing standards for toys slipped all that much the past few years? (Maybe, but I doubt it.) What has changed? Public awareness - that’s it.

I would have been much more impressed with these lawmakers who claim to be looking out “for the children” to have given a shit about the kiddies when the cameras were not on. Now that the mad rush to legislate is on, we will end up with 51 different standards in the U.S., which is most assuredly bad for business.

No, I’m not surprised by any of this. I just don’t like it.

Full post as published by China Hearsay on March 25, 2008 (boomark / email).