Taking a play from the Bush Administration handbook (specifically the EPA vs. California edition), Ty Inc. decides it will easier to fight the inevitable lawsuit in the future rather than denting quarterly profits by issuing a costly recall. A criminal decision really, allowing children to potentially get lead poisoning. I hope Ty Inc. loses a lot of money in fines, and summary judgements.
Ty Inc. refuses Illinois' request to pull lead-tainted doll from stores
In what could trigger the first test of Illinois' strict law against lead in toys, a major toymaker is refusing to pull a popular, but tainted, doll from store shelves across the state.
Illinois authorities thought they had reached an amicable agreement late last year with Ty Inc. to have the company voluntarily remove its Jammin' Jenna dolls from retailers because the toys contained high amounts of lead.
But a few days later, the state attorney general's point person on the issue was surprised to see Jammin' Jenna for sale in a candy store near her office. The next morning, the official spotted another one at a grocery store near her home.
then the attorney general's office confronted Ty, best known for its Beanie Babies, the Westmont-based company said it would no longer sell new versions of Jammin' Jenna to Illinois retailers. But it refused to recall dolls already in stores, according to the state.
[snip] In previous interviews, Ty Inc. representatives have said the company is not violating state law because federal rules supersede it. While the state bans vinyl toys that exceed the 600 parts per million limit, federal law does not.
But both the state attorney general's office and the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission have said that the Illinois ban is valid because states can adopt their own rules where no federal law exists. The safety commission is conducting its own investigation into the 21 toys identified by the Tribune; results are expected within a few weeks.
[From Toymaker fights state recall]
Slime.
