Gregoire weighs veto of toy ban

Archie McPhee, the Ballard novelty shop that built an empire on high-grade rubber chickens and yodeling pickles, fears it might lose its bacon -- everything from its popular bacon air fresheners to its bacon strips bandages -- if a new state ban on toxic toys is signed into law.

Photos of toys at Archie McPhee

·Read the toy safety bill, ESSHB 2647 (PDF), or review its legislative history.

The oddball Northwest landmark is one of a growing number of toy vendors and manufacturers across the country who worry the well-meaning legislation -- safeguards they largely endorse -- could have unintended consequences because of the imprecise way it was drafted.

Consequently, despite overwhelming support for the bill passed earlier this month in the House and Senate, Gov. Chris Gregoire is now contemplating a veto of the strictest toy safety rules in the nation.

These rules would dramatically reduce the amount of lead, cadmium and plasticizing chemicals called phthalates allowed in children's products made and sold in the state. The chemicals can cause developmental problems and are regulated by weak federal standards, if any at all.

Gregoire said that she met with Mattel and Hasbro officials and took their concerns to heart. She said she had been unaware of some restrictions established with the legislation.

As to whether she'd sign the bill, she said Wednesday morning: "I don't know yet."

Industry representatives initially called for weaker restrictions on the toxic ingredients. They now seem focused on Washington's failure to exempt the lead solder used on computer components enclosed within some electronics. Proposed federal safety rules allow for its use.

"You can't get into it, but it's in there," she said. "What it will impact, allegedly, is educational toys, where the toy responds to the child when the child gets the right answer, it will say or flash or do something, that's the computer chip.

"That's troubling for me," Gregoire said.

She said she's looking for ways to deal with the omission without vetoing the entire bill.

Nick Federici, a spokesman for the environmental nonprofit Washington Toxics Coalition, met with Gregoire on Wednesday and tried to assuage her fears. He argued that the computer chip concern was unfounded.

"We think that the exemption for consumer electronics in the bill deals with that and exempts the chips -- not the toys that contain the chips," said Federici, whose group spearheaded the push for the new rules.

"We believe that it is a strong, clear bill to protect children's health and would hope that the governor would not veto any of the bill," he said.

If necessary, Gregoire has the power and the time to fine-tune the legislation, Federici said.

"The bill is flexible enough to allow the governor to provide the necessary guidance to the Department of Ecology to make sure those concerns are taken care of in the rule-making process -- that's the purpose of the rule-making process, it allows the department to implement the law in a way that makes sense," he said.

As written, the bill would go into effect July 2009.

Before approving the legislation, lawmakers pushed through a laundry list of amendments to narrow its scope. Last-minute changes included exemptions for pellet guns, model rockets, tricycles, athletic shoes, pocketknives, roller skates, sporting gear, sleds and skis.

The bill already had exemptions for batteries, darts, chemistry sets, computer games and software, wireless phones and calculators.

But that may not be enough. Especially for the kings of kitsch.

If you've ever impulsively bought wind-up hopping lederhosen or struggled to find the perfect spot for your ceramic smoking baby figurine, there's a good chance you're a fan of Archie McPhee.

You'd also know that many of the toys are not marketed to children, said McPhee spokesman David Wahl.

That's one of the problems with the bill.

"A lot of things in the law are very ill-defined," Wahl said. "It doesn't really define very clearly what a toy is or what a child is, which seem to be important, and a lot of the things that we sell might fall under the category of the law."

The Sigmund Freud action figure, for example, likely wouldn't appeal to an 8-year-old. The store does sell kid-friendly jars of bubbles, sewn-finger puppets and winking plastic rings.

"We are extremely active in making sure everything we have meets the federal product safety standard, but we think it's a well intentioned law that's going to have unintended consequences," Wahl said.

"Washington state accounts for less than 2 percent of all toys sold in the United States. What will happen is a lot of the small- and medium-sized companies will just decide it's cheaper to not sell to Washington state," he said. "A lot of the companies will choose not to sell to us and if we decide to do the testing ourselves, we have 10,000 items in our store, it would cost about $5 million a year do that. It's about $500 per test."

If the new rules are approved, the Seattle-based company would still sell its products online, through mail order and in other states, Wahl said. But the flagship Ballard store that is celebrating its 25th anniversary would change profoundly.

"We're at the point where we might actually not sell in Washington state," he said.

McPhee shoppers perusing the bins of rubber snakes and plastic-wrapped gummy tapeworms had mixed reactions to potential new regulations.

"I don't like such restrictive laws that there's no choice," said Kelly Kaye of Boise, Idaho. But, "we absolutely need to have better toy safety for kids."

"I hope they find a balance."

BANNING TOXIC CHEMICALS

State lawmakers have passed measures that ban the sale or distribution of toys that contain harmful levels of lead, cadmium and phthalates. The bill also requires that manufacturers clearly label their products while banning retailers from selling products that contain toxic materials above levels considered to be safe.

TOXICS IN CHILDREN

Lead poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, headache and fatigue. Chronic, low-level exposure can cause irritability, aggressiveness, hyperactivity, learning problems, loss of appetite and lack of interest in play. Neurological symptoms include poor coordination, weakness in hands and feet, seizures, paralysis and coma.

MORE INFORMATION

For a list of 1,200 toys tested for lead, cadmium and other metals, go to healthytoys.org/product.most.php.

HOW TO BUY SAFE TOYS

The Consumers Union issued these tips:

• Do not buy metal jewelry, especially cheap metal jewelry for young children.

• You can test toys for lead by using a home lead test kit.

• Be careful of toys with magnets. Don't buy toys with magnetic parts that are small enough to be swallowed.

• If you find loose, small magnets anywhere around the house, track down the source. Immediately take the product and any of its other magnetic components away from your child and contact the manufacturer and the Consumer Product Safety Commission at cpsc.gov.

• Avoid no-name products and be careful of toys bought at dollar stores, street fairs, vending machines, thrift stores or yard sales.

• Look for the age rating on toy packages and buy only age-appropriate toys for your child.

• Use common sense; some toys may be inappropriate for your toddlers and babies.