Total Recall: The Need For CPSC Reform Now July 2008 Page 3 Total Recalls Reported By CPSC-January-June 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 07 08 Other children's products Toys SECTION 1. Recalls Continue In 2008: Time For Action Is Now In 2007, child product recalls reached an all time high with 231 recalls of 45 million toys and other children’s products.4 Twelve of the recalls involved over one million units, causing the media to dub 2007 the Year of the Recall. Over 30 million of the recalled units were toys. Popular toy manufacturers, such as Mattel, were forced to recall millions of units due to problems associated with their products’ lead paint violations or dangerous small magnets. While last year’s toy recalls provoked Congress to begin steps to reauthorize and strengthen the CPSC, new data suggest that the toy problem has not abated. We looked at the most recent data for this report. In the first six months of 2008, according to our analysis of available CPSC recall notices, 108 children’s products were recalled, including 45 for lead contamination and 10 for hazardous magnets. Of those 108 products, fifty-three toys have been recalled this year already, totaling 6.2 million units. Last year by June, there had been only 84 children’s product recalls, which included 31 toy recalls. The increase suggests strongly that what the toy industry called “last year’s problem” remains very much today’s problem, and points to the urgent need for Congress to finish action on the CPSC Reform Act. Other data show the same upward trend. According to a recent report by Consumers Union, for example, at the current rate, the CPSC will issue more than 800 recalls in its 2008 fiscal year, a 70 percent increase over last year.5 In addition, the CPSC recently released its quarterly historical summary of all recalls.6 (See chart on next page). Since data for FY 2008 are only available through the third quarter (June), Figure 2 shows the last five annual totals after the third quarter. Through the end of June 2008, the CPSC has already recorded 415 total recalls of all products, or a 22% increase in recalls over FY 2007. The increase suggests strongly that what the toy industry called “last year’s problem” remains a big problem, and underscores the urgent need for Congress to finish action on a strong CPSC Reform Act before August recess of this year.