Major retailers tighten up safety standards for toys

NEW YORK — After facing recall after recall of millions of Chinese-made items, the nation's biggest toy sellers are imposing stricter measures on their suppliers — including tougher standards for lead content — to get ahead of expected new federal legislation.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys "R" Us Inc., the nation's top two toy sellers, are setting a much tighter standard for the amount of lead allowed on surface paint for toys shipped to their chains on or after March 1. The companies are also phasing out chemicals found in PVC, or vinyl, that have raised safety concerns in products for infants and young children.

The measures are meant to meet or exceed new federal standards expected from Congress in the wake of last year's highly publicized recalls of millions of toys because they contained excessive amounts of lead or other hazards.

"We made a commitment to the world that we would push forward toy safety as a top priority," said Gerald L. Storch, chairman and chief executive officer of Toys "R" Us, which announced the measures Friday. "This is not the last improvement that we will put in place."

Laura Phillips, vice president and chief toy officer for Wal-Mart, noted that the company is "in the season of writing orders" and needed to make the appropriate changes.

The moves come as the industry gears up for the annual American International Toy Fair, which officially begins Sunday. While stores say that parents' anxiety about toy safety has subsided, retailers and toymakers can't afford another major recall and said they need to become extra vigilant.

Target Corp., the nation's No. 2 discounter, said it was working with its "vendors, industry leaders and the Consumer Product Safety Commission," but did not give specifics.

Ed Schmults, chief executive of FAO Schwarz, said Friday that the upscale toy merchant was forcing suppliers to meet more stringent requirements but would not offer details.

The toy industry has a lot at stake. A challenging economy and the fallout from the recalls hurt toy sales last year. Market research firm NPD Group Inc. says traditional toy sales fell 2 percent to $22.1 billion in 2007 from a year earlier, and 5 percent in the October to December period.

Sean McGowan, a retail analyst at Needham & Co., said he expects industry sales this year to be at best unchanged as toy retailers face an overall slowdown in consumer spending.