Safety statements from the toy manufacturers we carry:

Safety Statement from BRIO Toys:

Play Safe With Brio Toys

Because of the recent recalls that have occurred on the toy market, due to dangerous amounts of lead in paint.

BRIO would like to point out that all BRIO products, including the wooden railways systems and toys, are very safe to play with. BRIO uses a lacquer paint, free of dangerous amounts of toxic materials, including lead. This lacquer paint has been thoroughly tested for toxins in independent laboratories at ITS and SGS.

After a competitor’s first product recall a few months ago, BRIO decided to triple check on the procedures that are in place, to make sure that everything is performed according to the already set standards. Even further testing was carried out, on all the paint used, for all our products and sent for analysis. None of the tests showed any abnormalities.

Safety is always one of our main priorities.

Creating products that are safe enough for young children involves extensive research and testing. All BRIO products conform to heavy metal (toxicology) testing as under mandate by the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) for US and Canada. They meet all industry standards within EN part 3.

Paint:

Every single part of a product that BRIO makes, are specifically tested in a spectrometer for spectroscopic analysis. This is to identify all the chemicals and content of the materials used.

Safety Statement from Crocodile Creek:

Crocodile Creek and Safety

Our philosophy

Please be assured that we at Crocodile Creek regard the safety of the children in our world and the safety of our products as being of the utmost importance. Our product development departments work closely with our manufacturing facilities to see that our products conform to all of the appropriate safety standards.

Lunchboxes

All our current lunchboxes are child safe with lead-free linings and are PVC free and phthalate free. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards as well as FDA recommendations.

Bibs

All our children's bibs are currently made of 100% cotton and are PVC free and phthalate free. They are coated with TPU (Thermo polyurethane) which provides the bibs with an easy-to-clean surface. These materials are considered to be both child safe and lead safe. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.

Playground Balls

Our playground balls are made of natural rubber and contain no PVC or vinyl. They conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.

Placemats

Our placemats are made of polypropylene and are PVC free. They also conform to both U.S. and European safety standards.

Concerns about Lead in Children's products

We are committed to making all our products child safe and lead safe. Though many of our products are currently being produced in China, we work with independent testing firms to see that our products are child safe and conform to the appropriate safety standards. We also work with an independent company who oversees the production and quality control in our factories to assure a continuous high level of quality in Crocodile Creek products.

If you have any additional questions about these or other Crocodile Creek products, please don't hesitate to contact us.

The folks at Crocodile Creek

Safety Statement from eeBoo:

Dear Valued Customers -

eeBoo understands the concerns many of you are having regarding the safety of children's products made in China. This is of particular concern at this busy holiday season and in light of the recent media attention.

eeBoo would like to take this opportunity to reassure all of its customers that we only use a limited number of factories in the production of our products. These are all factories we work with closely on a daily basis and do not outsource any product without our prior knowledge.

The factories we use are certified with safety testing on each component of our products. Any product with a painted component is independently safety tested at each printing. We also randomly test individual items using an independent source. All items tested are tested to ASTM and CE standards.

I hope that this helps to reassure you. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards EeBoo

Safety Statement from Jack Rabbit:

Dear sales reps and customers -

Per multiple requests, here is some information in regards to how we test our products and assure their safety.

Firstly, the factory that makes our wooden toys makes only toys, and as such removes the risk of cross-contamination from other products. Secondly, the factory makes their own paints – eliminating the possibility of unknown foreign substances making their way onto our toys.

Most importantly, we test every one of our products, every color of every paint and ink, to the age appropriate ASTM (US Safety Standards) testing requirements. All of our items meet or exceed the set standards, and we pass all the tests. Toxic Elements are part of these tests, which includes the lead level.

On a personal note – we are a small company, we work with a respected agent in China that we have worked with for over 20 years and he is very aware of all the safety standards that need to be met before a product is shipped. We also work with smaller factories that don’t subcontract out their work. We are parents ourselves, and make sure that we are comfortable with and proud of everything we produce. We are very connected to what is going on with each and every one of our products.

Test reports are on file in our offices and can be provided if necessary.

Best,

Erica and Jim Lancaster Co-owners Jack Rabbit Creations

Safety Statement from Hape:

Dear Valued HaPe Customers,

In response to recent and numerous toy recalls that suggest there’s trouble in toyland, we want to reassure you of HaPe’s commitment to the manufacturing of safe, quality toys.

We recognize the responsibility of producing a safe product for children. Since 1995 we have been producing HaPe toys in China using rigorous quality control principles adopted while manufacturing in Germany. Unlike other toy companies, we manage the entire toy manufacturing process from our wholly-owned Ningbo facility with HaPe employees thoroughly trained on process, quality and safety. With this formalized approach, we control design, production, testing and delivery of our robust range of award-winning toys to your store.

We are very quality-driven. In fact, we were one of the first two toy companies to receive below certifications:

ISO 9001 (Quality Management Certification)
ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Certification)
ICTI (Social Accountability -audit by the International Council of Toy Industries)


We source top-of-the-line materials from responsible suppliers around the world.

Birch plywood from Russia
Lacquer from Belgium
Beech wood and water stain from Germany.


We are continually striving to improve the products we create. To ensure a 100% safe product, all HaPe products undergo rigorous international safety tests and have passed all EN71 and the North American Safety Standard ASTM. All HaPe products made in China comply with North American regulations for safe use by children and do not contain lead paint or hazardous materials. In the rare occurrence when HaPe uses a sub contractor, we use SGS, a highly regarded independent lab, to perform safety and quality tests prior to every shipment and conduct unplanned spot checks.

We are very proud of our HaPe collection and want you to know you are welcome to come visit our production facilities anytime. We look forward to supplying you with quality toys for years to come.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our North American office by calling 1-800-661-4142.

Peter Handstein CEO Hape International(Ningbo) Ltd. 9-27 NanHai Road Dagang Industrial City Ningbo, Zhejinag, China 315010

Maggie Qiu General Manager HaPe International, Inc. 912 Ash Street 2nd Floor Sherwood Park,AB T8A 2G1

Safety Statement from Melissa and Doug:

Dear Valued Customer -

Yes, we definitely appreciate and understand your concern. Please be assured, we test for lead VERY frequently.

It's quite possible to make great quality children's items in China, which meet all safety regulations, but the key point is that you have to test and inspect very frequently to be sure that your factories are always following your instructions explicitly. I assure you that's exactly what we do.

From our experience, the key to doing this correctly is not simply to insist that your factories follow your instructions, but then to go one step further and to AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST very frequently. That is the most important part of the process, and it's something our company has always taken VERY seriously.

Thanks again for asking, and for your support also.

Your Dedicated Customer Service Team
Melissa & Doug, Inc.
800-284-3948
Monday-Friday 8:00-5:00 EST

Safety Statement from Plan Toys:

Dear Valued Customers:

In response to the latest concern regarding the use of lead paint in the manufacture of toys, PlanToys would like to reassure all retailers and consumers that PlanToys are manufactured with the highest safety and environmental standards in mind. We build 100% of our products within our own factory, so we control the entire process from wood selection, to manufacturer, to shipping.

PlanToys is manufactured from recycled rubberwood PlanToys uses a natural kiln dry process, in place of chemical treatment, to preserve and stabilize the wood, thus makes all PlanToys products preservative-free PlanToys uses natural, water-based dies in place of any type of paint to add accent colors PlanToys has won the following awards for safety, environmental sensitivity and innovative design:

ISO 9001
ISO 14000
OHSAS/TIS 18001
SA8000
ASTM & EN71
Parents' Choice
Oppenheim Toy Portfolio


PlanToys takes tremendous pride in providing safe toys that are manufactured with sensitivity toward our environment. For more information about PlanToys, please request a copy of the PlanToys Leaflet (item #84340), or contact our office at (866) 517-7526.

Sincerely, Nittaya Zeugfang, President PlanToys, Inc.

Safety Statement from Schylling:

Dear Friend of Schylling,

Since we began selling toys more than 30 years ago, we have always taken safety very seriously. Quality and safety are of foremost importance to Schylling. Everyone who makes, sells, buys or plays with toys has taken notice and been affected by the recent large toy recalls. The presence of lead in the paint used to decorate the toys has been the largest reason for recalls, but not the only one.

I want to assure everyone that our toys are safe. We have our toys tested by independent testing labs to the very strict standards established by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM). In addition to heavy metals, like lead, our toys are also tested for small parts that can cause choking hazards, sharp points, etc. We enforce very strict standards with our manufacturers in China.

In light of the recent recalls, as an industry and a nation, we need to insist to our Chinese partners that any use of lead is unacceptable. We will not tolerate it in our products and will cease doing business with companies that do not wholeheartedly agree with us. I hope the recent recalls will inspire all companies to take a deeper look at their testing procedures.

Schylling is lending its voice to an appeal to the Chinese government to eliminate this problem once and for all. The best way to do this is for China to ban the production of lead paint - something the US government did 30 years ago. When we started making toys in China over ten years ago, it was difficult to get paint that was lead free and we had to import it from Germany. Now that China has become the toy factory to the world, it is time for them to embrace the standards of the rest of the world and make these standards their own.

We think that the children's toys that will be enjoyed in the days and years ahead will be made to a higher standard. They may be a little more expensive, but this is a small price to pay.

Your friends at Schylling