Wal-Mart, The Wall Street Journal, the Toy Industry and toy safety

There is an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled “Wal-Mart Raises Bar on Toy Safety Standards.” The article, written by Joseph Pereira and Steve Stecklow, is a full review of the standards Wal-Mart has set for all children’s product vendors. It is of course highly important as Wal-Mart is the proverbial elephant (make that Mastodon) in the room so what they do effects everyone. The authors clearly want to let the reader know this when they state: “Wal-Mart’s rules, which are more stringent than government rules, could become the industry standard.”

The article goes on to say that “[t]he standards include strict limits for lead and a broad array of other heavy metals…The initiative also encourages suppliers to mark children’s products with ‘traceability information,’ including the factory in which the goods were made.”

What pleased me most about the article was the paper’s acknowledgement that the memo from Wal-Mart went out in February but has only now found its way to the Wall Street Journal. The authors write: “Wal-Mart disclosed its new policy in a February email to its children’s-product suppliers. ‘It is your responsibility as a supplier to monitor all legislation and to produce product that complies with all laws and Wal-Mart requirements, whichever is more stringent,’ stated the memo, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.”

It looks like the tight lipped and steely eyed toy industry is better at keeping secrets than the government or the CIA. What an industry!