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In regards to the recent lead paint scares I thought it was appropriate to use this letter to our valued customers as our latest newsletter entry. Please contact us with any additional questions.

Dear Concerned Parent, Guardian, Grandparent, or Other,

I want to assure you as a toy shop owner and parent of two sweet little boys that child toy safety is of the utmost importance to me. In lieu of the recent recalls I wanted to assure our loyal customers and potential new customers that I take this matter very seriously. I have tried from my opening moment to bring in nothing but the very best, granted that may mean higher priced toys, but specialty toys that are safely made and very environmentally friendly. Sticking to my goal of obtaining wood, cotton, silk and wool toys I look locally first to stock my store. I don't carry any plastic for fear of obtaining anything containing PVC or lead paint. Many of my toys are European toys and considering the European standards for toys are higher than what we consider a safe toy by American standards I can, with confidence, say that I have sought out nothing but the best for my customers and family.

You will find some toys that say "Made in China" in my store. I think today it would be virtually impossible to stock a toy store with toys that have no association with a Chinese Factory in some way/shape/form. There are some toy companies that do outsource their products to Chinese factories for production and that shouldn't sway you immediately from purchasing that toy. Brio is a perfect example…this is taken from their web site.
{When a BRIO product is ready to be launched, we present it for certification by the most well-known institutes. If there are differences in the various regulatory systems, our policy is to always choose to abide by the harder and most thorough regulations. In order to remain close to production, BRIO recently added a person responsible for quality and safety at the office in Hong Kong. This person manages seven employed inspectors that control the content and quality of our shipments and also that our suppliers follow our code of conduct. This way we can prevent any potential safety issues early on in the manufacturing process.}

Immediately following the recalls Plan Toys sent out a DVD containing each of their products with the safety testing results. Their products are completely free from lead paint and any poisonous stains, etc. Their wood is heat treated and chemical free. They do not outsource to China at all, all of their toys are made in Thailand in their very own production facility.

If you have questions or concerns about any of the other manufacturers we love please contact us and we'll give you contact information for those companies so you can find out what you need to know from them directly. You can look under "Toys by Manufacturer" to see the list that we choose to carry.

To the best of my knowledge, based on what I know about each of the companies I have carefully chosen to carry, the products you'll find at Walking Stick Toys are safe, non-toxic and time tested products. They come from companies that have been in the specialty toy business for years and years using only water-based paints, safe wood, renewable resources and environmentally friendly practices.

Thank you for your continued interest in our toys, we'll continue to do the best to find the best for the special children in your life and ours. 

To subscribe to the recall notification list go here. You can opt to only receive recall information about toys, or whatever you'd like.


Letters from our manufacturers:

Plan Toys    Haba    Brio

Interesting NPR Interview regarding toys safety. Click Here!