From Wade Munday:

With Christmas approaching, and a burgeoning list of toy recalls, state Democrats are calling on State Representative Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to disclose all chemicals and product-safety testing procedures used by her family-owned toy company, Big Time Toys LLC, which manufactures its products in China.

According to the press release, "Even before the China recalls, questions about Big Time Toys' product safety were on the rise." Read all about it after the jump...

HARWELL'S BIG TIME TOYS ASKED TO DISCLOSE SAFETY INFORMATION
WITH TOY RECALLS RISING, BRENTWOOD COMPANY OUTSOURCES TO CHINA

NASHVILLE- With Christmas approaching, and a burgeoning list of toy recalls, state Democrats are calling on State Representative Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) to disclose all chemicals and product-safety testing procedures used by her family-owned toy company, Big Time Toys LLC, which manufactures its products in China.

The request comes after a nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen yesterday issued a report "Santa's Sweatshop: Made in D.C. with Bad Trade Policy," claiming the "root cause" of this year's toy safety crisis is the growth of U.S. toy companies like Big Time Toys who outsource to countries without adequate safety systems -- namely, China.

"Millions of parents and kids across the country are affected by the toy recall crisis, it's time for Representative Harwell to step up and fully disclose the list of chemicals used in these made-in-China toys," said Wade Munday, spokesman for the Tennessee Democratic Party. "She also needs to disclose product-safety testing measures and disclose whether any of the substances have been considered in recalls."

He added: "With the legislative session approaching, Tennessee lawmakers should consider whether there's any role for the state to require companies like Big Time Toys to ensure adequate toy product safety."

The multi-million-dollar company manufactures its merchandise using low-paid labor in China. The company is a leading member of the Toy Industry Association (TIA), a trade group that has lobbied Congress for trade policies that promote more toy manufacturing in China. According to Public Citizen, 85 percent of TIA's lobbying expenditures were related to "trade and safety."

Even before the China recalls, questions about Big Time Toys' product safety were on the rise.

Earlier this year, the Better Business Bureaus' Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) said advertising for Big Time Toys' marquee product, Moon Shoes, didn't include proper adult-supervision warnings. Last year a leading national toy-safety advocate, New Jersey attorney Tom Vesper, put Big Time Toys' Pogo Moon Board on his annual list of 13 unsafe toys.

"Product-safety experts say Big Time Toys needs to address its safety issues," Munday said. "Whether it involves chemicals or questions about adult supervision, we hope Representative Harwell will commit to a thorough review of Big Time Toys' product-safety testing measures."

Backup links:

http://www.citizen.org/
http://www.caru.org/news/
http://www.nbc40.net/view_story.php?id=628
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/story/7003029p-6863134c.html
http://www.toyassociation.org/AM/Template.cfm?
http://www.citizen.org/documents/Santas%20Sweatshop.pdf
http://state.tn.us/sos/tec/disclosure/8004/Disclosure8004Web.xml