
A testy toy recall
In 2007, a nine year-old Chicago boy died from inhaling a one-inch dart that was part of his toy gun. Today the Consumer Product Safety Commission has finally reached an agreement with Family Dollar Stores Inc. to stop selling the “Auto Fire” toy. Bloomberg’s Jeff Plungis reports that Family Dollar Stores will do a voluntary recall of 1.8 million dart-gun toys.
The boy’s family sued Family Dollar Stores. However, the worst corporate actor in this case is the less visible Henry Gordy International Inc. of Plainfield, New Jersey, which imported the toy guns from China. While Family Dollar Stores is now cooperating with CPSC regulators, Henry Gordy International has not agreed to stop importing the toys. The CPSC may yet sue the company, which in the past three years has imported toys with excessive lead levels and other dart toys that pose choking hazards.