by Ed Desmond, executive vice president of external affairs, Toy Industry Association (TIA)
One of the biggest threats facing your business today is the increasing problem of state after state seeking to ban certain chemicals used in toys. Individual state legislatures—and even counties—have been creating their own flawed chemical management laws, which could force retailers to pull perfectly safe products from store shelves. While the TIA is working to prevent such state laws, we are also actively engaged in addressing this threat by urging Congress to pass a federal, uniform chemical management policy that will help preempt state-by-state activity.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), our country’s outdated federal chemical regulation law, has not been updated in nearly 40 years. Now more than ever, Congress needs to hear from you on the importance of TSCA reform.
Passage of federal TSCA reform will establish a national policy that addresses chemicals in a single, scientific, consistent, and effective manner across all 50 states. Please take a moment to send this pre-written letter from the TIA Grassroots Action Center to your senator, asking him or her to support a vote on TSCA reform legislation by the full Senate. It’s quick and easy! You are also welcome to edit the letter to include anecdotes about your company to further underscore the significant impact that a national policy will have on your business.
Just a few weeks ago, we saw a major victory when the U.S. House passed the TSCA Modernization Act with an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote. But we need to continue the momentum on TSCA reform by voicing support for the Senate’s companion bill, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act. Should the Senate also pass TSCA reform, we will be that much closer to seeing a federal bill signed into law.
TIA has been advocating for TSCA reform for the past three years. We’ve held hundreds of meetings with key offices, provided feedback on draft TSCA bill language, and hosted industry-wide Fly-In events to meet with members of Congress.
At this critical point in time, we now need your help to ensure TSCA reform passes in the Senate. Please take a moment to engage on this important issue by contacting your Senator. As members of the toy industry, your voice can—and will—make a difference!
Questions about this topic may be directed to Rachel Derby, TIA’s senior director of federal government affairs, at (202) 459-0351 or rderby@toyassociation.org. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time!
