By Madeline Rivlin
November 23, 2007
When Karen Lustig, the owner of Penny Auntie in Chappaqua, heard about the Thomas the Tank engine recall last summer, her immediate thought was, “This isn’t going to be the only one.”
Lustig already carried toys in her store that were not made in China and she began looking for more. She discovered that although 80% of toys sold in the United States are made in China, and very few toys are made in the US, there are alternatives to be found from Europe and other parts of the world. The risk of carrying contaminated toys is smaller for specialty stores like Penny Auntie, according to the toy company representatives that she buys from, because the vendors who sell to such stores do not typically produce a large volume of toys and, as a result, are better able to supervise the manufacturing process.
Alternates available, but more expensive
Lustig now has a list posted behind the counter of brands that are not made in China, and has added some new toy lines, such as Playmobil and Haba baby toys that are made in Germany. She still carries items that have been made in China and that are not on the recall list, but she is happy to assist customers to find substitutes, as she did recently for a man who came in to buy a toy truck, but insisted “it can’t be made in China.” In general, Lustig notes, toys that are not made in China are more expensive. For example, a Bruden toy truck made in Germany is about twice the price of a roughly comparable toy truck that is made in China.
In addition to the new toy lines, Lustig is also stocking more non-toy items, such as clothing, sleeping bags, lunch bags, and even a line of decorative notebooks, called iscream, that are made in Croton. Reflecting on the issue of toy recalls, Lustig comments, “At first it’s scary, but when you really look into it and make an effort there are a lot of options, and they are wonderful options.”
So far, Drugmart in Millwood has not stocked any toys that have been recalled, reports Richard Glotzer, one of the owners. He explains that toy manufacturers and distributors are required to notify sellers like Drugmart of any recall. Drugmart carries toys that are made in China, but Glotzer says Drugmart tends to stock “higher-end, gift-type” toys that are not the type that have been recalled. For example, he notes that instead of the Fisher-Price stacking plastic tower, Drugmart sells a hand-painted wooden tower.
At the Rite-Aid in Chappaqua, inquiries about toy recalls were referred to the corporate public relations department, which had not responded by press time.
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