february 10th, cpsia, and a snorkeling turtle

What do these things have in common? Over a year ago, one of M’s Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks was recalled. The paint used for the snorkeling turtle contained lead in “amounts that exceed US lead standards.” Following the instructions for returning the block was easy. They gave postage-paid label to return it and sent me a new block.

It took a long time to receive the replacement block. It didn’t matter, though. M wasn’t really attached to it, so it wasn’t missed. I had actually forgotten about it and then one day it arrived in the mail. End of story.

Fast forward to this year; February 10th, in fact. The day that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act was supposed to go into effect. I’ll leave my opinions and rants about the actual law for some other blog post. Instead, I’d like to show you what showed up in my mail that day.

package

At first I thought maybe it was surprise yarn or something. It was light, soft and smooshy. Then I figured out it was a cube. It made a little rattle sound when I shook it. It was the little lead snorkeling turtle. (Why do turtles need snorkeling equipment?) The package looked like it had been through a war zone. It was battered, ripped and covered with stamps that had marked its journey through the postal system.

package

Apparently, its journey was so long that by the time it arrived to its destination, the postage-paid label permit had expired. The only thing more incredible than the thought of a recalled item being returned to the consumer was the original post mark date.

package

I sent Kids II an email explaining what had happened. I was concerned. What should I do with the block? I mean, if it was dangerous enough that they had wanted it returned, what was I supposed to do with it now? Toss it in the trash? Yep. That’s exactly what they advised me to do.

It all seems a little crazy, doesn’t it?

3 Replies to “february 10th, cpsia, and a snorkeling turtle”

  1. there are so many things wrong with the system….not the least of which is to throw away so many items. Because, if they have too much lead for a child to play with, why wouldn’t we want them to leach their muck in to the landfills? *sigh*

    Hope you got some sort of refund. *sigh*

    k

  2. I have a similar problem with the new light bulbs that aren’t lasting as long as promised. They are full of mercury. I understand some Home Depot Centers have recycling for them but I wonder how many will make it there. I read that an alternative to taking them to Home Depot is to double plastic bag them and put them in the trash. Yikes!

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