Parents across Massachusetts are being urged to vigilantly double-check their kids’ holiday toy haul this year. Consumer watchdog MASSPIRG has released findings that several recalled toys—ones that should no longer even be available for purchase—are popping up online. According to a recent report by Boston 25 News, the group managed to scoop up five different toys previously yanked from shelf circulation, flagging an issue that appears far from being resolved.
"No toy that has been recalled should be for sale," MASSPIRG’s legislative director, Deirdre Cummings, pointedly said in the Boston 25 report. In a disturbing confirmation of the issue's scope, the watchdog’s 2023 report, dubbed "Trouble in Toyland", revealed that they were clearly able to effortlessly purchase these recalled items. Three of these toys were even found and bought on eBay. The recalled items include seemingly innocent toys like the Silver Lining Cloud Activity Gym and a cutesy Rainbow Road board book, amongst others.
The threat these toys pose isn’t hypothetical. The Consumer Product Safety Commission had to pull these toys for reasons as varied as they are serious. And while eBay insists they work in tandem with regulators to scrub the platform clean of such hazards, Cummings' experience suggests a dangerous lag, reporting that she was warned by eBay about the potential recall of a baby bath toy after the purchase had already been processed and, in fact, the toy was later delivered to her doorstep.
It’s an unsettling trend that parents are being asked to confront head-on. Cummings advises concerned caregivers to proactively check for recalled toys on the CPSC website and to use saferproducts.gov as a resource before even thinking about making a toy purchase online. "We’re putting kids at risk," Cummings told Boston 25 News. Meanwhile, as per their own website, MASSPIRG stands unwavering in its commitment to public wellbeing, advocating for not just children's health but for everyone’s safety in the marketplace against the backdrop of powerful special interests.
This watchdog’s bite seems necessary in a world where online marketplaces have become the new frontiers of consumer safety. As holiday shopping ramps up to peak fervor, MASSPIRG's warnings serve both as a stark reminder and a call to action for parents – spare a moment to ensure that your child's newest plaything hasn't been deemed a danger by those in the know.
