Consumer Reports (CR), the independent, non-profit member organization, welcomes the opportunity to submit the following comments to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regarding its notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to add requirements for water beads to the federal safety standard for toys. CR strongly supports the CPSC’s proposed standard, which builds on elements of multiple existing voluntary standards.
Water beads, which are often marketed as sensory toys to children, are associated with thousands of emergency department visits every year. Already banned from being sold as toys in Italy and Malaysia, water beads have also been the subject of governmental safety warnings to parents by agencies in Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. In the United States, a number of retailers have voluntarily stopped the sale of water beads marketed for children. While CR applauds the companies that have taken action in the interest of child safety, others have yet to take similar steps, leaving countless children at risk for serious injury or death. It is clear that a strong, mandatory safety standard for water beads is necessary to better protect children.
To read the full comments, click here.