02/10/09
NEW YORK Toy stores across the country scrambled Monday to abide by tough new lead and chemical standards for toys that go into effect on Tuesday. Many toy sellers pulled questionable items off their shelves after a judge last week nixed a delay that would have given them a 12-month reprieve. The abrupt change and the lack of guidelines has left many retailers bewildered. At The Toy Store in Atlanta, owner Denis Hofstetter was pulling about 5 percent of his inventory off the shelf on Monday just because he isn't certain whether or not the toys conform to the regulations. "It's a great law that's being implemented terribly," said Hofstetter, 34. Last summer, Congress passed the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which imposed tough standards for lead and certain chemicals, called phthalates, in products for children age 12 and under.
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