Thanks to all of you who have been faithful readers of ToysNaturally. I wanted to let you know that, due to a combination of factors, I’ve decided to recombine ToysNaturally & my original blog, ChezArtz. I will still be blogging about toys and toy safety, it’s just that the length of time it’s taking for me to ferret out responses to my questions from manufacturers is not letting me update this blog in a timely manner.

So I hope you’ll join me over at ChezArtz. In the event that you do not want to read about such topics as gardening, parenting & politics, you can always subscribe & then click Manage Your Subscription to select only toy-related categories. Then you will only get an email when I post on one of those categories.

Thanks again, and please email me if you have any questions (Julie AT CHEZARTZ Dot COM).

I have a thing against plastic toys. However, I also have a thing against putting expensive and not-weather-safe wooden or metal toys outside in the sandbox where they’ll inevitably get chewed by the dog, beaten in the wind, and blasted by the hot Colorado sun.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find out about Green Toys in my Oompa Toys newsletter. Green Toys are made out of recycled milk jugs in California and, in addition to being made of recycled materials into a safer-than-most form of plastic (HDPE), they also meet:

•  American ASTM requirements for the manufacture of safe toys
• California Prop. 65 restrictions on lead & cadmium
• FDA regulations for food contact
• California regulations prohibiting phthalates in toys
• Voluntary testing for no BPA (Bisphenol-A)

Of course, they are apparently popular enough to have sold out already, but I will be keeping my eye out for these recycled-plastic toys and you should too! See Oompa’s full line of Green Toys.

L G Sourcing, Inc., of North Wilkesboro, NC, announced a recall of its storage bins, sold at Lowe’s for $6, for violating the lead paint standard. Item number 226782 (pastel green storage bin) or 226781 (pink storage bin) is located on the bottom of the storage bin. No other storage bins or colors are included in this recall.

Read the full text of this recall.

As if showing models drinking a hot beverage with baby inches away weren’t bad enough, today Beco Baby Carriers, of Newport Beach, CA, recalled their Beco Butterfly infant carrier due to the shoulder straps occasionally releasing tension and posing a fall hazard to baby.

Sold at a variety of retailers in January and February of 2008 for $140, the carriers have a black label on the exterior of the carrier with a green “b” logo on the left side and a butterfly on the right side. The following carrier styles are included in the recall: Mia, Pony Express, Carnival, Addison, Ethan, Sophia, Cameron, Ava and Joshua.

Read the full text of the Beco Baby recall.

Santa’s Toy Corp., of Los Angeles, CA, announced a recall of its Western Rider push toy due to high lead levels in the surface paint on the glove, shirt, and pants.

The toy was sold at retail dollar and discount stores nationwide February 2005 through February 2008 for between $2.50 and $3.00. The full recall can be found here.

I try to avoid generalizations, especially about recalls (heck, my favorite toy maker just had a recall due to the possibility of sharp objects protruding from the toy!), but I think it’s safe to say: Folks, avoid the magnetic dart boards if your kids are small enough to swallow something they shouldn’t (i.e. under 18 ). Henry Gordy International of Plainfield, NJ, just recalled their Fun’n'Games Magnetic dart board sold at Family Dollar for, you guessed it, a dollar. The magnets can detach, and we all know how bad that is by now, right?

In other recall news, Dalmatian Press LLC, of Franklin, TN, recalled its Little Builder Board Book Set because the dump truck and cement mixer toys that come with the set have pieces that can detach and pose a choking hazard. The set was sold at Wal-Mart, Levy Home Entertainment, Lion Sales of NW Brunswick, Farris Wholesale Outlet, Crane Book Sales, Ingram Book Co., BPDI Corp., Books A Million and Christmas Tree Shop stores nationwide and on the Internet at Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com from August 2007 through February 2008 for about $9.

OKK Trading of Commerce, California, recalled its Interchange Robot toys for violating the lead paint standard. These toys were sold at the Dollar Store for about a dollar.

Funtastic of Houston, TX, recalled its Hillbilly Fake Teeth sets due to a violation of the lead paint standard. OK, putting lead paint on something that is made to go in your mouth is just plain stupid. These were sold at Grocery, Drug, Convenience, and Mass retailers nationwide from March 2005 through March 2008 for about $2.

Today the CPSC and Dollar Tree Stores, Inc., of Chesapeake Bay, VA, recalled the Cuddly Cousins Plush Insect Toys sold at Dollar Tree, Dollar Bill$, Dollar Express, Greenbacks, Only One $1, and Deal$ stores from March 2007 to December 2007 for $1. The toys have small parts that can detach and pose a choking hazard.

Full details of the recall can be found here.

In another recall, Toys R Us of Wayne, NJ, recalled two Imaginarium Activity Centers–the Imaginarium Multi-Sided and Jungle activity centers–due to the risk that small parts could detach and present a choking hazard to young children. The toys sold at both Toys R Us and toysrus.com in 2007 and early 2008 for between $20 and $50. Item numbers 69042 (multi-sided) and 69083 (jungle) are printed on the back of the box next to the bar code.

The full report can be found here.

The CPSC and Tek Nek Toys of Southlake, Texas announced a recall of a series of Rock ‘N Ride Plush Rocker Toys because of the danger that the base of the rocker can become detached posing a fall hazard to children. Included in the recall are the Clifford Rocker (pictured) and the Pink Pony, Brown Pony, Pink Unicorn, Deluxe Pony, Deluxe Bull, L’il Propeller Plane, and L’il Penguin models.

Full story on the recall can be found here.

Plan Toys announced a recall of their toy penguin figure because the head may detach, exposing sharp points that may be a laceration hazard. The 3 1/2 inch wooden toy sold in 2007 & 2008 for between $15 and $20 and has UPC number 084543521109 or EAN number 8854740052117 printed on the packaging.

The full report can be found online here.

Today Hobby Lobby of Oklahoma City, OK, announced a recall of its Camoflage Easter Egg Treat Containers and Easter Spinning Egg Tops due to violations of the lead paint standard.

“The Camouflage Easter Egg Treat Containers have Item #1031 printed on the front of the packaging and are white, brown and green camouflage colors, sold in a package of eight eggs. “Made in China for Tony Development and Mfg Ltd; TST, Kin, HK” and UPC code number 43078 01031 are printed on the back of the packing.

The Easter Spinning Egg Tops have Item # 1054 printed on the front of the packaging and are multi-colored and come in packages of a single egg and a rip cord. “Made in China for Tony Development and Mfg Ltd. TST, Kin, HK” and UPC code number 43078 01054 are printed on the back of the packaging.”

For the full report, click here.

MEGA Brands of Livingston, N.J., issued a recall of its MagnaMan magnetic toys due to the potential that magnets in the toys can detach and be swallowed by young children.

The toys, which come in both “Futuristic Warrior” and “Ancient Warrior” themes, have body parts held together by magnets and were sold at Wal-Mart, Target, Toys R Us, K-Mart, and other retailers from 2005 to December 2007 for about $10.

In a similar recall issued at the same time, MEGA Brands recalled Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. Pre-school Magnetic Toys. These toys, which sold during a similar time-frame at the same stores mentioned above, retailed for between $10-40 and also have magnets that can dislodge from the toys, posing an aspiration or ingestion hazard.