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TOYS “R” US, INC. ANNOUNCES PRECAUTIONARY STOP SALE
ON ALL VINYL BIBS
Action Includes all Items Manufactured By Hamco, Inc., as Well as Other Vendors
WAYNE, NJ (August 17, 2007) -
Toys “R” Us, Inc. announced today that as a precautionary measure it has removed all vinyl bibs manufactured by Hamco, Inc. and its other vendors from Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us store shelves.
Because of its strong commitment to safety, Toys “R” Us voluntarily adheres to the stringent California Proposition 65 standards for its testing of vinyl baby bibs. All of its vinyl bibs are tested against these requirements every six months by an independent testing facility. These bibs, including those manufactured by Hamco, passed these rigorous tests, including as recently as May 2007. However, the company noted that stores have received shipments since that time and therefore decided to conduct additional re-testing on these items.
Based on discussions with the Consumer Product Safety Commission staff, following the agency’s own tests conducted last week on certain Hamco bibs sold by Toys “R” Us, there were no instances of any hazardous levels of lead found in these products.
In recent days, Toys “R” Us asked Bureau Veritas, a world leader in independent testing, to re-test samples of all Hamco-manufactured bibs sold by the company. Among its findings, the Bureau Veritas tests found two samples of Hamco bibs that contained lead over the strict Toys “R” Us testing requirements. As a result of inconsistent results between the company’s May 2007 and August 2007 tests, Toys “R” Us has immediately stopped sale of these items in its stores. These bibs were sold to Toys “R” Us by Hamco and marketed under the Koala Baby, Especially for Baby and Disney Baby labels.
While not aware of any concerns regarding vinyl bibs made by other manufacturers, the company has temporarily removed all vinyl bibs from its store shelves to help minimize any potential consumer confusion and as an additional precautionary measure so that the company can voluntarily re-test these products.
In addition to its rigorous testing of all products prior to shipment to its stores, Toys “R” Us has recently increased its third party re-testing of products on store shelves. The company will continue to take decisive and aggressive action in ensuring the products it sells meet only the highest quality assurance standards.
The company said that customers who wish to return vinyl bibs purchased at any time from a Toys “R” Us or Babies “R” Us store may do so and receive a full refund. For questions or additional information, customers may call 1-800-869-7787.
About Toys "R" Us, Inc.
Toys "R" Us is the world's leading specialty toy retailer. Currently it sells merchandise through more than 1,500 stores, including 586 stores in the U.S. and 678 international toy stores, which includes licensed and franchise stores, and through its Internet site at www.toysrus.com. Babies "R" Us is the largest baby product specialty store chain in the world and a leader in the juvenile industry, and sells merchandise through 251 stores in the U.S. as well as on the Internet at www.babiesrus.com.
For more information please contact:
Kathleen Waugh
Phone: 973-617-5888
Email: waughk@toysrus.com
Lisa Lewin
Phone: 646-366-8826
Email: lewinl@toysrus.com
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