 |
|
 |
 |
||||||
|
Legislative Alert
|
TASC Opposes SB 1108 - Bill to Ban a Wide Range of Consumer Products Intended for Use by Children and Would include VINYL TOYS Containing any of six phthalates. Bill to be voted on TOMORROW, TUESDAY MAY 8TH, 2007! TAKE ACTION TODAY! How You Can Help: Once again, there is a proposal moving through the California legislature, Assembly Bill 1108, that would significantly harm the toy industry’s ability to do business in California. Assembly Bill 1108 would ban a wide range of consumer products intended for use by children. The banned products would include vinyl toys containing any of six phthalates. Phthalates, as you probably know, are used to make vinyl soft and flexible, durable and affordable, enhancing the safety of the product. Phthalates have been widely studied, including a rigorous four-year study by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that found "no demonstrated health risk" to children from DINP, the phthalate most commonly used in toys. You Don’t make products that contain phthalates?? Your help is still needed. Read on to see why this matters to you too: Supporters of the bill have ignored phthalates safe track record and are attempting to ban products based on fear and emotion - rather than sound science - and this misinformation is providing the bill momentum. In the end, it is questionable whether the supporters of this bill are even interested in safety; as they are focused more on misinformation, political expediency, news conferences and the next election. Given the political nature of this bill, this is no longer just about phthalates or plastic toys. And the products you do sell could be targeted next. The pressure to legislate product-specific bans is growing. Banning products proven to be safe for purely political reasons is a very dangerous precedent and we need your help to stop it in California. Therefore, we ask that you to take a stand for what is right, based on science, and speak out against legislation that attempts to ignore the demonstrated safety of a product. Let your local state legislator know that you are a local business in opposition to this bill and the impact it would have on the industry. Tell your legislator that this bill must not become law. If the bill passes, it could lead to a patchwork of similar state and local laws that are random and arbitrary and hurt your business while not improving the safety of products. What Can I do?? Call, write via fax or e-mail your local Assembly member TODAY! It will be heard in Committee on Tuesday, the MAY 8TH - let them know that you oppose legislation that is not based on sound science; the potential impact on your business of the bill, and that it could instead compromise the safety of products to abandon well-tested materials and applications for lesser ones. We have attached a sample letter for your use. Please feel free to edit this letter as you see fit. Encourage your colleagues, employees, friends and families to write as well. For more information on the safety of phthalates in toys » REMEMBER: YOU MUST ACT TODAY. We urge all TASC members to send a letter of opposition to the bill to all members of the Assembly Your help is needed - This is your chance to make the voice of the Southern California toy industry heard!
Thank you for taking the time to respond to this matter. Together we can make a difference. When you contact your legislators about this bill, please identify yourself as a member of TASC. If you are not a member, please let them know you learned about this bill from the TASC website. If you have any questions, or need further information, please contact Yvette Nunez at 213/763-2520 x227 or e-mail her at ynunez@tasc-toys.com. |