Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Takes Effect, Activist Mom Organization Praises New Law

NEWS RELEASE

February 10, 2009

CONTACT: Gretchen Wright, 202/371-1999

Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act Takes Effect,

Activist Mom Organization Praises New Law

MomsRising.org, the online and on-the-ground grassroots organization for moms and everyone who has a mom, praised the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which went into effect today.

“Today, children across the United States are safer and their parents have more peace of mind,” said MomsRising.org Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “Not only must toys and infants’ products meet strict new standards for lead and phthalate levels, but parents will also have access to a database of consumer complaints about these items.”

MomsRising.org members supported the law, sending nearly 100,000 letters to Members of Congress urging them to pass the legislation and protect children’s health and safety. The organization is now urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to implement the law in a way that both promotes safe children’s products and allows small businesses to remain competitive.

“Nothing matters more to parents than their children’s safety and well-being,” said MomsRising.org President Joan Blades. “These new regulations mean that parents can shop for toys with less worry that the ‘perfect’ toy will turn out to be a health hazard.”

For the last two holiday shopping seasons, MomsRising.org has joined forces with HealthyToys.org to help parents learn whether toys contained several of the most dangerous toxins, using a cell phone texting system.

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MomsRising.org is an online grassroots organization that is working for paid family leave, flexible work options, excellent childcare and health care for all children, and to stop the wage and hiring biases that penalize so many mothers today. MomsRising.org has more than 150,000 members across the United States.