Those registration cards that come with toys and other children’s products may be more important than you think. They allow manufacturers to easily contact product owners to notify them of a recall. They are simple to fill out, free to send, and they won’t be used for marketing purposes. “We think they were so full of marketing material before, people were discouraged from filling them out,” said Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger. The child safety advocacy organization, along with the Consumer Federation of America, pushed for the change. The organization is urging parents to send in those registration cards.
In the past 10 years, over 57 million “durable juvenile products” were recalled for possibly harming a child. However, only one fifth of 2,005 of those polled knew that a product they owned was recalled. According to news reports, the new registration law, part of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, now states that manufacturers include marketing-free registration cards on nineteen types of products. The law went into effect last month.
The cards, which also must be postage-free, must be part of maintained database so manufacturers can inform the buyer when there is a recall. Registration over the internet must also be available. The system also gives parents the chance to register second-hand merchandise online. I am pleased that steps are being made to ensure parents know about product recalls. If you were injured using a product that was part of a recall, you should get in touch with a personal injury lawyer in Los Angeles who can evaluate your claim.
