“Dongguan Qing Xi Juantiway Plastic Factory” isn’t a household name, but you’d probably recognize the products it made for the world’s largest entertainment company: the factory was one of thousands making official products featuring Disney characters. [More]
toys
Court Overturns Federal Ban On Potentially Dangerous, High-Power Magnet Toys, Gadgets
By 11.23.16
Not that long ago, lots of us were going out on Black Friday weekend and buying Buckyballs or some other stocking stuffer that used tiny high-powered magnetic spheres. Then we learned that these doodads can do an awful lot of damage if swallowed. Since 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has been recalling these products and filing lawsuits against the companies that continue to make these potentially dangerous items. The CPSC even created a new safety standard that effectively bans the remaining magnetic products, but this week a federal appeals court overturned that rule. [More]
This Holiday, Make Sure You Don’t Give Kids The Gift Of Exploding Batteries Or Lead Poisoning
By 11.22.16
‘Tis the season for millions of American consumers and families to start hitting stores and start helping “Santa” along with some toy distribution efforts. But while folks are out shopping to stuff stockings, consumer advocates warn: stay clear of potentially deadly recalled toys — and know what to do if you end up with any. [More]
Pokemon Go, Iron Man Play-Doh, Game Of Life: Empire Among 2016 Tasteless Toys Nominees
By 11.21.16
Many of us will be out shopping (or at least rolling over in bed to shop on our phones) this holiday weekend, and more than a few of us will be picking up toys for the youngsters we love (or are obligated to be near at least twice each year). In advance of this retail rush, the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood has put out its list of kids’ toys that will warm the cockles of marketing executives around the world, and make other folks long for the days of wooden trains on pull strings. [More]
Toys “R” Us Pulls Tonka Riding Truck After One Catches Fire, Explodes, In Real Truck
By 11.21.16
If your Black Friday shopping list included purchasing a rideable Tonka Mighty Wheels Ride-On dump truck from Toy “R” Us, you’ll need to revisit your game plan. The toy retailer announced that it has pulled the truck after a couple says it exploded in the back of their own life-sized pickup truck over the weekend. [More]
Meet Your 2016 National Toy Hall of Fame Inductees: Dungeons & Dragons, Fisher-Price Little People, And The Swing
By 11.10.16
If you’re a Dungeons & Dragons fan who was miffed that now everyone knows what a demogorgon is just because of Stranger Things, cheer up: your beloved role-playing game has earned itself a spot in the National Toy Hall of Fame, along with fellow inductees Fisher-Price Little People and that classic playground favorite, the swing. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Will Once Again Open At 5 PM On Thanksgiving, Stay Open For 30 Hours Straight
By 11.7.16
Toys ‘R’ Us apparently subscribes to “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” logic when it comes to shopping hours for Thanksgiving: the toy store is once again opening its doors at 5 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving, and will keep those doors open for 30 hours in a row. [More]
Fox News Anchor’s Toy Hamster Lawsuit Quietly Scampers Away
By 10.6.16
Just over a year ago, a very odd lawsuit made the news: a Fox News anchor was suing toy maker Hasbro over a toy hamster. Harris Faulkner objected to the existence of a Littlest Toy Shop collection toy hamster named… Harris Faulkner. This was either a really weird coincidence or some very niche cross-marketing on Hasbro’s part. The case has now ended, though we don’t know whether there was a financial settlement. [More]
Toys ‘R’ Us Sells FAO Schwarz Brand For Undisclosed Sum
By 10.4.16
Last summer, Toys ‘R’ Us closed the last physical store in the FAO Schwarz brand. That cut the legacy of a venerable retail brand down to only a section on the Toys ‘R’ Us website, with its former retail space becoming a flagship store for sporting goods brand Under Armour. Now, the same firm that makes toys and gadgets for Sharper Image, Animal Planet, Smithsonian, and Discovery Kids has purchased the brand. [More]
New Teddy Ruxpin: Adorable Or The Blinking Demon Of Your Nightmares?
By 9.30.16
When you hear the name “Teddy Ruxpin,” perhaps you’re hit with a wave of nostalgia tinged with a lingering wariness of the animatronic talking teddy bear that read stories off a cassette tape shoved in his back. But now that there’s a new Teddy Ruxpin on the scene with bright blue, lidlessly blinking LCD eyes, your nightmares may have a new face. [More]
Transformers, Nerf, & Bubble Wrap Among Finalists For The National Toy Hall Of Fame
By 9.13.16
Whether popping plastic packing material is your idea of a good time, or nailing your adversaries with a foam projectile is more your speed, both modes of entertainment have a chance at being inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year. [More]
Walmart Starting Holiday Layaway Early Again So It Can Sell More ‘Star Wars’ Stuff
By 9.1.16
You want Star Wars merchandise this holiday season? Walmart has Star Wars stuff, which is the entire reason the retailer is kicking off its holiday layaway program a full two weeks early for the second year in a row. [More]
American Girl Dolls Will Soon Be Available At Toys ‘R’ Us Stores
By 8.31.16
When I was but a young Consumerist, the only way to get your hands on an American Girl doll — once parents had been successfully harangued into purchasing the pricey toy — was by mail order. Since then, Pleasant Company, now a subsidiary of Mattel, has 20 stores around the country dedicated to selling the dolls as well as a website. Times are changing yet again: starting next month, the dolls will also be available at Toys ‘R’ Us stores. [More]
Doll Creator Taking Hasbro To Court Over “My Little Pony” Designs Files Another Lawsuit
By 8.4.16
A doll creator who’s already going to court with Hasbro for allegedly stealing her designs for new versions of My Little Pony and other toys filed an additional lawsuit this week. [More]
10 Questionable Movie & TV Tie-Ins That No One Asked For
By 8.3.16
No cultural phenomenon would be a complete success without its own line of merchandise attached to it, and it makes sense: fans of popular TV shows, comic books, and movies will often seek out products that tie-in with those franchises, providing a great way for a lot of people to make a bunch of money. But when it comes to some infamous product tie-ins, we’ve got to wonder if it all that effort was worth it. [More]
5 Things We Learned About LEGO’s Boy & Girl Lines
By 5.26.16
While some toy companies are giving up on long-held preconceptions about gender-specific products, LEGO has gone the other way. Shedding its gender-neutral past, the company now makes toys specifically targeted at either girls or boys. These products have no shortage of critics, but LEGO says it has good reasons for the separate product lines. [More]
Toy Company Legal Battle Shows Cabbage Patch Kids Still Prompting Fights
By 5.11.16
Long gone are the days of parents tussling it out in toy store aisles over Cabbage Patch Dolls, those squish-faced darlings of the early ’80s, but there are still people willing to duke it out in the name of the doll. This time, they’re toy companies, and they’re fighting each other in court. [More]
Maker Of Super-Powerful Desktop Magnets Must Recall Pieces, Provide Refunds
By 3.24.16
Nearly four years after federal regulators dealt a swift blow to the makers of super-powerful desktop magnetic toys Buckyballs, filing a lawsuit against the company and persuading retailers to stop selling the dangerous toys, a Colorado-based company has been ordered to recall similarly powerful magnets that can cause fatal injuries when swallowed. [More]
