Are you wondering if Santa and his elves used unleaded paint on your toys this year?  Bring them into the store to be tested December 26 - 29 from 10 am - 6 pm to find out.  Free lead testing is always available at No Strings Attached Toys.  For directions to our store in LaFayette, NY click here.

Better yet, stop by before Christmas to pick up your last minute lead safe toys and stocking stuffers.  We will be open Monday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm and Christmas Eve 10 am - 3 pm. 

Through the course of our free lead testing, we love to see all the toys that have no measurable amounts of lead. But then there are the toys that just surprise us that have ridiculous amounts of lead in them but haven’t been recalled yet.  So this will be the first of our unofficial recalls where we will post toys that fail our tests.

Just today we tested a Radio Flyer Fold 2 Go Tricycle. 

The black wheels tested at several thousand parts per million, far above the safety standard of 600 enforced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  We were shocked by the results.  While I don’t expect the wheels get chewed on much, it seems really bad for that much lead to be present in the wheels.

We also tested the numbers on a book about calling 9-1-1 in an emergency.

The numbers tested at 1500 ppm, also beyond the federal standards.

We will alert the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the manufacturers, and the retailers that sell these products.  We will also regularly add products that fail lead tests.  More importantly, we will begin a database of toys that successfully pass lead tests.  We hope this database will eventually list every safe toy that exists.  Until then, we will just continue to test every toy brought into our store.

No Strings Attached Toys began as a fantasy to Tim and Carol Gilchrist in 2004 after countless frustrations with toys bound in ridiculous amounts of twist ties and practically impenetrable plastic packaging.  The thought of a toy store where all toys came in packaging that could be opened without tools or risk of injury while opening was rather appealing.  The decision was made to someday open a consumer friendly toy store.

Near the end of summer 2007, the Gilchrists moved from the Seattle area to LaFayette, NY.  Almost immediately, nearby retail space opened up in town - just right for a toy store.  With increasing press on toy recalls and lead paint scares, Tim and Carol began the search for toys that did not contain lead and acquired an X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer to prove that they are all lead safe. 

Just in time for the holidays, No Strings Attached Toys opened in LaFayette, NY the week of Thanksgiving and has been steadily increasing their inventory with new manufacturers and new products that meet their strict safety and packaging standards. 

In addition to selling toys, No Strings Attached Toys also offers free lead testing to the public in their store throughout the year.  The owners also travel throughout Central New York to preschools, daycares, schools, churches, and doctor and dentist offices year round for free to test any toys for unsafe levels of lead.