While the news reporters are constantly mentioning the next recalled toy manufactured in China, many have decided that the best way to stay safe is to avoid Chinese made toys.  Certainly with the majority of toys sold in the US coming from China, the majority of the recalls will also originate from China.  The natural assumption is that China is recklessly sending over poor quality and unsafe toys and that the solution is as simple as exclusively buying toys made in the US or other safer countries. 

What we need to remember is that countries don’t make unsafe toys, companies in countries make unsafe toys.  The problem doesn’t lie with China, but with specific companies — many of which are in China.  The recalls are all product and company specific problems resulting from careless design and faulty inspection processes and quality control.  Even Mattel has apologized to the people of China for damaging their reputation.  They acknowledged that they were to blame for their flawed design, not the company who followed their design.  There are many, many toymakers who make high quality toys in China and throughout the world and have very good inspection procedures to ensure safety.

The relative few toys that have been recalled have caused widespread mistrust with products made overseas.  But it’s not just where the label says a toy is made that makes it safe.  Since many toy manufacturers  still use some parts or materials from other countries, you can never generalize that a toy is safe based solely on where it originated as it still may contain unsafe parts from elsewhere. 

No Strings Attached Toys actively seeks toys made in the US to support local companies, but doesn’t use that as proof that toys are safe.  Instead, toys sold in store are first chosen by finding manufacturers that have clean safety records and vigorous testing and inspection practices, regardless of their location of their factories.  When new products are received, they are then tested in store with an XRF Analyzer to be certain that the toys on the shelf exceed government safety standards.  Shopping at a responsible toy store for toys that have passed lead tests is a far safer method to shop than blindly trusting location labels. 

The blame for lead recalls lies entirely on those who fail to inspect toys thoroughly.  China is not to blame any more than the US is to blame for allowing the tainted products into the marketplace here.

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.