Archie McPhee's Gets Reprieve, Children Not So Much

Back in March when Christine Gregoire proposed the "toxic toys" bill, which would have regulated the toxicity in children's toys through mandatory testing, businesses cried foul, with local institution Archie McPhee's declaring, "If Governor Gregoire allows this bill to become law, Archie McPhee will have to close."

Gregoire did, in fact, sign the bill, and McPhee's is still selling cheap crap and milking its status as a beloved local institution (at least until Dec. 31, when its lease expires; by mid-2009 it's supposed to have taken over the N. 45 St. & Stone Way liquor store location). But as of earlier this month, the state's groundbreaking attempt to keep our children from being poisoned was officially derailed by the Feds.

On Nov. 5, the State Department of Ecology, responsible for instituting the rule enacting the Children's Safe Products Act (the "toxic toy" bill) withdrew their application to create the rule...

because of recent federal legislation. The 'Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008' amends the 'Consumer Product Safety Act' expanding a federal program that addresses many of the same topics as the state law. The federal Act substantially preempts the standards for lead, phthalates, and cadmium in RCW 70.240.

We'll have more to report when we get to assess the difference between Washington's rule and the national one supplanting it, but the initial impression is that this could be a substantial step backwards in terms of product safety, despite Ecology's statement that, "Ecology elected not to pursue an exemption from this preemption because such a request would likely result in a protracted legal argument with marginal improvement in the safety of children’s products."

The impact on Archie McPhee's business is currently unknown.

"McPhee Duckies" by Seattlest Flickr pool photog ascheele100.