(November 20, 2006) The California Chamber of Commerce, retailers and several industry associations have filed suit in federal court challenging San Francisco’s ban on toys and childcare articles containing certain phthalate plasticizers.

“California consumers and businesses have had access to toys and childcare articles that have been proven to be safe by the federal consumer product safety commission,” said CalChamber President Allan Zaremberg. “This arbitrary San Francisco ordinance has no scientific basis, and will cause real economic harm. It will hurt local retailers, cost jobs, and deprive consumers of approved and desired products. Avoiding conflicting market policies such as this is precisely why Congress established a federal framework for commerce.”

The San Francisco ordinance seeks to ban all plastic toys containing the plasticizer, a phthalate, called DINP. The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal agency that regulates toy safety, completed a five-year study in 2003 of vinyl containing DINP and found there was “no justification” for banning vinyl from toys.

The suit argues that because a federal regulatory agency charged with overseeing the safety of children’s toys has already reviewed the primary phthalate used in toys and concluded that it is safe for children, federal law prohibits states and localities from now trying to step in.

Banning vinyl toys might actually decrease child safety, not increase it, the CPSC warned: “If DINP is to be replaced in children’s products… the potential risks of the substitutes must be considered. Weaker or more brittle plastics might break and result in a choking hazard. Other plasticizers might not be as well studied as DINP.”

The San Francisco ordinance is very similar to CalChamber-opposed AB 319 (Chan; D-Oakland) that sought to ban a wide range of popular consumer products that are intended for use by children that may contain Bisphenol A and Phthalates, without a sound scientific basis and consideration of the potential dire economic impacts. The bill failed to pass the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Staff Contact: Erika Frank