NEWS from CPSC

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPSC Chairman Awards Commendation To Playskool For Highchair Safety Restraint

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Chairman Ann Brown awarded the CPSC Chairman's Commendation for Significant Contributions to Product Safety to Playskool, a division of Hasbro Inc. of Pawtucket, R.I.

Chairman Brown gave the commendation to Playskool for designing the 1-2-3 High Chair with a safety restraint that will help save children's lives. Since 1988, nineteen children died in highchairs, when they slid down in the seat and strangled on the tray or on the waist strap of a highchair.

Chairman Brown said, "This creative, safety innovation demonstrates Playskool's commitment to protecting children, the most vulnerable of populations, by building a passive, safety restraint into this product. A protective restraint bar, which helps prevent children from sliding out of their chairs, attaches to the highchair seat and goes between a child's legs.

"Playskool developed this protective restraint to benefit all consumers, including those caregivers who may not be well-informed about safety hazards and safety practices. It does not require consumers to be able to read a warning label. This commendation underscores how CPSC is working with industry to recognize and encourage safety features in products that protect consumers. We want to promote the message that 'safety sells' to both industry and consumers. "

Chairman and CEO of Hasbro Inc., Alan G. Hassenfeld, accepted the commendation today on behalf of the company at an award ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington. Playskool designed the passive restraint system into the highchair in advance of mandatory regulations or voluntary standards.

Current voluntary standards call for a waist and crotch strap, which caregivers must fasten, to prevent children from sliding down into their highchairs and strangling on the trays or the waist straps. CPSC is working with the highchair industry to revise the current voluntary standard for highchair safety to better address the strangulation risk.

Playskool is the second recipient of the Chairman's Commendation, which was first given to Procter and Gamble for a senior-friendly, child-resistant safety closure on mouthwash packaging.

Chairman Brown initiated the commendation program to recognize substantial contributions to product safety by individuals, companies, or groups for one-time, ongoing, or multiple actions. Nominees for the award, which will be given periodically, may be brought to the Chairman's attention. Chairman Brown will consider the following factors in choosing award recipients:

• Actions that contribute to reducing hazards to children and other vulnerable populations;
• Voluntary actions that are not mandated by government regulations, that anticipate government regulations, or that go beyond what the government requires;
• Developments that affect the safety of large numbers of individuals;
• Innovations or improvements to existing products; and
• Safety devices, packaging, warnings, or products that enhance consumer safety.