Toymakers wish for recall-free holiday

DALLAS, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. toymakers by now usually have visions of the 2008 holiday season but recent recalls and possible shortages have them looking askance at this season.

Potential must-have toys for next year's holiday season were being pitched at this week's Fall Toy Preview in Dallas, the Dallas Morning News reported. But that didn't stop toymakers from fretting over recent safety recalls and talks of shortages in the $22.5 billion toy industry, which gets more than 50 percent of its annual sales during the last three months of the year.

"We can't assure that Christmas will be recall-free but if any additional toys have problems, they will be recalled," Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industry Association, said to the newspaper.

Before the formal preview events began, the Toy Industry Association formed a special council with five top toy sellers to help develop uniform safety assurance measures by early next year, Keithley said.

"Safety standards have been in place but they haven't been required. We want them to be industry-wide, with certified testers and we'll be asking federal regulatory agencies to make the standards the law," he told the Morning News.