Toymakers unveil stricter safety standards

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The toy industry and the nation's leading standardization group released a plan Thursday that hopes to make sure toys manufactured around the world are safe.

The much-awaited proposal comes from the Toy Industry Association (TIA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

"This effort is a preventative plan to anticipate and discover hazards going forward," said Lane Hallenbeck, Chair of the ANSI Steering Committee that helped develop the plan.

The TIA/ANSI report contained three main recommendations:

Mandatory design hazard analysis

The groups proposed that toy companies test their products for design defects, the leading cause of recalls. Sue DeRegon, safety expert who was on the TIA/ANSI working committee, said the tests can be carried out by the companies themselves or by third-party laboratories.

Industry analysts say a majority of recalls come from careless designs that use dangerous small parts. Only a small percentage of recalls are due to hazards related to chemicals like lead paint.

Factory audits

The new safety proposal recommends that factories worldwide submit to regular manufacturing and quality audits in order to be certified under the new toy safety initiative. DeRegon said the audits would "most likely" be conducted by third party firms.

Mandatory Safety Testing

TIA-ANSI recommended that toy companies, including those that use overseas factories, perform mandatory safety checks by accredited labs to make sure their products meet current federal regulations pertaining to chemical, mechanical and other hazards.

Toy companies are currently not required to prove that their products have been tested for safety issues.

The recommendations will be available for public review on ANSI's Web site for one month. Following the public comment period, a final proposal will be presented to the TIA Board for adoption and implementation.