Toys R
Us CEO Jerry Storch is proud his stores have collected and
destroyed more than 300,000 children's products. There's a
reason for the destruction and there's a reason for his
boasting about it.
Too often there are examples of companies that seem to
disregard the safety of consumers -- even child-product
manufacturers who knowingly leave dangerous products on the
market.
So, when a company tries to do something with a nod toward
safety -- even if it benefits its bottom line -- it's worth
noting.
From Friday until Feb. 21, Toys R Us and Babies R Us will
once again urge consumers to bring their old children's
products to its stores in exchange for 25% off the purchase
of a new product. It is a program that does two things: It
brings consumers into its stores to make purchases and it
offers a carrot for people to get rid of old and
potentially dangerous children's products.
Consumer Ally interviewed
Toys R Us CEO
Storch at the company's over-the-top Times Square store
in Manhattan about product safety.
"I don't believe there's a conflict between being a good
corporate citizen and being successful in business," Storch
said. "That's the kind of brand equity that a good company
wants to build with its customers."
Just drawing attention to the staggering amount of recalled
products that are unaccounted for -- the vast majority --
is a benefit. Cribs, car seats and other durable children's
products are frequently handed down or sold at yard sales
long after recalls have been forgotten.
So Storch said the company decided that when these items
were turned in, the company had no choice in how to handle
them.
"After reviewing all the options, we decided the best thing
to do was to destroy them so that they can never be used
again," he said. "It's a very expensive process for us.
That's why most retailers don't do this."
Nancy Cowles, executive director of the child safety
organization Kids in Danger, praised Toys R Us for taking
safety seriously. The so-called Great Trade-in Event is
just one example, she said.
"Retailers are a crucial stakeholder in children's product
safety," Cowles told Consumer Ally. "They are often the
first place a consumer turns to learn more about product
safety. Toys R Us has been active in developing stronger
standards for children's products, taking the initiative to
remove unsafe products such as drop-side cribs before
required to do so and provide information on recalls and
other safety issues to their customers."
While the writing was on the wall, but the U.S. Consumer
Product Safety Commission was still nearly a year away
from
banning dropside
cribs,
Toys R Us announced that type of crib would no longer be
sold in its stores.
"Because we're a retailer, because we're very close to the
customer, we don't have to wait until a regulatory agency
makes a decision on something. We can move immediately,"
Storch told Consumer Ally. "We can act as our own safety
body. We decided to move and we did."