| To All Concerned about Child
Safety and Products the Youngsters Will
Enjoy: The associates of Middleton Doll
are pleased to share with you today news
on two fronts regarding the all-important,
all-consuming subject matter of
"testing." Testing in the real world, we
believe, is conducted on two fronts:
- By laboratories that test for
compliance with safety standards, and
- By children who conduct a quick
out-of-the-box test to determine if a
toy will be used (and quite possibly
abused) on a frequent basis or relegated
to some "dark neverland" (that is, a
back corner of the closet or bottom
layer of the toy box).
Regarding point 1 above, Middleton Doll
is pleased to issue the following
statement:
Lee Middleton Original Dolls, Inc.
commenced development of play dolls to
augment their adult collectible line
almost a decade ago. Recognizing the
legally mandated requirements to market
products that will be used for play by
young children, Middleton Doll Company
contracted Specialized Technology
Resources (STR) to evaluate safety and
regulatory compliance for its product
line.
STR is an independent, U.S.-based
company that provides consumer products
testing, inspection, auditing, and
consulting services to major
manufacturers, importers, and retailers
around the world. Established in 1944,
STR is headquartered in Enfield,
Connecticut. In addition, STR has
wholly-owned laboratories in Europe, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China, and India
- as well as inspection offices in over 30
countries and five continents. Each
laboratory has obtained and operates under
the appropriate accreditation scheme for
their country. The majority of testing of
the Middleton Doll product line is
performed at either STR's Hong Kong
laboratory, which has HOKLAS
accreditation, or their China
laboratories, which have CNAL
accreditation (China National
Accreditation Board for Laboratories). To
learn more about STR, one may visit their
website www.strlab.com.
Testing of the Middleton Doll product
is conducted in accordance with US Federal
regulations as well as the toy industry's
voluntary standard for toy safety, ASTM
F963. Testing includes "Total Lead"
content of all accessible surface coatings
to ensure they comply with the
requirements of 16 CFR 1303, and do not
contain unacceptable amounts of lead. In
addition, testing is also performed for
presence of other heavy metals (antimony,
arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium,
mercury, selenium) per the voluntary toy
safety standard. In addition to the
chemical testing as described, Middleton
Doll product is further evaluated for
mechanical safety. This process ensures
there are no hazardous conditions both
before and/or after use and abuse
(intended to simulate foreseeable child
maltreatment). Finally, tests are
performed to determine if there are
potential violations of flammability
standards.
Middleton Doll is proud of its safety
record and has not purveyed product
requiring a Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC) recall. We are
committed to ensuring safe product through
the diligent pursuit of appropriate design
and manufacturing testing.
Not sure I need to say more
here...Middleton uses the best at what
they do and if they say PASS on all
criteria, we believe we're "good to go."
Those of us in toy business know,
however, that "good to go" doesn't
necessarily mean "great for play", a
critical element in successful sales. For
the "great for play" factor we refer you
to two recent mothers and daughters,
grandmother and collectors and dealer
reviews posted in TDmonthly™, trade
magazine for the toy, hobby and game
industry. Four dolls, three from our
PlayBabies line and one from our new NOW
collection, have been reviewed for their
aesthetic appeal, playability, value and
collectibility. A sensational "Five Star"
rating was issued on all four dolls.
Last November, contributing writer Ms.
Emilie Hill and her four children fell in
love with our 18+ month play doll, Little
Skylar. Some quotes from Ms. Hill
highlight her review:
- "Little Skylar looks like a
collector's doll, but feels like a play
doll. Lee Middleton puts out
high-quality collector-edition dolls...
They have put the same high-quality
features into this doll, but made it
affordable and child friendly."
- "Comparing this doll to others in
her category, it is easy to see its
superiority."
- "I give Little Skylar my highest
recommendation, as she is both a
high-quality product and a great value.
Any little girl who is even remotely
interested in baby dolls is sure to love
Little Skylar."
In this September's issue, under the
heading Dolls: A Lee Middleton Trio -
Three Cuddly, Collectible Dolls Earn
Highest Rating", the Dolls Roundtable of
TDmonthly™ (grandmother with
granddaughter, doll collector with
daughter, mother with daughter and three
granddaughters, one doll dealer, and two
doll collectors) issued five-star ratings
for our Bailey and Reagan PlayBabies and
Tiny Cheer of our NOW collection. Some
poignant quotes follow:
PLAYABILITY
- ..."lifelike expressions"
- "Mommy, these are the best dolls
ever."
- "They found the sizing perfect, as
the dolls fit snugly into each child's
arms."
- ..."loved their expressions and
especially the clothes made for today's
generation."
VALUE
- "The dolls are so beautiful and they
have educational value, too. They teach
the children to be loving and
nurturing. They are almost like real
babies to care for."
- ..."the dolls are great for the
price."
- ..."and I think these dolls will be
the big seller this holiday season."
We are so delighted with the reviews
from this esteemed periodical. Middleton
Doll is not an advertiser in their piece
and has over the past few years had very
little contact with this organization.
One can then be assured they have no
overriding bias for our company products.
So, folks, that's our scoop on testing
concerns. We hope this helps you to make
informed decisions when considering the
purchase of our products.
Happy Trails 'Till We (Test) Meet
Again,
Ken
Chief Baby Doll Guy
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