Delaware County Senator Pushing for Recycled Materials in Stuffed Toys

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A large collection of stuffed animals.
Image via Commonwealth Media Services

Kids who love to hug the stuffing out of their teddy bears and other stuffed animals may be hugging recycled material if Delaware County state Sen. John Kane has his way, writes Jan Murphy for Yahoo! Sports.

He, along with Sen. Devin Robinson of Allegheny and Art Haywood of Montgomery County, hope to change a 62-year-old law that requires stuffed toys sold in Pennsylvania to be made exclusively from new material.

They have proposed legislation allowing toys to be stuffed with recycled materials.

“Many manufacturers and retailers have set sustainability goals for their products which can only be met by using recycled materials,” the senators wrote in a memo to Senate colleagues. “Many consumers prefer to purchase items made from recycled materials to lessen their environmental footprint.”

Pennsylvania joins Ohio and Massachusetts as the only states that restrict the use of recyclable material in stuffed toys.

Limiting the materials has made it difficult for toy manufacturers.

“We know that fill made from recycled material can meet all safety and cleanliness standards that new, virgin material meets and is just as safe for consumers,” said Charlotte Hickcox, director of state government affairs for the Toy Association.

Read more about this change in a state stuffed animal law at Yahoo! Sports.

This teddy bear factory is using recycled plastic bottles for the bear stuffing.

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