Catalog Product Selection - Product Safety

At Highlights, we believe whole-heartedly that Children are the World's Most Important People, and therefore we are firmly committed to uncompromising product safety.

Here is a short description of the safety process that the Highlights Toy Catalog has used for several years:

All products that Highlights offers for sale in the Highlights Toy Catalog have passed a rigorous product review for both safety and developmental value. Our Catalog Safety Review and Merchandising teams work closely together to ensure that all items comply with government safety standards. We also hire third party testing labs and facilities such as Intertek (www.intertek.com/consumergoods), an international provider of quality and safety services, to perform onsite inspections of various products for general hazards, proper labeling requirements, appropriate age grading and toy testing procedures. The testing companies then communicate back to the Highlights Catalog the appropriate testing documentation for safety compliance required from the manufacturers and vendors of these particular products.

If a potential hazard is identified at any time during our product review process, we work with the vendor to correct the situation, or we remove the product from consideration. If, in spite of our rigorous process, we were to discover a potential hazard in a product after the product is offered for sale, we would either fix the problem or initiate a recall of the product. And, of course, we would notify our customers immediately if a manufacturer recalled a product in the Catalog.

Here are some things parents can do to help keep their children's toy play safe:

• Buy high quality toys with a long play life.
• Buy age-appropriate toys guided by the age recommendations printed on the box.
• Remove toys when they break, check frequently for sharp edges and cracks.
• When there are children of different ages in the home, supervise toy play to make sure that young children do not play with toys that are not appropriate for their age.
• Keep up to date on recalls. Check www.CPSC.gov (Consumer Products Safety Commission) for comprehensive information on recalls. Remove any recalled item from your child's play.
• Ask the store where you purchase toys if safety documentation on all the products they offer for sale is kept on file at their corporate office.