Toy Fair® Safety & Legislative Seminar Tackles Industry-Impacting Issues

March 3, 2025 | Toy Association staff and other experts led a “Toy Safety & Legislative Update” at Toy Fair® in New York City today that addressed the industry’s top state, federal, and international legislative and regulatory priorities, including an update on the Association’s ongoing advocacy against tariffs on toys.

Toy Association president & CEO Greg Ahearn opened the seminar with welcome remarks and an outline of how the Association’s Global Government & Regulatory Affairs (GGRA) work is evolving under a new three-year action plan in service of the global toy community. Ahearn spoke about strengthening the Association’s influence in domestic legislative and advocacy processes and expanding international leadership through greater engagement in global partnerships.

Offering attendees a brief overview of priorities for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) agency under the Trump administration, CPSC Acting Chair Peter Feldman presented a virtual keynote address.

Continuing the conversation on legislative priorities, The Toy Association’s Kathrin Belliveau, chief policy officer, gave a 2025 outlook for the Trump Administration and the 119th Congress, including an update on how the Association is proactively working on behalf of the toy industry to engage congressional leaders and White House officials to raise awareness about the impact tariffs on toys will have on American families and businesses. Russ Kelly, partner at Ridgeline Advocacy Group, joined Belliveau to discuss additional changes anticipated in 2025 affecting the Administration, Congress, and agencies, including budget, regulatory reform, environmental and chemical legislation, and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Shifting to global toy safety, The Toy Association’s Joan Lawrence, senior vice president of standards & regulatory affairs, and Jos Huxley, senior vice president of technical affairs, followed with a detailed summary of critical updates to U.S., European Union, and global toy safety standards. This included a status update of proposed changes to U.S. toy regulations from 2024, priority areas of focus in global toy-related Consensus Standards work (ASTM, ISO, etc.), the importance of alignment in standards and regulation, the continued concern posed by unsafe counterfeit toys, and more.

In 2024, The Toy Association’s state government affairs team tracked more than 1,000 bills, with EPR, chemical, and privacy legislation as the most dominant topics. Charlotte Hickcox, director of state government affairs, provided a rundown of priorities and updates at the state level, recapping The Toy Association’s role in helping pass new legislation in Pennsylvania, which amended a long-standing ban on recycled materials in plush. She also highlighted which states are regulating PFAS (man-made chemicals) and other chemical regulations, as well as which states have adopted extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation or are working to adopt EPR programs and data privacy legislation.

Bringing an international perspective to the discussion, Catherine Van Reeth, director general of Toy Industries of Europe, also joined the session virtually to present an overview of global priorities.

The seminar concluded with the presentation of The Toy Association’s 2025 Advocacy Award to Joann Cartiglia, CEO and president of The Queen’s Treasures, in recognition of her contributions to industry advocacy.

This seminar was open to all Toy Fair participants and sponsored by SGS North America and Bureau Veritas.