ensuring product safety

How do we make sure our products are safe?

Dear Customers,

With new safety laws going into effect and increasing concern about the safety of children’s products, we wanted to provide you with detailed information about Lakeshore’s testing and certification process…and share with you the rigorous steps we take to ensure our products are safe.

In the 58 years that we’ve been in business, Lakeshore has always been a huge step ahead when it comes to safety. Not only are we in full compliance with all of the current U.S. safety regulations, we also have our own in-house Quality Assurance Team that tests and inspects every item we carry with even more rigorous standards than those required by law. Every item we sell must meet or exceed all of the government safety requirements, or we don’t carry it—period.

For us, safety begins at the moment a product idea is conceived and put into development. First, we ensure that all of the materials that go into each new product are safe themselves. The materials must be phthalate-compliant (phthalates are sometimes found in PVC and other plastics), as well as BPA-compliant (BPA, or bisphenol A, is sometimes found in clear, hard plastics). The materials must also pass strict standards for lead content. We strive for zero lead content and set maximum levels well below the government’s guidelines.

Once we confirm that the materials we’re using are safe, we conduct exhaustive “use and abuse” testing to make sure each product will remain safe through years of normal, everyday use—and even abuse like pounding and throwing. And, after a product passes our rigorous testing, it is then tested and certified by an outside testing laboratory, which includes additional testing for lead. Finally, we continue to monitor the safety of our products through periodic testing and scanning to ensure that our suppliers maintain the high level of integrity we demand of our materials.

At Lakeshore, child safety is always our very first priority. You can rest assured that the products we sell are safe and that we are doing everything we can do to provide our customers with superior-quality products they can trust with their children.

Sincerely,

Bo Kaplan
President & CEO
Lakeshore Learning Materials