Green Toys Inc., the fast-growing, Mill Valley-based manufacturer of children’s toys made of recycled plastic, said Tuesday that it has voluntarily recalled more than 50,000 of its Mini Vehicles toys, citing a choking hazard.
The Green Toys brand is sold in several stores in the Foster City/San Mateo area.
Company officials said they self-reported the issue to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada after receiving 10 reports of wheels and hubcaps detaching or loosening from the Mini Vehicles. There have been no reports of injuries, but the detaching parts could cause a choking hazard.
The products were manufactured at Green Toys’ facility in San Leandro between March and June. Green Toys had eight employees at its office on Miller Avenue, and contracts out its manufacturing.
“We reacted very quickly to this issue,” said Robert von Goeben, the company’s co-founder. “When it comes to safety, it’s about how quickly you respond to an issue like this. This was the right thing to do.”
Von Goeben said the recalled products had only been shipping for a few weeks and that many of its retailers hadn’t even put them on their shelves yet. The company had shipped approximately 50,000 Mini Vehicles in the U.S. and another 5,000 to Canada.
Van Goeben said there was a “systemic issue with the assembly of this product, and the issue was isolated to this particular product.”
The Mini Vehicles, which are made from recycled plastic milk jugs, are sold in yellow, green, red, white and blue, both as individual cars and in four-car sets. That includes the Mini Vehicle Set, the Mini Ambulance, the Mini Red Fastback, the Mini Police Car, Mini Taxi, Mini Vehicle Assortment and Mini Fastback Set.
The manufacturing date is represented by a circle with an arrow in the middle that can be found imprinted on the underside of the front of the car. Cars with an "I" etched into the underside of the car next to the date stamp are not part of the recall, the CPSC said in a statement.
CPSC officials said consumers should take the product away from children immediately and contact Green Toys Inc. to receive a full refund.
For more info, contact Green Toys toll-free at (888) 973-3421 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday, or go to the company's recall website.
Green Toys are sold at dozens of chain stores with locations in the Bay Area, including Whole Foods Markets and Cole Hardware, as well as a number of independent toy stores on the Peninsula.
Here are stores in or near the Foster City/San Mateo area that carry the Green Toys brand, according to the company's website:
- , 445 South B St., San Mateo / 650-342-0126
- Gift Shop, 1651 Coyote Point Dr., San Mateo / 650-342-7755
- Reach and Teach, 178 South Blvd., San Mateo / 888-PEACE-40
- Autopia, 1025 S. Railroad Ave., San Mateo / 650-571-1863
- , 1010 Park Place, San Mateo / 650-358-6900
There are also several stores in Redwood City, San Carlos, Burlingame, San Bruno, South San Francisco and more. Visit the Store Locator on Green Toys' website here.
For the latest in hyperlocal news such as this wherever you go, follow us!
Follow San Mateo Patch on Twitter | Like San Mateo Patch on Facebook | Sign up for the San Mateo Patch daily newsletter | Blog for San Mateo Patch
Follow Foster City Patch on Twitter | Like Foster City Patch on Facebook | Sign up for the Foster City Patch daily newsletter | Blog for Foster City Patch
