Contact: Brian Kirkendall
Vice President of Marketing, Step2
330-528-7384; bkirkendall@step2.net

Amy Colton, Current Lifestyle Marketing
312-929-0503; acolton@currentlm.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STEP2® TOYS INTRODUCES NEW "MADE IN THE USA" LABELING
Nation's Largest Toy Manufacturer Leads Charge for Clearer Information for Consumers

STREETSBORO, OHIO (Sept. 12, 2007) — The Step2 Company, LLC (www.step2.com) announced today a new labeling policy to better inform consumers about the country of manufacture for its top-selling toys. Step2 is based in Streetsboro, Ohio, and is the world's largest rotational molding manufacturer — known for creating outdoor toys, play kitchens and play houses popular among families across America.

Ninety percent of Step2 products are made and assembled in the United States, and the company is the first toy maker to change its labeling to better inform consumers.

According to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines, nearly all Step2 toys could be labeled "Made in the U.S.A." However, the company has set a higher standard for labeling and is therefore noting when accessories or smaller toys are sourced from overseas manufacturing plants.

"We believe it's critical to clearly inform our customers about which products we make in the United States and which products include imported accessories. Our goal is to make it easy for people to make an informed choice," said Scott Levin, Step2 CEO and President. "As a leading U.S. toy manufacturer, Step2 will label its products in one of three ways to clearly communicate what is 'Made in the U.S.A.'"

Levin added that no Step2 accessory toys or small component parts are manufactured at any of the plants involved in recent recalls. In fact, all imported products and components meet the same testing requirements and guidelines as the Step2 products produced in the United States.

"We set a higher standard for our toys and with this new labeling, consumers will be able to see exactly what they are buying and be confident of the product's safety," said Levin.

The new labels will appear on all Step2 toys online beginning next week and will be on shelves in time for the holiday season. Step2 hopes the new labels will make the product information clear for retailers as well as parents. Three labels will be used:

"Made in the U.S.A." will appear on all toys made and assembled in the U.S., and meet regulations as outlined by the FTC that "virtually all" of the product and components are U.S. made. Additionally, for a Step2 product to be labeled as "Made in the U.S.A.," any imported parts must not be integral to the play of the toy and should be attached to the product. For example, hubcaps, cap nuts and doorbells are parts of a product but not integral to the play of the toy.
"Made in the U.S.A. of U.S. and Imported Parts" will appear on toys made and assembled in the U.S. with mostly domestic made components and some foreign-sourced smaller accessory components (such as pretend kitchen cookware and accessories). Under FTC guidelines, Step2 technically would be allowed to label these toys as "Made in the U.S.A.," but the distinguishing factor for Step2 is that these accessories are integral to the play of the toy and should therefore be called out for consumers.
"Made in 'Country-of-Origin'" will denote toys produced outside of the U.S., but which still undergo rigorous quality and safety testing by Step2.

"We are proud of our U.S. manufacturing heritage and feel that as the largest U.S. toy manufacturer it is our responsibility to eliminate confusion. We hope that other toy companies follow our lead in providing the consumer with the information they need to make informed choices," said Levin.

For more information about Step2, or for questions concerning products, please contact Step2 via www.Step2.com or call 1-800-347-8372.

About Step2 Step2, based in Streetsboro, Ohio, is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of predominately large format, rotationally molded children's and home products sold under the Step2 brand. Known for providing durable, imaginative and active fun, Step2 is a market leader in outdoor toys (trademark Naturally Playful®), play kitchens (trademark LifeStyle®), playhouses, sand and water play, ride on toys, swing sets, wagons and kids furniture; as well as mailboxes (trademark MailMaster®), storage sheds, home & garden outdoor furniture and trash cans. Step2 distributes its toy and home & garden products through multiple retail channels including toy retailers, mass merchants, home centers, and the Internet.

Lauren

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8 Comments:

At 9/16/2007 07:49:00 PM, Anonymous said...: What country is this item made from:

Step2 - 101 Piece Play Food Assortment

Thanks
At 9/17/2007 05:30:00 PM, Andy said...: That item, as stated in the product description on Step2.com, is made in China. Please refer to the description section of each product details page for further information on the origin of the components used in that item.

-Andy
At 9/17/2007 06:09:00 PM, Anonymous said...: We are upset to find out the soft and sturdy line is made in China some of those items were on our christmas list for the kids but we will look elsewhere now. Thank you for putting out the list of where the items where made. Not enough toys are made in the USA! We hope you continue to produce toys in the USA.
At 9/17/2007 06:27:00 PM, belinda said...: i'm a grandmother of four they are under the age of 8. with all the recalls back on toys my children have asked me to only buy toys made in the usa. i know i will not me the only one doing this all my friends doing this too. my question is do you check for lead in the toys made in china and why do you list these toys with made in the usa . i do thank you for offering us wonderful toys made in usa.
At 9/17/2007 07:26:00 PM, Andy said...: Anonymous:

Sorry to hear that Soft & Sturdy is off your list! We have no intention of moving our current factories outside of the US, and we believe that one of our strongest attributes is our domestic Toy production. We'll continue making great toys right here in the USA!

Belinda:
Please note that we mark toys as "Made in USA" only if they are entirely made in USA, or if the only imported components are not integral to the play value of the item (such as the capnuts on our riding toys). If an item contains a significant portion of imported parts, that will be denoted clearly in our product description, so you know exactly where that item is coming from.

As for the lead content in our toys, we regularly submit our products to third-party testing agencies both during and after production. We also require our factories to carry certifications that they do not use paint with lead in it. For more details, please read this post.

-Andy
At 10/04/2007 03:14:00 PM, Raw Vegan Mama said...: Thank you so much for doing this labeling of your products. As a mama who is only buying "MADE IN USA" products, this is fantastic news!

Now, can you start making products sans plastic?????? :)

Thanks again!

RVM
At 10/06/2007 10:22:00 AM, Andy said...: Raw Vegan Mama,

We're experimenting with a few wooden products now, which you can find at Step2.com, but we're certainly going to continue doing what we do best, which is make durable rotationally-molded toys!

-Andy
At 12/14/2007 01:14:00 AM, joB said...: Making and labeling your products as "MADE IN USA" is a very good move to increase the trust that you wanted to get from your customers especially with the thousands of toys getting recalled this year. As a mom,with this time of year, I wanted my child to be happy and healthy. Thank you so much for labeling your products. Hope that you can make more toys that are made only here in USA.