Safety Crusader Edward Swartz

Edward Swartz, a charismatic product-safety advocate and personal-injury attorney who was known for his campaigns against unsafe children's toys, died earlier this month at the age of 76. Swartz garnered the nickname "Nader of the Nursery," after safety crusader Ralph Nader. Nader himself commended Swartz for pioneering the idea of toy safety back in the 1970s. For its part, the toy industry over the years has accused Swartz of being nothing more than a money-hungry lawyer. Many consumer advocates, however, herald Swartz as a true safety crusader.

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Each year, at the height of the holiday gift-buying season, Swartz published a list of the 10 worst toys through his organization World Against Toys Causing Harm (WATCH). Over the years he has also penned a couple of books on the same subject. The book's titles demonstrate a flare for the dramatic in order to make a point: "Toys That Don't Care" and "Toys That Kill."

Even though the federal government set up the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the 1970s, Swartz was still compelled to continue his toy safety campaign. Over the years he was critical of the CPSC's limited effectiveness when it came to getting toys off the market that he deemed dangerous.
 
The 2009 list of 10 worst toys included a Spy Gear Viper Blaster with a potential for injuring eyes, and the "Curious Baby Curious George Counting–My First Book of Numbers" because it was a choking hazard. WATCH will again publish its list this coming November.  It's good to know that the legacy of Edward Swartz will continue to live on.
 
- Maggie Shader