Which Toys Were Recalled From Shelves this Year?

Nearly an entire month of shopping time is left before Christmas comes and Lisa Madigan's office has put together a guide to help Illinois consumers avoid picking bad or dangerous toys.

The 2012 Safe Shopping Guide is available for download on the Illinois Attorney's General website. The guide contains pages and pages describing the various recalls made of children's toys, clothing and furniture that were issued this year. Products on the list were recalled but could still be available second-hand or might already be in consumers' homes.

A note from Madigan in the guide underscores the reasoning for the recall guide. It reads, in part:

I urge you to take time this holiday season to review this guide and be on the lookout for items in your home that could pose a risk to your family. Keep it handy as you shop, especially when buying gift items second-hand at garage sales or online.

The guide was first released in 2007 to inform about some of the more widespread issues with products for children. That year, more than 44 million were recalled. The version for 2012 also includes a section devoted to food safety.

Educating consumers about these recalls remains a powerful tool for promoting home safety, even with laws that have improved the process for removing these faulty projects from store shelves, according to information in the guide.

The Attorney's General office also maintains a hotline for consumer info: Product Recall Hotline—888-414-7678

Click here to look through the 2012 Safe Shopping Guide.