Please know that when we say “our children” we include yours in that declaration.

You have invited us into your homes, into your birthday celebrations, into the very raising of the most important people in your lives. We are humbled and honored by that trust, and we will never do anything to break that. We promise.

But toys sometimes break. And though all of our toys pass (and most often exceed) every CPSC safety test, we all know from the experience of years past that even with passing and glowing grades, a child can have a problem. So too our toys are not perfect.

On April 8th we announced we were conducting a full inquiry into our FunKeys because of a couple of isolated complaints (from tens of thousands sold) of breakage. Let us start by letting you know that no child has been hurt. Our CEO personally traveled to China to oversee a full safety review, and our engineers and labs have not been able to torture the stainless steel keys into breakage. FunKeys still pass all safety tests. Yet we know a few have broken.

While conducting this full-line investigation we also became aware of the fact that the tips from inside the Toulouse–LapTrec pen—under very extended usage and hard hard scratching—have the potential of falling out. This millimetrically small tip also has not caused any harm to any child. And yet we worry. As parents we worry. It’s our JOB to worry.

More importantly, it’s our job to do something about it. To take action so you and your children can all B. taken care of. The way we ourselves would want to be treated.

We are working with the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and have withdrawn FunKeys and Toulouse–LapTrec from the market. We are making this call on a weekend in our homes to err on the side of extreme caution. And love.

As soon as we can we will let you know the nitty-gritty details of how we will replace your toys, we will work with the CPSC on the next official steps, and we will be here, as we always are, to answer all your questions.

Truthfully, completely, and lovingly.

Gisela Voss, Chief Toymaker B.           Joe Battat, CEO Battat Incorporated

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Update August 2, 2011

PLEASE SEE NEXT STEPS FOR FUNKEYS HERE

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