Is this a real LEGO® part?
It doesn’t have a logo or part number.
Good gravy. Can we please put this question to rest?
If you’ve ever browsed AFOL forums, you have probably seen the question: “is this real LEGO?” You have probably seen the question more than once. It is a very, very frequent question.
Here is your history lesson:
In 2007, the “Red Lead Paint Scare”, when Thomas the Tank engines made their way into the US market coated in lead paint…followed with the discovery of multiple other health hazards contained in children’s toys…led the US government to do two things: temporarily ban Chinese toy imports and permanently dial up consumer protection laws.
Part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 included, among other things, a requirement that all products sold in the United States undergo third party testing and initially proposed some other things which proved troublesome. One proposal was that each toy bear its manufacturing date. Some products that were assemblies of parts could not necessarily bear a single manufacturing date…wheels may have been manufactured at one time of one material, and vehicle bodies manufactured at another time of other materials, and assembly of components took place at a later date. Some materials used in coloring were deemed toxic, however once the manufacturing process had completed, the toxic material was transformed and could no longer be leeched from the finished material. It took some time for industry and government to iron out the wrinkles and get a workable set of rules as compliance with the regulations was both burdensome and expensive for the manufacturers.
Subsequent to the legislation it became required that all children’s products “have distinguishing permanent marks”. It thus came to pass that many markings started to appear on LEGO parts where prior to this time they were often not included. The chances are if the part was created prior to 2008 it may not bear what the US government now refers to as “tracking labels”.
Relevant links:
New York Times, As More Toys Are Recalled, Trail Ends in China
Wikipedia, 2007 Chinese export recalls
Wikipedia, Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
CPSC, Tracking Label Requirement for Children’s Products
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