Few people, besides shoe repairmen, would even know how to use the solvent and most shoe repairmen would not leave their supplies lying around for children to play with. Further, the solvent was sold in a small container. This means that it was likely to be purchased, used, and disposed of in a short period of time, thus greatly reducing the likelihood of a child finding a half-used bottle of the solvent lying around. Simply stated, a small bottle of leather dye solvent is not something commonly found around children. Because of the recall, however, the company had to discontinue production of the product.
Consumers can no longer buy a product proven safe by half a century of real life testing.
Instead, consumers must now substitute products that may not fit their needs as well, may be more expensive, and may not have the excellent safety record of the recalled solvent. Thanks to the recall, consumers now have one less choice in the marketplace and may be less safe because of it. Another questionable CPSC recall concerned a Rolling Clock Push Toy, considered only potentially dangerous because it could present a choking hazard if broken into pieces. The toy was only potentially dangerous because an unlikely succession of events had to transpire for any real harm to occur. Someone would then have to drop the toy hard enough, from several feet in the air, to break it into small pieces.