100000000 1955-1984 1914-1918

1922
28
1914-1918
Domestic production of toys
is severely curtailed
throughout World War I
1916
17
1916
The Toy Manufacturers of the
U.S.A. (TMUSA) establishes its
first offices in the Flatiron
Building
26
19
20
1919
21
Post-war efforts begin to
promote American-made toys.
“The word ‘toys’ does not
mean ‘made in Germany’”
– Association co-founder
A.C. Gilbert
1948
23
1917
First New York toy companies
move into The Fifth Avenue
Building, later known as the
International Toy Center, the
primary hub of the U.S.
toy industry
1939
33
Toy Fair registers more than
1,700 buyers and runs from
April 17– May 1 with the
tagline, “The one and only
purpose of a Toy Fair is to
decrease the cost of buying
and selling”
34
1945
35
37
WO
Original Association logo c.1918
41
R LD
OR
45
44
40
A.C. Gilbert
46
Toy Fair is cancelled, along
with many other New York
trade shows, at the
request of the War
Mobilization Department
39
49
47
1945
38
50
48
American toy manufacturers
begin the process of making
toys for export as the Association
becomes actively involved in the
re-establishment of post-war
trade and promotion
36
51
WAR
II
42
EA
N
R
WA
43
1941
The Association
celebrates 25
years!
1949
The Association moves into
the International Toy Center
to provide an anchor for the
U.S. toy business
1947
The Association partners with
the American Red Cross to
provide toys for children in
need, setting the stage for
decades of philanthropy
1958
Toy Industry Foundation
is formed to support play and
provide toys to children and
families in need
1962
59
1950
61
1969
1959
63
The International Toy
Center reaches its peak
activity, with space leased
exclusively to toy
companies
1966
TMUSA is renamed the Toy
Manufacturers of America (TMA).
The Association celebrates
50 years!
79
1985
69
67
68
TMA works with the newly
founded Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC) to
help establish the first
comprehensive toy safety
standards
84
Toy safety standards are
adopted under the auspices of
ASTM International (then the
American Society for Testing
and Materials)
1955-1984
TMA works with the
Fashion Institute of
Technology to create a
Toy Design curriculum.
The first class matriculates
with 18 students
91
90
86
87
1987
TMA launches the
American International Toy
Fair at the newly opened
Jacob K. Javits Center in
New York City
88
89
TOTY Awards are founded
to honor the most
outstanding toys and
properties of the year
1989
92
85
Captain Kangaroo airs on CBS.
The Captain was instrumental
in launching many toys and
defined entertainment for a
generation of children
2000
93
1986
2008
TIA works with legislators to
institute mandatory testing
and compliance with toy
safety standard ASTM F963
under the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act
03
95
83
01
2000
94
2014
02
96
82
TIA celebrates
100 years!
Toy Industry Foundation is
re-launched and expanded
to introduce a new program,
The Toy Bank, which provides
toys for children in need
97
81
The Association establishes the Toy
Industry Hall of Fame and inducts
its first members: Herman G.
Fisher, Jerome M. Fryer, A.C.
Gilbert, Marvin Glass, Nathan
Greenman, Merill L. Hassenfeld
and Louis Marx
00
99
2016
2003
TMA is renamed the Toy Industry
Association (TIA) to reflect its
diversifying membership base
98
The International Toy Center
houses 600 toy companies
and related businesses
78
80
71
70
64
65
1960
77
74
1972
66
76
72
Nixon signs the Toy
Safety Act, the first
legislation specifically for
toy safety, which TMA
helped to shape
62
The Association opens
up membership to U.S.
toy companies that
manufacture overseas
75
1981
73
The Association goes global,
exhibiting at the London
and Frankfurt Toy Fairs
for the first time
60
1954
The Association helps to
create a float promoting
U.S. toys in the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Association takes a leadership role in
establishing the International Council of Toy
Industries (ICTI), the international body
devoted to the promotion of safety, ethical
manufacturing standards and the
elimination of trade barriers
1961
58
TMUSA lobbies Washington to
secure sufficient steel and rubber
for toy production in light of the
Defense Production Act, which
limited access to materials for
non-war-related manufacturing
TMA creates a program to
educate Chinese manufacturers
on U.S. safety standards in
cooperation with the CPSC
and Chinese government.
Toys become duty-free
1975
TMUSA member Ruth
Handler establishes
regional Association
chapters
2001
1996
TMA welcomes the first toy
designers and testing labs as
associate members
57
52
TMUSA establishes The American
Toy Institute to conduct research
on the importance of play
in child development and
promote American-made toys.
The Institute goes on to produce
catalogs in Life Magazine
for the next 10 years
32
55
56
53
31
25
24
54
EK
1918
First summer Association
meeting is held. Women are
permitted only as guests. Later,
women will take on key roles
in the industry
22
18
30
TH
1918
The first importer becomes
an Association member as
the toy industry becomes
more global
TMUSA publishes its first edition of
“How to Sell Toys,” a guide that
takes into account the various
cultural and product developments
of the post-war world
29
1976
The Association begins
to formulate a code of
ethics in manufacturing
and advertising, particularly
as TV appears to be
here to stay
1955
1949
27
Association President Harry C. Ives
celebrates “The get-together spirit
which has been so well established
in the year and a half since the
formation of the Association”
The first studies of play as it relates
to cultural sociology are published.
Promoting play as an integral part of
childhood and child development
remains a core mission of the
Association
The Tariff Act of 1930 expands
duties for all imported toys as
a means of protecting and
promoting domestic
manufacturing
The Tariff Act of 1922 places duties
as much as 70% on toys from Japan
and Germany. Trade issues and
protecting American toymakers
became a major part of the
Association’s advocacy work
for the next 50 years
1956
1930
1930
1992
Toy Fair’s presence at the
Javits Center expands by
50% to accommodate
growing demand
04
2003
100th anniversary
of Toy Fair
FIT
International manufacturers are
eligible for TIA membership for the
first time ever. The Canadian Toy
Association becomes an affiliate of
TIA with shared membership
Retailers become eligible
for full TIA membership
alongside manufacturers,
inventors & designers,
sales reps and
licensors
06
2006
The majority of toy companies have
moved out of the International Toy
Center as the industry becomes
increasingly decentralized and global,
and the Javits Center becomes the
epicenter of the U.S. toy industry’s
go-to-market efforts
08
09
10
2016
15
2011
05
07
2015
TIA launches the
industry-wide Genius of Play
program to raise awareness
about play’s vital role in
child development
14
13
12
11
2013
TIA and leading legislators
establish the Congressional
Toy Caucus to open a positive
dialogue about issues
facing the toy industry
2015
Toy Fair ’15 breaks
records as the largest
show in its history, with
422,797 net square
feet of exhibits
2014
Toy Bank donations reach
$100 million since the program’s
launch in 2003, helping to bring
smiles to nearly 17 million
kids in need
$100,000,000
Raised!