CPSC Recalled 121,340 Orb Funkee Toys and Tested No Other US Brand

CPSC recalled about 121,340 Orb Funkee squeeze toys on May 21, 2026, after laboratory tests found fibrous tremolite asbestos in the sand inside them. The recall, number 26-499, covers two soft, stretchable monkey toys that Walmart and Ollie’s Bargain Outlet sold nationwide. It’s the first asbestos craft-sand recall any US regulator has issued. It also covers exactly one product line.

That single line is the whole problem. Our Houston shelf audit checked retailer catalogs on May 13, 2026, and found other craft-sand and sand-art brands named in foreign asbestos recalls still listed for sale at Walmart, Target, HEB, Amazon, and Hobby Lobby. CPSC has published no test results on any of them. The agency recalled the one brand the importer agreed to pull, and it left the rest of the category in place.

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What CPSC Recalled

The recall covers Orb Funkee squeeze toys built from a soft, stretchable shell filled with sand. Model 17451 is a large gold monkey, stylized as a “monkee.” Model 41929 is an assortment of smaller monkees in orange, purple, and green. Both carry the date code 3102491A, printed on the hand of the gold monkey or the back of the smaller ones.

The hazard is fibrous tremolite, a form of asbestos that lodges in the lungs once its fibers go airborne. The Orb Factory is offering refunds. CPSC tells owners to take the toys from children, seal each one in a heavy-duty plastic bag, photograph it, and email the photo to the company. Owners reach The Orb Factory through orbtoys.com, where the “Recall Information” link sits at the bottom of the page.

The Gap CPSC Left Open

CPSC acted on one importer. The wider category is where the exposure question stays open. Our May 13, 2026 audit found brand families named in foreign asbestos recalls, including Crayola lines, Galt lines, and other Orb Factory products, still listed for sale at Walmart, Target, Amazon, Hobby Lobby, and HEB. None of those US-market lines carries a published CPSC asbestos test.

The wait ran long before the recall landed. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization wrote to CPSC and the EPA on April 1, 2026, asking both agencies to test the same product categories sold in the United States. Fifty days passed between that letter and the May 21 recall. CPSC carries no statutory deadline to act on a product hazard, so the pace stays its own to set.

The US recall closes one gap in a global wave. Consumer Reports counted at least 80 recalls or warnings across at least a dozen countries since November 2025, all tracing to colored sand that regulators suspect carries asbestos. The United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada moved months ahead of the United States. Our global recalls investigation traces the supply chain back toward a single Chinese quarry.

Why Asbestos in a Toy Matters

Asbestos carries no safe level of exposure, and the diseases it causes can take decades to surface. A child who breathes tremolite fibers today might not show signs of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease for 20 to 50 years. That long latency is why doctors and regulators treat childhood exposure as the case to prevent, not the one to watch and hope on.

Children also face more risk than adults from the same dust. Their lungs are still growing, they breathe faster for their size, and they lean in close over a craft project. The fibers in question weigh almost nothing, and they drift into the air when sand pours, shakes, or spills.

What To Watch Next

The open question is whether CPSC tests the rest of the category or waits for each importer to volunteer its own recall. The agency now holds the Orb Funkee precedent, the ADAO request, and a documented foreign-recall record to work from. We’ll update this page as CPSC publishes new tests, adds recalls, or names the other brands sitting on US shelves.

See Also

For the SKU-level retail picture, read our Houston craft-sand shelf audit. For the running international count, see Asbestos Product Recalls 2026: A Running Global Tally and Asbestos in Children’s Sand Products: Eight Countries, Zero US Action. The cornerstone investigation behind this coverage is Global Asbestos Consumer-Product Recalls.