Reebok to pay $1 mln fine for lead jewelry - U.S. CPSC

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Athletic shoe maker Reebok International Ltd, a unit of Germany's Adidas, will pay a record $1 million civil penalty to settle allegations that it imported and distributed charm bracelets that contained toxic levels of lead, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Tuesday.

The agency said in March 2006, a 4-year-old boy from Minneapolis, Minnesota, who swallowed the bracelet's heart-shaped pendant died.

The penalty is the largest for a Federal Hazardous Substances Act violation, the CPSC said, and follows a recall of 300,000 bracelets that were provided as free gifts with the purchase of various styles of children's footwear.