The Consumer Action Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys

[anamika]

This was on Yahoo News so I'm assuming most parents will have seen it. But just in case.
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Tests on more than 1,200 children's products, most of them still on store shelves, found that 35 percent contain lead — many with levels far above the federal recall standard used for lead paint.

A Hannah Montana card game case, a Go Diego Go! backpack and Circo brand shoes were among the items with excessive lead levels in the tests performed by a coalition of environmental health groups across the country.

Only 20 percent of the toys and other products had no trace of lead or harmful chemicals, according to the results being released Wednesday by the Michigan-based Ecology Center along with the national Center for Health, Environment and Justice and groups in eight other states.

Of the 1,268 items tested, 23 were among millions of toys recalled this year.

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The full article is here.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071205/ap_on_bi_ge/apfn_toxic_toy_tests

The list of toys they have tested are here (supposedly). I haven't been able to get on the site to see the list of toys - the site is probably too busy.

http://www.healthytoys.org/


Also, the CPSC head guy was quoted as saying, "What we would like to consumers to know is more recalls are on the way." Happy holidys, all!!

[brittone2]

I hadn't heard about this most recent report. Wow. Shocking, yet not shocking.

Thanks for sharing.

[citymama]

Thank you for sharing this. Another sobering reminder that parents can't afford to get complacent and assume that recalls will take care of the problem. And that we're better off buying fewer, but better-made products from Europe and the US.

Whew, I'm glad I passed up those Circo shoes I almost bought my DD at Target!

[brittone2]

Another sobering reminder that parents can't afford to get complacent and assume that recalls will take care of the problem.

Sing it sister. Seriously. I trust that the companies themselves and the CPSC will get around to all the recalls they should be taking care of right around the time my kids enter college. I don't trust government agencies to keep my family safe, in any way, shape, or form.

ETA: Yeah, I sound like a total conspiracy theorist LOL.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

And that we're better off buying fewer, but better-made products from Europe and the US.

Our local paper had an article about this as well and one interesting note:

The product with the highest lead content was made in Italy; the others with "made-in" information are from China

from here:
Tainted toys: Group uncovers pervasive problems, faults industry (http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_7638906)

[dr mom]

I don't trust government agencies to keep my family safe, in any way, shape, or form. Yeah, I sound like a total conspiracy theorist LOL.

Well, who cares more about our kids welfare than we do? All those companies are in business to make a profit, and to produce cheap toys and clothes at the lowest possible cost, which means contracting with overseas manufacturers. I have no faith whatsoever that our government or some big, faceless for-profit company is really concerned about my child's health...unless in some way it affects their bottom line.

I'm beginning to think that our family should start making all our own toys, and refuse to buy their contaminated cr@p until they can guarantee that it isn't going to poison our children.

[ThreeofUs]

>>Of the 1,268 items tested, 23 were among millions of toys recalled this year.

It's really amazing that these were still on the shelves. I just can't believe it.

[citymama]

Wow, thanks for that update re Made in Italy toys. Who are we going to trust???

BTW, you don't sound like a conspiracy theorist, brittone. Unfortunately, we really aren't being protected by the CPSC or any other benevolent -- or diligent -- product-safety watchdog.