The past year has been a pretty terrifying time in terms of the huge amounts of toxic toys (and milk!) found in the market. And if you’ve think the worst is over and the most dangerous toys have already been weeded out in time for Christmas, you are sadly mistaken. According to the non-profit group Ecology Center, one in three of more than 1,500 of the most popular toys in the market, have unacceptably high levels of toxic chemicals, which can cause the following in our children: reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer.
And its NOT just toys from China, nor is it just lead. And according to their studies, children’s jewelry has the highest amount of chemicals. Horrifying since it is what is most likely to come into contact with our children’s skin!
So be safe this Christmas and before you buy, read up on what’s safe here at Healthy Toys where you can search by brand, “worst toys”, “best toys” and so on. The site also lets you make a “holiday list” which can be emailed to family and friends – a wonderful way to make sure the kids you care about are protected.
Please join the fight to stop chemicals in toys completely and check out some of the ideas listed in the Healthy Toys or Ecology Center‘s website – as Mike Shriberg, Ph.D., Ecology Center’s Policy Director rightly said:
“There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in toys….Our hope is that by empowering consumers, manufacturers and lawmakers will start phasing out the most harmful substances immediately, and change the laws to protect children from toxic chemicals.”