Plastic toys will lose the phthalates
Categories: Babies, Toddlers, Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Kids 8-11, Health & safety, In the news, Shopping & recalls
Last week, Congress passed a law designed to ensure that the massive toy recalls of 2007 are not repeated. The bill, awaiting the signature of President Bush, gives the Consumer Product Safety Commission a larger budget, increases the fines for companies who don't comply with the new stricter rules, and forces those companies to take responsibility for making sure safety standards are met in toy design and manufacture.
But it isn't just lead paint and loose magnets the bill hopes to eliminate. The new law also bans six types of phthalates in children's toys. Phthalates is a chemical commonly found in plastics that may disrupt the hormonal development of children. The bill completely bans three types of phthalates - di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP). Three others are temporarily banned pending a study of their effects on children and pregnant women.
This is clearly a step in the right direction, but many believe that banning phthalates is just the beginning. "This has started a dialogue on what else is needed," says Janet Nudelman of Breast Cancer Fund. What is needed, she says, is the passage of the Kid Safe Chemical Act, which would require all chemicals be proven safe for children.
In the meantime, banning phthalates is likely enough to change the face of the toy industry. All those plastic playthings littering your child's room may soon become relics of the past. But buyer beware: this law will not have any impact on toys already on the shelf. Maybe it is time to revisit the past and experience the joys of simple wooden toys. Or perhaps a game of kick the can will keep the kids occupied while everyone figures out how to make toys safe again.
But it isn't just lead paint and loose magnets the bill hopes to eliminate. The new law also bans six types of phthalates in children's toys. Phthalates is a chemical commonly found in plastics that may disrupt the hormonal development of children. The bill completely bans three types of phthalates - di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP). Three others are temporarily banned pending a study of their effects on children and pregnant women.
This is clearly a step in the right direction, but many believe that banning phthalates is just the beginning. "This has started a dialogue on what else is needed," says Janet Nudelman of Breast Cancer Fund. What is needed, she says, is the passage of the Kid Safe Chemical Act, which would require all chemicals be proven safe for children.
In the meantime, banning phthalates is likely enough to change the face of the toy industry. All those plastic playthings littering your child's room may soon become relics of the past. But buyer beware: this law will not have any impact on toys already on the shelf. Maybe it is time to revisit the past and experience the joys of simple wooden toys. Or perhaps a game of kick the can will keep the kids occupied while everyone figures out how to make toys safe again.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John O 8-18-2008 @ 9:10AM
"...But buyer beware: this law will not have any impact on toys already on the shelf. ..." This statement is not wholey true. There seems to be a provision in the law, HR4040 and the CPSA, that wil reqire the removal of all toys (this includes shoes) from shelves if they do not pass the new lead/phthalates test AND do not have the reqired certification and labeling. January 1, 2009 could see empty shelves until manuafturers catch up to the regulations. Lead times are longer than the law allows for. Especially in the low-cost mass market stores like Wal-Mart and Target. To compensate, consumers will need to buy higher priced 'branded' items to fill in, or (dare we say) go without.
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