How To Avoid Toxic Gifts That Can Harm Your Children
More and more we’re seeing instances of childrens’ toys and clothes being loaded with toxic chemicals that can inadvertently harm them. Fortunately, if you know what to look for, you can avoid many of these toxic gifts that children commonly receive.
Avoid fake leather.
Be it backpacks, jackets, purses or wallets, it’s best to avoid fake leather. Often times, fake leather is made with polyvinyl chloride which is stabilized with lead. You know, the stuff they took out of gasoline because it was poisoning everyone on Earth. Retailers like Forever 21 were found by the Center for Environmental Health to offer many lead-tainted products. Even small amounts of exposure can have a profound effect on nearly every biological system in a child’s body. So avoid fake leather.
Say no to plastic toys.
It seems like pretty much every toy is made of plastic now. The problem? Phthalates commonly tag along with their plastic companions. Phthalates are used to make plastic more flexible and difficult to break. But they’ve also been linked to infertility and abnormal reproductive development. Retailers are beginning to eliminate or reduce phthalate-containing plastics in products meant for kids, but most products have not been liberated from their toxic chemical companion. Even popular brands like Disney, Spider Man and Dora the Explorer school supplies were found to contain phthalates. Supplies like backpacks, binders, raincoats and lunch boxes. Lunch boxes!
Be careful of cheap jewelry.
This one goes for adults too. A study reported by Time Magazine revealed that about 59% of cheap, costume jewelry sold at large national changes like Walmart, Forever 21, H&M, Kohls, and target contained one or more chemicals considered by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to be hazardous to the health of children and adults alike. They analyzed 99 pieces of jewelry, and 27% contained more than 300 parts per million limit for lead set by the CPSC that’s safe for children. 13% contained more than 100 ppm of arsenic, which has been linked to a variety of cancers. Some even contained cadmium, which is a toxic metal used in plating batteries. Cadmium builds up in your kidneys and contributes to reproductive abnormalities and lung cancer.
Watch out for toxic art supplies.
In all likeliness, your finger paints and watercolors are okay, but some types of glues, acrylic paints, solvents, pigments and permanent markers release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are known to be carcinogenic. The Art and Creative Materials Institute encourages parents to look for ACMI seals that ensure the product has been evaluated by a toxicologist to make sure that they don’t create chronic health issues for your children.
Beware the poisonous candies.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but many candies come with high-fructose corn syrup, GMO ingredients, synthetic colors, excessive sugar, pesticides, and not to mention the guilt of buying non fair-trade sugar and cocoa, which provides the worst kinds of working conditions for the farmers. Instead, find fair-trade candies with natural, organic ingredients.
