Babes in (Healthy) Toyland

So it's that time of year again, time to scour the shelves for safe but fun toys for our little ones. It seems to get harder every year, because every year we learn of more hard-to-pronounce chemicals we need to avoid. This was a big year for parents and others concerned with providing children truly safe toys: phthalates and lead were legislated out of toys by Congress (although those laws don't go into effect until next year--and you'll be seeing a lot of fire sales of toys containing phthalates, for example, during the holiday season.)

Today, Healthy Toys released its incredibly useful test results for more than 1,500 toys, including its "Best" and "Worst" toys of the year. The tests measure for lead, mercury, cadmium, bromine, arsenic, and chlorine. One rather alarming finding was that Little Tikes Bath Letters and Numbers were found to contain high levels of mercury. Anyway, take a look at the site, check your holiday purchases or those on your children's wish lists against the test results, and take it from there.

In the same vein, I had a rather odd experience the other day with an outfit called Constructive Playthings. I discovered the company through yet another unsolicited catalog. I typically throw these things in the recycle bin without looking through them, but the catalog had some interesting looking wooden toys, so I thought I'd take a look. While the catalog had one page devoted to "green" toys, which is admirable for a company that has been in business so long using everyday components, I found a number of toys made of PVC/vinyl, and not even a small amount, but as a major component. I decided to drop them an e-mail about it, just to voice my concerns and to let them know that once they phase PVC out of their children's products, I would consider purchasing from them. I got a response back from an e-mail account from what looks to be an executive assistant but which contained an e-mail from the company president. Among other things, he said: "We have no PVC or phthalates in products for children under 3 where an infant or toddler can “mouth” it and have been PVC/phthalate compliant for 5 or 6 years for these types of products."

Well, I was in the middle of preparing my son's lunch, but just a cursory glance through this catalog showed that there were several toys on offer for children under 3 that contained quite a bit of vinyl. I wrote the following:

One example: In that catalog, on page 13, your "Soft Play Forms" are covered in "durable, vinyl covered foam." It is designated in your catalog as being for children age 1 and up. Another product containing vinyl designated for children under 3 is your Peek-a-Boo Climber on page 33. I mention these products because you said you have "no products" containing vinyl for children 3 and under. Just a quick glance in your catalog reveals two. The concern about vinyl/PVC is not just the toxicity present in repeated oral exposure. The VOCs released by new vinyl is potent and, to many people, sickening.

I never heard back. Constructive Playthings isn't an evil company. Not by a long shot. In fact, it is trying to offer nontoxic alternatives because a.) the market is dictating such products now that word is out on the street about things like PVC, lead, formaldehyde, and so on, and b.)legislation is now mandating it. However, until they hear from more parents about this issue, they will continue to sell products like the "vinyl-covered foam blocks" for one-year-olds. These kind of products have absolutely no place in our children's nurseries. But because our own regulating agencies are unable or unwilling to protect us as consumers, the onus is on us, at least for now, to speak up for ourselves. Companies in a capitalistic society like ours will listen and will change, but only if enough of us take the time to let them know what we want as well as what we are unwilling to tolerate. Like PVC/vinyl in children's toys.