I’ve learned a lot from the Z Recommends watchdog group (a concerned mom and dad) that started the website Zrecs a few years ago.  As far back as September 2008, they were reporting about sores on the back’s of children that resembled minor chemical burns. What were these sores being caused by?  Tagless labels in infant clothing seemed to be the culprit and the companies receiving internet buzz for having this problem included Carters, Circo and Gerber. What ink is making these tagless labels? Plastisol type and solventborne polyurethane. One contains PVC and phthalates, the other contains small levels of formaldehyde in the urethane. Okay – now fast forward to Nov 28th 2009.. . Zrecs and the Center for Environmental Health search nation wide for onesies sold at Target stores (brand name Circo) to be tested because a onesie (picture here) tested three times the legal limit for lead content.  Was it only this one isolated onesie – no!  Zrecs asked it’s thousands of readers to send in any of the Circo ‘green baby’ onesies and all 30+ tested the same ~ having over 1,000 ppm lead content.

Some of you might think this is mass hysteria, but people, chemical burn-type rashes from a tagless label printed with chemical ink on baby clothes. A store like Target that sells millions of products and this was a Target-branded onesie.  To me, it just reconfirms so many things. The big names do not have a trusted track-record with our children.  Advocacy groups, blogs, and websites had to be created to bring awareness to the fact so many household items are dangerous to children. If you want more information on the onesie sold at Target, read the full article on the Zrecs site. They have a picture of the garment and at this time, it’s the only Target item to be concerned with.  But when the opportunity presents itself to purchase more trustworthy and sustainable products – remember this article. I cannot believe the measures parents need to arm themselves with before purchasing clothes, toys, household items for their family! It’s why with the huge sales happening around American Thanksgiving and post-Christmas – I truly worry that stores are dumping toxic product at reduced rates because they are so cheap to begin with or a potential recall is about to happen.

I must admit, I felt like a wet blanket writing my article on Black Friday talking about being aware of discounted items and asking if we really need massive amounts of ‘stuff’.  It would have been so much more fun to talk about the great sales that were happening here, there, and everywhere! I swear by my theory that before a major recall happens from a company, you’ll find the product or brand discounted for months at stores that are known for amazing prices (Winners, etc.).  Shopping for children’s products in this fashion is just not any good for their health.  Many of you know I’ve been battling this Christmas with things to buy my children. Going shopping and buying lots of ‘stuff’ is fun, but I’m staying as true as I can to the course of sourcing toys from sustainable stores, handmade items from local artisans, and it just feels better. I can’t wait to share some of my great finds…but for now I just want to thank sites like Zrecs for helping me sleep a little easier at night because I haven’t yet got my degree as an environmental engineer (which btw – seems to be a qualification these days to being a parent).   =)

Related articles:

Polyester PJs and Flame Retardants

PVC & Christmas Toys

Little Inkers – Growing PVC & Phthalate Free Kids

Okay…I sound paranoid, but I believe the big chains that sell toys, mark them on major sales before a recall to dump their stock.  Keep you’re eyes wide open for big sales on painted wooden Melissa & Doug toys. I’ve documented this paranoia before.  <smile>  I’ve received a tip from Karen that there’s been a recall of the Melissa & Doug product ‘Geometric Stacker’, item number 094730.  The problem is the level of Barium is not at a safe level in the paint. 

Toys R Us has issued an advisory and you can call them at (800) 869-7787 if you are concerned.  Approximately 300 were sold in Canada and the toys were sold from February 2008 until August 2008 at Toys “R” Us stores nationwide. Yes, Melissa & Doug manufacture their toys in China. I wonder if it’s just a matter of time before more products are recalled because of this problem.  I have purchased many of their toys in the past, luckily, most are puzzles.  When are companies go to produce and manufacture toys within North America?  I would pay more to know that the product is safe.

In a previous article about Tupperware using #7 plastics, I had questioned if the company would recall or refund money if a customer was concerned about their product being made from polycarbonate #7 plastic.  The issue being the widely controversial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) that is a material used to produce polycarbonate plastic.  With so many other companies recalling massive amounts of products because of parents and consumers worried about the BPA controversy….I really was expecting a different answer than I received.
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I spent this morning returning my plastics containing BPA to Zellers.  They confirmed that Friday (May 9th) is the final day you can return recalled baby products without a receipt.  The kind folks at Zellers customer service work off their own recall sheet and let you know what they’ll take back in return for an in-store gift card.  So anyone out there who hasn’t sorted through their old bottles, sippy cups, Avent breast pump, etc. time is running out.  London Drugs is no longer taking products without the receipt and Zellers follows on Friday. 

You’ll learn soon enough that I have a toy addiction…I’m in LOVE with Playmobil. It’s quality is amazing and although it’s not cheap, you just know it will never end up on a recall list.   Another recall has surfaced involving magnets, the company is MEGA Brands.   Never a huge surprise anymore when the toy has a magnet, but this recall is pretty widespread.   Most parents I know have a Magnetix building set and I was planning on purchasing the Magnetix Jr. set for the girls because it’s so fun.   Guess I need to get my girls aboard the Playmobil train, as it’s really the only brand I buy that I’m completely at ease.

Here is the link to the latest recall  involving the following building sets from Mega Brands: Magnetix, Magtastik, Magnimals, Magnetix Jr., and Magna-Mans.

http://www.megabrands.com/en/customerservice/recallinfo/index.php