The nightmare of unsafe levels of lead in children’s products continues. Now, Wal-Mart is recalling baby bibs sold under the name “Baby Connection.” These bibs are cloth on the top, but they are backed with dangerous PVC vinyl. When you visit the Wal-Mart’s recall page, you are greeted with this smiling man..what’s up with that? Sorry, we exposed your child to dangerous levels of lead, but I am smuggly smiling at you.
I don’t shop at Wal-Mart, in fact, I hate the overconsumerism and sweat labor this store promotes. I have viewed the company’s recent efforts at greenwashing to be profit driven to expand their customer base. A grass roots effort has successfully stopped Wal-Mart from entering the town we go to for services. Eureka still has Ma and Pa shops, with very little chain stores, and we want to keep it that way. Honestly, I can say I have only been inside a Wal-Mart store three times, but I know plenty of families that rely on the low prices for survival. Wal-Mart Watch provides more information on the company.
A grandmother discovered the lead in her grandson’s bib. After hearing about the lead in children’s lunchboxes, she bought a lead test kit (similar to what we did for my daughter’s backpack). The California-based Center for Environmental Health did more tests on the bibs and found lead levels in some Wal-Mart bibs more than 16 times the legal limit for lead in paint! That’s right, 16 TIMES THE LEGAL LIMIT FOR LEAD IN PAINT! How could this be? The CEH writes, “‘These vinyl bibs pose a lead poisoning threat to infants and toddlers who are at the most vulnerable age,’ said Caroline Cox, Research Director at CEH and author of a report on lead in baby bibs released by CEH today. ‘As every parent knows, young children commonly chew and suck on their bibs, so if the bib is contaminated, children are being directly exposed to lead.'” Of course, The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission claims the lead bibs are safe. They issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the bibs were safe if in good condition. If a bib “deteriorates to the point that a baby could pull or bite off and swallow a piece of vinyl containing the lead, then the amounts of lead consumed could approach levels of concern.”
Why do they put lead in baby bibs? To make them softer, of course! Here’s an alternative….organic cotton! Bumkins Organic Cotton Bibs
That is absurd! Kids are much more likely to suck on their bib than eat paint chips… ugg. Thanks for posting this, and ooooh those organic cotton ones look great!
I know…the absurdity of this is sublime. I love the organic bibs too! Since my bib years are over, I can’t wait to get them for someone as a gift.
Thanks for posting this! I’m aghast that I might have exposed my daughter’s to lead! We used to shop at Walmart all the time and while it’s been 6 months and counting since we stepped foot in one (this is a really big deal since we live on a very tiny students income) I still use things that I’ve bought there, including bibs. Not anymore though, at least when it comes to the bibs. I’m so tired of hearing reports of items being recalled for lead, especially something that shouldn’t have lead in it in the first place!
I agree Ami. We also used vinyl backed bibs that someone gave us. I have no idea where they were purchased, but I think that all vinyl products for children should be avoided.
Great story. These bibs were made in China and there have been a lot of problems with products coming from China including poisoned/contaminated toothpaste, mouthwash. However, what really surprised me is that when I bought boxes of Juicy Juice from Target for my toddler that it said “Product of China” on the clear plastic wrap in very small print. I started to look more closely at labels and I also found that a bottle of Mott’s apple juice also had product of China on the bottle. Chinese people living in the U.S. don’t like eating or drinking stuff from China. Take it from me – I’m Chinese and most of my Chinese friends say the same thing.
Thank you so much for posting this information. I had no idea these had been recalled, and my son had one of those bibs on AS I READ THIS. Of course, they’re in the trash now, and I ordered 9 of the organic bibs from Amazon. Thanks again!!
can i know what is the walmart lead content,pathalate, mercury, cadmium, formalehyde test method for wal-mart?