Eco Child's Play

Live a greener, healthier life!

What’s Safe and What’s Not? How Toys Stack Up

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff
Executive Director/CEO
Healthy Child Healthy World
www.healthychild.org

Have you checked your toy list twice? Wait, let me rephrase that: Have you checked the list of what’s in your toys twice? I just discovered the toy database at HealthyStuff.org, which ranks more than 20,000 toys or toy components, organized from “none” to “high” levels for dangerous chemicals.

I checked my list against theirs—my daughter’s coveted Baby Alive is a low, thank goodness—and crossed off a few, noting the irony of Target’s “green baby” shirt weighing in with dangerously high levels of lead and arsenic. Sheesh!

Especially this time of year, it’s worth looking into what you buy. In November, the Illinois PIRG Education Fund released their 26th Annual Survey of Toy Safety report, which found that lead, a known neurotoxin, is still a problem, with several toys exceeding the generous 300ppm standard set by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, and a few more even topping the 40ppm standard set by the American Academy of Pediatrics. (Download the report here.)

A second report, released by the Environmental Health Strategy Center, Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and the Safer States coalition, echoed the PIRG study’s finding that the hormone disruptor bisphenol A is still of concern in children’s toys, too.

And we’ve already reported the latest data on buying electronics for kids, which made me think twice about my teenager’s wish list.

What’s a concerned Santa to do? Don’t panic! Yes, shopping smarter takes a little bit more time, but the results—a healthier holiday haul for your kids and a message to manufacturers that better toys sell better, too—are so worth it.

Subscribe!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Search Content

About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

Contact Eco Child’s Play

  • Environment
  • Pregnancy
  • Food & Recipes
  • Health News
  • Parenting
  • Green Toys
  • Beauty & Beauty Products
  • Green Home & Cleaning
  • Contact

Valentine’s Day at 40: Money Can’t Buy Me Love

Greenpeace, Dove, Palm Oil, and the Destruction of the Rainforest

Oprah Shines Light on Great Pacific Garbage Patch

New Study: PCBs Can Cause ADHD

Weleda: In harmony with nature and the human being

Popular Categories

  • Breastfeeding
  • Health News
  • Natural Childbirth
  • Parenting
  • Education
  • Product Review
  • Green Toys

you may like cheap baby clothes here
 

Copyright © 2025 · Daily Dish Pro On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in