Shopping for toys this Christmas?
It’s that nightmare before Christmas when you have to feverishly comb the toy stores or the toy sections of department stores for gifts for the little ones on your Christmas list doesn’t matter if they’re naughty or nice. Many, many Christmases ago, I had so much fun buying toys for my godchildren, nieces, and my one and only nephew, sometimes I end up buying something for myself, too (like a Barbie doll or a Hot Wheels die-cast car) after all, Christmas is also for the child in us. They’re all grownups and now, I buy toys for my friends’ grandchildren whenever this buyingest season of the year comes around. But buying toys today is really no kid stuff, what with all the scary news about toxin-laced toys. Fact is, findings show that six out of seven toys on the market have toxic plastic additives despite government health warnings.
So, this Christmas, you’d better watch out for toys that contain harmful substances that can put the health and the future of young children at risk. This timely warning comes from EcoWaste Coalition following the results of the laboratory test it had commissioned that showed the presence of toxic additives known as phthalates in six out of seven polyvinyl chloride (PVC) toys bought locally and sent abroad for chemical analysis.
Phthalates are plasticizers or substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility, durability, and longevity.
They have been linked to liver and kidney damage, undeveloped genitals, and undescended testicles in boys, testicular or prostate cancer in men, premature breast development in girls, and breast cancer in women, among many other health concerns.
You may not know it, but as early as 1999, the Philippine government has raised serious concerns about phthalates. On Dec. 23, 1999, through the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) Advisory 99-05, the government warned that “phthalates may cause adverse health effects such as liver and kidney wounds, reproductive abnormalities, and immune system defects.”
Particularly concerned over PVC toys, our local Food and Drug Administration requested manufacturers and retailers to voluntarily halt the sale of soft PVC toys and infant care products for infants/children under three years old.
Thony Dizon, coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Project PROTECT (People Responding and Organizing against Toxic Chemical Threats), laments, “The results of our investigation show that the government request to voluntarily stop the production and sale of these harmful toys has been ignored and this provides a compelling reason for stronger action by the Aquino government. We therefore urge P-Noy to introduce a robust policy, building on BFAD Advisory 99-05 that will reduce incidences of toxic exposure from phthalates, which can seriously affect children’s health.”
Is there a safe alternative to phthalates? Yes. “Alternative plastics and other materials do not require toxic chemicals for flexibility and this gives consumers a cost-effective, safer option,” says visiting scientist Dr. Joe DiGangi, science and policy adviser of the International POPs Elimination Network (IPEN).
To test for phthalates EcoWaste went shopping for assorted toys last month at various stores in Divisoria, Manila’s sprawling bargain-hunters’ paradise, and had them analyzed for phthalates at Intertek Thailand through Intertek Testing Services Philippines, Inc.
The toy samples included a doll toy (the only sample that passed the test), a squeeze ball, a shrilly chirping chicken toy, a floating duck toy, a tiger toy, a Super Mario toy, and a squeaky Winnie the Pooh toy, all imported from China, with prices ranging from P18 to P150.
None of them was labeled as containing phthalates and the Super Mario was the only one labeled as being made of PVC. (To view the toy samples, visit www.ecowastecoalition.org.)
Here’s what they found: Lab analysis showed that six of the seven toy samples failed the 0.1% by mass limit set by the US Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 for children’s toys and child care articles. As of now, the Philippines has no specific standard on phthalates. Test results indicated high levels of diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP), a reproductive toxicant, and di-iso-nonyl phthalate (DINP) in six samples in the range of 2.27% to 33.16%, way beyond the 0.1% by mass threshold. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), di-iso-decyl phthalate (DIDP) and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) were also detected, but below the limit.
Note that the phthalates measured in this survey have already been banned in children’s toys by the US and European governments to prevent kids’ exposure to these toxic chemicals.
The eco watchdog is alarmed that phthalate-tainted toys continue to flood the market despite a decade-old government warning on the health hazards posed by plastic toys.
Last year, the EcoWaste Coalition pushed for a ban on phthalates at a Congressional hearing convened by the Committee on the Welfare of Children, then chaired by Rep. Monica Prieto Teodoro. The hearing resulted in the adoption of a substitute bill recommending a ban on toys and child care articles containing DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP and DNOP “in concentrations greater than 0.1 percent by mass of the plasticized material.”
Here are excerpts from the Safe Toys Guide published by the Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), coordinator of the Safe Toys Coalition, which includes the EcoWaste Coalition and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives in the Philippines:
• Aniline very toxic, carcinogenic and mutagenic
• Bisphenol-A disrupts the reproductive and hormone system, and increases cancer risk
• Brominated flame retardants disrupts development and hormone system, toxic to the reproductive system
• Cadmium carcinogenic, toxic by inhalation, impairs fertility, disrupts development of child’s brain
• Chlorinated paraffins carcinogenic, disrupts the hormone system
• Chromium carcinogenic, mutagenic, toxic, causes severe burns, impairs fertility
• Formaldehyde carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic to reproduction
• Lead carcinogenic and impairs fertility, affects developing brain
• Nonylphenol disrupts the hormone system
• Organotin carcinogenic, disrupts the hormone system and fertility
• Pefluorinated chemicals carcinogenic, disrupts fertility
• Phthalates disrupts development and the hormone system, impairs fertility
• Triclosan very toxic to aquatic life, disrupts the hormone system
And now, here are tips from the WECF on safe toy shopping:
1. Less is more! Buy fewer toys, aim for quality over quantity.
2. Avoid very cheap toys because they often contain more hazardous chemicals.
3. Do not buy a toy with a strong chemical or perfumed smell or if it feels uncomfortable to the touch.
4. For young children, make sure that no small parts can be pulled off and swallowed.
5. Unpack any new toy and leave it outdoors to let some of the hazardous chemicals to evaporate.
6. For dolls: Buy rag dolls and wash stuffed dolls before use.
7. For cuddly toys: Look for products from natural or organic materials and wash and air toys before use.
8. For wooden toys: Buy solid, unvarnished, and unpainted wooden toys with as few glued parts as possible.
9. For plastic toys: Choose natural rubber toys, look for PVC-free and phthalate-free labels, and avoid products which smell strongly of chemicals.
10. For art materials and cosmetics: Do not buy fragranced toys, as these can trigger lifelong fragrance allergies, which cannot be cured; choose products with food or plant colorings and without preservatives.
To download the WECF Safe Toys Guide, log on to http://www.wecf.eu/english/publications/2009/publications-toysguide.php.
Happy toy shopping everyone!
* * *
We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.