This morning on NPR there was a report that indicated that it isn’t just toys from China that you have to worry about. Let’s all groan together. I found this report to be truly eye-opening. A Michigan non-profit group called The Ecology Center, tested about 1500 toys including stuffed animals, books, games, action figures and other products. The scary part – they found that nearly 1/3 of the products (about 500 of them) have “significant levels of lead, arsenic and other chemicals. The results showed no consistent correlation between the presence of toxic chemicals in toys and where they were made or how much they cost.” YIPES!
The worst offenders? Cheap jewelry, bath toys and infant books.

Lead was one of biggest issues. Yes, toys made in China were more likely to have lead than toys made elsewhere. But not by much! 21% of toys (1 in 5) made in China were found to have high or moderate levels of lead. But 16% (nearly 1 in 6!) made elsewhere were also found to have unacceptable levels of lead. Of toys made in the US – 35% had some detectable level of lead!

What can you do? First – be very (very) selective about the toys you buy this holiday season. But be also glad that stricter regulations will come into effect next year.

To check out the NPR report click here