ANN ARBOR, Michigan, December 3, 2008 (ENS) – One in every three of the more than 1,500 children’s toys tested in time for the holiday shopping season have been found to contain “medium” or “high” levels of chemicals of concern such as lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic.

Researchers with the Michigan-based nonprofit Ecology Center tested for chemicals that have been associated with reproductive problems, developmental and learning disabilities, hormone problems and cancer; and for those identified by regulatory agencies as problematic.

The play mat in this set tested high for
bromine and antimony. (Photos courtesy
Ecology Center)

The testing was conducted with a screening technology – the portable X-Ray Fluorescence analyzer – that identifies the elemental composition of materials on or near the surface of products.

The Ecology Center and partners across the country today released their second annual consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys, which can be found online at www.HealthyToys.org.

Environmental health groups are holding toy testing events nationwide and urging manufacturers and the federal government to phase out the most harmful chemicals at once.

“There is simply no place for toxic chemicals in children’s toys,” said Ecology Center’s Jeff Gearhart, who led the research.

“Our hope is that by empowering consumers with this information, manufacturers and lawmakers will feel the pressure to start phasing out the most harmful substances immediately, and to change the nation’s laws to protect children from highly toxic chemicals,” he said.

Lead was detected in 20 percent of the toys tested this year. Lead levels in 54 products were well above the 600 parts per million federal recall standard used for lead paint, and will exceed the U.S. legal limit in February, according to the new Consumer Product Safety Commission regulations.

If the new regulations were in effect today, some of the toys on the shelf this holiday season would be illegal to sell. When children are exposed to lead, the developmental and nervous system consequences are irreversible.

Levels of lead in many of the toys tested were above the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended ceiling of 40 ppm of lead in children’s products.

Children’s jewelry remains the most contaminated product category, maintaining its spot at the top of HealthyToys.org’s “worst” list for a second year.

Overall, jewelry is twice as likely to contain detectable levels of lead as other products, the researchers found.

Numerous Hannah Montana brand jewelry items tested high for lead. HealthyToys.org recommends that consumers avoid low cost children’s jewelry.

Lead, bromine and chlorine were found
in this piece of low-cost jewelry.

The website allows searches by product name, brand, or toy type to see if certain toys have toxic chemicals. The newly-redesigned site also lets visitors create a personalized holiday wish list that can be sent to family and friends, and a blog-friendly widget to quickly search the toy ratings.

With millions of toys on the market, HealthyToys.org could not test them all, but visitors to the website can nominate other products to be tested. The most commonly requested items will be tested each week leading up to the holidays.

Through its testing, HealthyToys.org found toys made in China are not the only ones that contain toxic chemicals. Tests show that 21 percent of toys from China and 16 percent of those from all other countries had detectable levels of lead in 2008.

About one-third of the 17 toys tested that were manufactured in the United States showed detectable levels of lead. Two toys had levels above 600 ppm. Among the highest lead levels detected was in a Halloween Pumpkin Pin made in the USA, which showed 190,943 ppm of lead.

Lead is not the only toxic found in the toys. Researchers also found toys containing cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and bromine. Forty-five products tested showed bromine at concentrations of 1,000 ppm or higher, indicating the use of brominated flame retardants – chemicals that may pose hazards to children’s health.

Arsenic was detected at levels greater than 100 ppm in 22 products, while 289 products contained detectable levels of arsenic.

Cadmium, a heavy metal, was found above 100 ppm in 30 products, while 38 of products contained detectable levels of cadmium.

Mercury was found above 100 ppm in 14 products, while 62 of products contained detectable levels of mercury.

HealthyToys.org identified products made with polyvinyl chloride, PVC, plastic by measuring their chlorine content.

“PVC is a problematic plastic because it creates major environmental health hazards in its manufacture and disposal and may contain additives, including phthalates, that may pose hazards,” the Ecology Center said. Twenty-seven percent of the toys tested this year by HealthyToys.org, excluding jewelry, were made with PVC.

“The good news is that 62 percent (954) of the products tested contain low levels of chemicals of concern, and 21 percent (324) of all products contain no chemicals of concern. These products look and feel no different than other children’s products on the shelf,” said the Ecology Center. “These findings show that manufacturers can and should make toys free of unnecessary toxic chemicals.”

View This Story On Eco–mmunity Map.

Chemistry has traditionally been a science that necessitates working with toxic chemicals and pollution-intensive materials. Recently, a new field of chemistry called “Green Chemistry” has begun to be taught in universities. The use of toxic chemicals and harmful pollutants has been stripped out of the scientific process.

The EPA’s mission statement on Green Chemistry aims “to promote innovative chemical technologies that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances in the design, manufacture, and use of chemical products.”

A green chemistry curriculum is beginning to appear in major universities all over America. Recently, one of the finest academies for science, Carnegie Mellon University, opened up a concentrated set of courses that are designed to teach chemistry with a green philosophy as the backbone. It is great to see that there is a growing concern over living in a world that is dominated by artificial chemical creations. With toxins so prevalent in our lives and cancers and other diseases a continuing concern, then one has to wonder if there might be a correlation between toxicity levels in the air, earth and water and the health of our bodies.

If anyone reading this has had bad experiences with certain chemicals, then please make a map marker that documents your experiences so the next person who encounters a similar situation has a chance of avoiding the dangers.

At TreeHugger, we embrace design as part of the solution to a healthier, greener, more livable planet; we all need stuff (though not too much) and all that stuff needs to be designed by someone; the more sustainability in incorporated into design, the better, and the better the design is, the more people will want a little piece for themselves. This is why we’re such fans of the work done by Q Collection [www.qcollection.com], whose chic, modern products are pure sustainable design.

TreeHugger first noticed the work of Q Collection back in 2004 [www.treehugger.com]; since then, they’ve added more furniture [www.treehugger.com], along with fabrics and accessories, to a lineup of home furnishings that are a true triple threat: better for you, your home and the planet. Combining a refined, timeless modern sensibility with carefully-selected materials that reduce or eliminate risks to human health and the environment, their products are constructed without toxic chemicals, carcinogens and the leading components of poor indoor air quality. You won’t find nasties like polyurethane, formaldehyde and brominated fire retardants, which are all either known or suspected carcinogens and not good for anyone, along with chemicals like dioxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in any of Q Collection’s work. This commitment extends to their fabrics and leathers; the textiles use zero impact dyes and the excess clippings from the fabric are used as ground cover by farmers near the mill. Their leather uses only vegetable dyes and no heavy metals in the tanning process, which, when it comes to leather, is the healthier, more sustainable way to go. Listing their entire volume of environmental and sustainability concerns addressed by their work isn’t practical for this space, but we’re confident in saying that it’s well-thought out and executed, and quite complete.

The ‘design’ half of’sustainable design’ is what sets Q Collection apart from many others, though — after all, they were named as one of the “Best of TreeHugger: Sustainable Designers” [www.treehugger.com] awhile back, and exhibited last year at HauteGREEN [www.treehugger.com], an exhibition of the best in sustainable design. Furniture like the “James” side chair (above, left) and “Joe” lounge chair with ottoman (above, right), show off their clean, modern sensibility that’s accentuated by accessories like the Moss Dot Pillow (above, center). Whether you’re looking for a single piece or an entire living set, Q Collection can help you be healthier: individually, in your home, and with your entire ecological footprint. There’s a lot to learn and a lot to see, including more details on their materials, products, and where you can find them, at qcollection.com [www.qcollection.com].

With spring in full bloom, along with green gardening [www.sundancechannel.com], it’s time for many of us to do a little spring cleaning. As with just about anything that you do at home, there are lots of strategies and ideas for cleaning up without “dirtying” your home (and the planet) with toxic chemicals and substances.

Before getting into which cleaners are good, a few words about why conventional cleaners are not good: many conventional cleaning products are petroleum-based and have unhealthy and downright unsafe health and environmental implications. They contain toxic chemicals that are not good for the air quality in your home (and not good for your lungs), not good for your skin, and harmful for pets and children that can get into them when you aren’t looking (or just lick the floor when your back is turned). Think of it this way: you don’t put toxic substances on your plates & dishes to eat, so why do it when you’re cleaning up?

Thankfully, there are a growing number of companies that make effective non-toxic cleaners that will zap any and all dirt in your home, from windows to counters and dishes to floors. Seventh Generation [www.treehugger.com] has one of the widest selections of products, from cleaners to tissues and paper towels that are all non-toxic and safe. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day produces an assortment of great-smelling, non-toxic cleaners of as well; their dishwashing liquid [www.treehugger.com] and general cleaners [www.treehugger.com] have both appeared on our pages. When it comes to packaging design, nobody beats method [www.treehugger.com], whose hip cleaning product lines are getting bigger all the time. Ecover [www.treehugger.com] has been around since 1979, offering their wide range of cleaning products to an international audience (they started in Belgium). They all clean without using toxic substances, and, between the different companies’ products, there isn’t anything in your home that you can’t clean.

If you find yourself without the time to do a little spring cleaning, don’t fret. Cleaning services like
ZENhome [www.treehugger.com] in New York City will clean your home for you, using 100% non-toxic and earth-friendly cleaning products, and will even leave an organic chocolate on your pillow as part of their turn-down service. Though we all may not have the luxury of having someone else clean up after us, there are lots of resources for learning more about how to effectively do it yourself; books like Clean Green: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home [www.treehugger.com] and Clean Sweep: The Ultimate Guide to Decluttering, Detoxing and Destressing Your Home [www.treehugger.com] are great sources for getting started down a greener, cleaner path. To really dig in to cleaning green, there’s a ton of information and resources for learning more in our How to Green Your Cleaning [www.treehugger.com] guide. Happy spring cleaning!

From the very beginning, TreeHugger has been interested in finding ways to live a greener lifestyle without having to sleep in a cave or wear burlap sacks; we want living green to look good. The good news is that there are countless ways to do so, and you’ll see lots of them on this blog before long; first we wanted to introduce a few of the terms you’re likely to see more of when it comes to interiors. Things like furniture, upholstery, wallcoverings and flooring may seem simple enough — a chair is a frame with a couple of pads, right? — but there’s a lot that goes in to the things we furnish and decorate our homes with that we think it’s important to know.

When it comes to wood used in furniture and flooring, there are a couple things that TreeHugger looks for. Perhaps the greenest option is reclaimed or salvaged wood; it often comes from old buildings that have been taken down, so it’s already been cut down, milled and processed once and no trees need to fall. For virgin wood, we like to look for wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council [www.fsc.org], who painstakingly insure that the trees are harvested in a way that, in short, assures that there will continue to be a forest (along with everything that typically lives in the forest) where they’re cutting from. Bamboo, which we already mentioned at length [www.sundancechannel.com], is another good option, along with other quickly renewable materials like rattan and sea grass.

How wood is finished and put together is also an important consideration. Glues and polyurethanes are often used, and they’re bad news for indoor air quality. You see, just about everything in your home off-gases whatever is inside of it; think of it as a way for your furniture, flooring & walls to “breathe.” When there are toxic chemicals in there (as with lots of glues and wood finishes), they come out to, contributing to poor indoor air quality and increasing your risk for health problems. In fact, the air quality inside is often 10 – 100 times worse than outside, and is compounded in the winter (when the windows are shut most of the time) and when your home is well-insulated (which is a good thing for energy-efficiencies’ sake). Formaldehyde and flame retardants in upholstery and cushions are also a big contributor to toxic off-gassing, as are the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in paint. The good news is that non-toxic, water-based alternatives are available for all of these, so there’s no reason to poison your home with these nasties. Remember, just about everything off-gases, so it’s important to consider what you bring in to your home because you’ll be breathing it for years to come. Greenguard [www.greenguard.org] is a certification which ensures furniture is low toxicity, and can help you find furniture that won’t contribute to negative indoor air quality.

Lastly, something we like to see in furniture and interior construction is the efficient use of materials. Building furniture with bent plywood is a great example, because it uses only about 1/8th (that’s about 12%) of the wood that other techniques typically use. This is also where materials like medium-density fiberboard (MDF) come in handy, because they’re made from the sawdust that results from milling and working with other wood — just be sure it’s not made with polyurethane or toxic glues. The story is the same with plywood: it can be extremely green, when it carries a sustainable certification and doesn’t use toxic binders, but can be pretty nasty otherwise. The number one rule: do your homework, and look for the big three (certification, no toxic substances and material efficiency). Stay tuned for some fabulous examples and tips for getting greener in your home.