A recent study released by a non-profit group called The Ecology Center found that 1 in 3 children’s toys had higher than acceptable levels of toxins. The group tested 1500 toys, made throughout the world, and found that 500 of them contained significan levels of lead, arsenic, and other chemicals. The owrst offenders: children’s cheap jewelry and plastic toys for infants (books and bath toys). There was no correlation between where a toy was made and how high the levels were.
Most toys your child can do with out. I cringe at the thought of the amount of plastic books and bath toys our kids chewed on….get rid of as many plastic toys as possible. If you are thinking that the government would have doen something if the toys were truly dangerous, think again. Our government does not regulate chemicals (chemical companies are in charge of doing that themselves??….) and even knowing that certain toys are dangerous, toys with harmful plasticizers are not required to be off shelves until february?!
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97723259&sc=emaf
A reminder of some great shopping sites:
hearthsong.com–great children’s toys
rosiehippo.com-infant and child toys, blankets, and more
gaiam.com–fair trade gifts, bedding, gifts for the home, yoga, jewelry, garden
vivaterra.com-favorite shopping ever! creative, unique decorations, clothing, home goods, jewelry, food
magiccabin.com–great children’s gifts, all natural wooden toys
patagonia.com–organic cotton clothing, outdoor clothing, shoes, hiking gear, AMAZING stuff!
josiemaran.com– amazing resource for skin care and make-up–you have to try it!
weleda.com–site for holistic medicines, skin care, baby gifts–can’t say enough good about the chemical free skin care line they sell
All of my holiday shopping this year was done using these sites–it is possible to make it happen!
Another cool site is http://www.ticklemeplant.com
You can see a fun video of this interactive plant that REALLY does move when Tickled. You can see all the faq’s about this amazing plant. Learn some cool experiment to do with the TickleMe Plant. Of course there are plenty of supplies to grow this amazing plant year round. Did you know it even produces pretty cotton candy like flower. Did you know that the leaves re-open in less then 20 minutes after being tickled? I love my tickleme plant
Hi there. Just found your blog tonight, as I have a Google alert for “plastic.”
I write the blog, Fake Plastic Fish (http://www.fakeplasticfish.com) all about ways to reduce our plastic consumption and plastic waste and have been attempting the plastic-free life since June 2007.
Would love to add you to my blogroll, as I’m compiling a list of plastic-free bloggers from all over the country. Would you be willing to email me directly?
beth[at]fakeplasticfish[dot]com.
Thanks!
Beth
The style of writing is very familiar to me. Have you written guest posts for other bloggers?