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Plastic War Hits The Toy Industry

Retailers emptying aisles of toys made with PVC

By D. O. Volente
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 14, 2008

• Unstable Furniture Poses Deadly Danger To Children • California Sues Baby Furniture Manufacturers • Study Links BPA with Various Diseases • FDA Again Finds BPA Safe Despite Critics' Concerns • Consumer Advocates Blame Lobbyists for Delays in New Toy Safety Rules • Shower Curtains May Be Hazardous to Your Health • ‘Killer Cribs’ Study Finds Toxins in Common Baby Products • FDA Not Worried About BPA but Critics Demand Moratorium • Wal-Mart Bans BPA, Other Retailers Likely to Follow • War on Plastic Toys Escalates • Plastic War Hits The Toy Industry • Groups Warn Baby Bottles Leach Toxic Substance • Study Warns Chemical In Baby Shampoo May Cause Harm • 'Toxic' Water Bottles Take Top Spot in Dubious Data Awards • Group Hits Apple Over 'Toxic' iPhone • California Bans Plastic-Softening Chemical in Toys • Group Warns of Polluted Air Inside Cars • Watch Out for Hidden Toy Hazards

Many retail giants are taking preventive steps and banning PVC from toy products, hoping to stave off legal challenges from environmental activists.

Some of the chemicals, such as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, have been banned from toys in the European Union and California is also said to be considering a law making them illegal effective next year.

This scenario is causing retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp. and Sears Holdings Corp. to start programs to get rid of some of the toys and other products that contain PVC, concerned that children who chew on PVC could ingest dangerous chemicals.

This new development comes on the heels of toymakers recalling millions of toys to protect consumers from lead paint exposure.

What is interesting in this development is that the tradegroup that represents toymakers, The Toy Industry Association, has continued to maintain that PVC causes no harm to children, even as many of the group's members are quietly preparing to take such products off the shelves in the coming months.

In fact the first indications of what toys without PVC would look like will be unveiled this coming weekend when manufacturers attending the world's largest toy trade show, the American International Toy Fair, start showing up New York.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Green Toys Inc., a San Francisco-based start-up, will unveil several lines of toys made from organic and recycled plastics. The company has backing from several eco-friendly venture capital firms who see a huge marketing bonanza from the latest controversy and its offerings.

"Depending on how it is made, PVC frequently contains lead or other toxic metals. Vinyl chloride, used to make PVC, has been identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a carcinogen. Certain chemicals in the phthalate family, which often are used to soften PVC in toys and other products, have been linked by researchers to developmental and other health problems in children," says the Journal in a report this week.

In January, under pressure from Illinois authorities, Ty Inc., the maker of Beanie Babies, replaced its Jammin' Jenna dolls with a redesigned version using denim shoes instead of PVC ones. Testing had found the vinyl contained quantities of lead that exceeded the state's limit for children's products under a new law.

Last month, tests by the Center for Environmental Health found high levels of lead in several products, including certain vinyl coolers used for storing breast-milk bottles. Michigan also has a new law restricting lead levels in children's products, according to the Wall Street Journal.

However, pro-Vinyl groups are not giving up their campaign to prove their products are safe. The Vinyl Institute, a trade group, is launching a campaign to inform retailers that PVC is safe.

The battle for plastic has just begun.

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