Thousands in Support of Toxic-free Children’s Toys in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan

Survey and monitoring conducted by AWHHE in the shop, Armenia

Project started to eliminate children’s toys with toxic substances from the market in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine by 2020
Source: AWHHE

Consumers in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are becoming more aware of the products they buy. This has become evident from the results of a study conducted by two non-governmental organizations dedicated to the idea and work for toxic-free toys for children.

WECF Partner and member of the Safe Toys Coalition “Armenian Women for Health and Healthy Environment” (AWHHE) and its Kyrgyz counterpart “Independent Ecological Expertise” (IEE) are currently running a project aiming towards further support of the already existing efforts to eliminate toxic substances in children’s toys from the market in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine by 2020. Read more

To learn more about toys safety and download the WECF guide 'Safe Toys', please visit WECF Safe Toys.

Testing confirms that toys sold on the EU market still contain chemicals of concern

WECF releases results of tests made on 29 toys sold in the Netherlands, France and Germany. Even if not representative of the global toys market, the tests give information on some of the hazardous chemicals which can be found in toys placed on the EU market. The road towards healthy toys still seems to be long.
To learn more, read WECF press release here.

WECF France and WECF the Netherlands organise Toys Events in November

A toys testing action on 16th November in Paris
Toys should not contain chemicals of concern that can be harmful to children’s health. To investigate the presence of brominated flame retardants, formaldehyde, benzene and other chemicals of concern in toys, WECF France organizes a toys testing action on November 16th in Paris.
Parents, children and all people willing to participate are invited to bring their toys and have them tested. Raising concerns about electromagnetic fields in toys will also be addressed.  The event is organized with the support of Quad-Lab laboratory. Read more

The First Dutch Ever Toys Convention on November 10 in Utrecht
The convention will be an informative and interactive afternoon attended by (concerned) parents, toy manufacturers, retailers, politicians, childcare workers, etc. In short, stakeholders, just like you.
Speakers and audience will collectively prepare  questions and statements which national and European parliamentarians can take with them.  During the convention everyone is invited to bring their toys and have them tested. Read more

Seminar in Skopje "Journalists workshop for toy's safety"

Journalists for Children and Women Rights and Environmental Protection, a Macedonian NGO and partner of WECF, orgnised a seminar on toys safety on May 27 2011.

The Info Centre of the Delegation of the European Commission in Skopje was the location where participants and journalists from all types of media gathered. The seminar was organised as part of the “Product and Chemical Safety in the Balkans“ project. The event was visited by journalists and  representatives of SAICM and national institutions from Macedonia, as well the partners of the project from Serbia- Resource Center Leskovac and the Albania-Women's movement for Integral Development. Read more

For more information on toys safety please visit WECF website on Chemicals & Health.

Lead levels in new enamel household paints from Asia, Africa and South America

In 2006 a report on the analysis for lead in 80 new residential paints from four countries in Asia revealed high levels in three of the countries (China, India and Malaysia) and low levels in a fourth country (Singapore) where a lead in paint regulation was enforced. Read more

The lead content of currently available new residential paint in several Asian countries

Worldwide prohibitions on lead gasoline additives were a major international public health accomplishment, the results of which are still being documented in parts of the world. Although the need to remove lead from paints has been recognized for over a century, evidence reported in this article indicates that lead-based paints for household use, some containing more than 10% lead, are readily available for purchase in some of the largest countries in the world. Read more

Cadmium in in children's jewlery: high exposure when mothed or swallowed!

Scientists revealed very concerning findings in a study, published in the peer-review journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). Children who mouth or swallow cadmium containing jewelerymay be exposed to as much as 100 times the recommended maximum exposure limit to this toxic metal. The study revealed that damaged pieces leached in some cases up to 30 times more Cadmium than undamaged ones. The researchers found results, which indicate that the longer a cadmium containing piece stays in the child´s stomach, the more of the toxic metal leaches.
Cadmium can cause kidney, bone, lung and liver disease.

Read the article on Science Daily and the abstract on ehp. Download the original study from ehp here.

High levels of Phtalates found in childcare dust

A studie conducted by the German NGO BUND has revealed that in dust, collected in German childcare institutions, high levels of the phatalates DINP and DEHP were found. Here you can read more in German about the study. The European Union classifies DEHP officially as toxic to the reproductive system, DINP is not yet classified. The levels of these softeners were on average thrice as high as as those found in German households in a survey conducted by the German federal environment agency (UBA).
Softeners in toys are allready banned, but still allowed in other products.

Toxic chemicals in toys - new articel

The articel "Toxic chemicals in toys and Childern's Products: Limitations of current Responses and Recommendations for Government and Industry" by Monica Becker, Sally Edwards and Rachel Massey was published in the environmental science and technology feature.
How are governments, industry and NGOs reacting to the fact that toxic chemicals are found in toys and other childerns products? What could one of them do to tackle this thread?
These are some of the questions the authors try to answer.