Wednesday, August 1, 2007

We've Been Leaded

I was planning on kicking back and visiting some blogs tonight when a small notice on msn.com caught my eye. Lead paint in toys. Again. Only this time it affects us. REALLY affects us. Why? I think I have only mentioned about a thousand times that Sprout is ga-ga over Dora the Explorer. Hence, we have about a thousand Dora-related items. Several of them are on the list. The recall list.

I feel guilty because here I was thinking that I was buying a treat for my daughter. Something that she really loves, and I was, instead, inadvertantly poisoning her. Some of the toys are a bit worn now, meaning, yes, some of the paint has flaked away. I am just thankful that she did habitually put them in her mouth. But when I think of the hours, HOURS, that she has played with these toys, it makes me sick.

Diana from Big Green Purse, at the time the Thomas the Tank Engine series was being recalled for the same exact reason, told us that it was time to stop buying toys from China. I wish I had listened to her advice.

7 comments:

mom go green said...

great post! i hadn't heard about the recall and am so thankful you told me. i hope you don't mind i'm linking to your post for my topic tomorrow. i want to help get the word out!

Anonymous said...

Will these recalls never end?! I am also going to link up to your post. I am actually excited to be the first in my mommy group to hear about this one. Usually, I am the last to know about these things. Is that bad of me or what?

Anonymous said...

Unbelievable! This is madness. I'll be linking to your post over at EnviroMom. Thanks for the heads up!

Katy said...

While I agree that these recalls are frightening, it's important to keep in mind that probably 95% of the toys in the US are made in China (not to mention most of our consumer goods). These are just a few recalls out of thousands upon thousands of toys on the market. It's an unfortunate situation that we have outsourced our manufacturing base to China, but what are our options now? Buy nice, high quality wooden toys from Germany? I certainly would love to but can't afford it for all of my purchases.

I am a little defensive of Chinese manufacturing because I have just started my own company with a product that is made in China. It's a very high quality yoga mat for children, and the quality is assured (I researched the material and factory conditions before buying and no, there are no yoga mat manufacturers in the US!).
www.lotuspadyogamats.com

There is SO much explosive growth in China right now, and there are bound to be some bad apples.

Gift of Green said...

Link away, ladies!

Katy - I agree with you that not buying from China is not an option for me. Has anyone read "A Year Without Made in China"? I guess I'm saying that I just need to be more selective in what I buy from China - maybe small plastic toys aren't the way to go - for a number of reasons. And we're not entirely off the hook either - I'm glad Fisher-Price issued a recall but I'm curious to know how these things happen in the first place. Your yoga mats are adorable and I would certainly not hesitate to buy one for my little yogis.

Katy said...

GOG,
I haven't read that, though it sounds interesting. I think small plastic toys (especially those made from PVC) are best to avoid no matter where they're from. Although little plastic toys (and bottles) are precisely what the little bean craves (and screams for). Wooden toys be damned!

Anonymous said...

Yes,I am a lot more careful about the provenance of all the items I buy. China is on the radar screen right now, but what about other countries? The safest alternative, and also the best for our planet is really to try to buy local as much as possible. This is one more incentive.

Also, thanks for stopping by my blog.

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