Dangerous Plastics

A question frequently posed on this blog is “what is the cumulative effect of exposure to low levels of lead from a large array of products over a long period of time?” Unfortunately, we don’t really know. But to be entirely honest, I’ve never been too concerned with lead. My home does not contain lead […]

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Get the Lead Out

Dangerous levels of lead have been discovered in vinyl baby bibs — first by an Illinois grandmother and then by the Center for Environmental Health, which found levels as high as three times the allowed amount.  The New York Times also hired a laboratory to conduct tests which yielded similar results.  According to the article, the CPSC had the following […]

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Can Mattel Lead the Way to Safety?

Mattel is recalling some 19 million additional toys, some due to lead contamination and most because of dangerous magnets.   Again, experts in the industry note that Mattel sets the gold standard for safety in toy production…so what does that mean for everyone else?  According to the New York Times:
“If I went down the shelves of Wal-Mart and […]

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Open Letter to Mattel CEO Robert Eckert

Dear Mr. Eckert,
I am the mother of a two-and-a-half year old who loves Dora, Diego and Elmo.  We have several of the items from the list of recently recalled Fisher-Price toys in our home at this very moment, although they were purchased before May 2007 and thus are not subject to the recall (but they are […]

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Mattel’s Image Tarnished by Lead Paint

Just days after the New York Times ran a story about Mattel, the world’s largest toy company, setting the “gold standard” for manufacturing in China, Mattel announced the recall of nearly a million toys due to the presence of lead paint.  The recall included 83 different products made under the Fisher-Price name and based on popular Sesame Street […]

Popularity: 66% [?]