Happy Thanksgiving. Welcome to the holiday season, which officially began last night with Thanksgiving eve festivities.
Thanksgiving is a holiday for children, a day to think about what we put in our mouths and a day when many of us begin to think about that other holiday, which is now less than a month away.
Nineteen Ninety-Eight will be remembered as a good year for toys and a healthy year for children, because this is the year when toymakers began to turn their backs on vinyl. Vinyl is the popular name for polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. It is a plastic that is nearly ubiquitous in our society, from vinyl siding to plumbing to car interiors. Vinyl is also used to make toys – soft toys for children.
Small children put everything in their mouths – it’s part of their job description. Too often, those things are made of vinyl. Some things children are supposed to put in their mouths – like teething rings – are also made of vinyl. Soft vinyl is made soft by mixing the plastic with chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates can account for more than half the weight of the plastic. There are two problems with phthalates – one – they leach out of soft plastic and – two – they have been linked to cancer and disruption of hormonal development.
Give a child a soft vinyl toy and he or she sticks it in her or his mouth and starts sucking out the poison. Obviously, this is not a good situation. That’s why five European nations are banning soft vinyl toys and Canada is issuing consumer warnings. Here in the U.S., where it takes a village to raise a child, the government is doing — nothing, but the toymakers are starting to listen to environmentalists and advocates for children’s health.
Get your pencils ready, you may want to take some notes before you begin your holiday shopping. The following companies have pledged to stop the use of vinyl altogether – Lego, Little Tikes – which is a division of Rubbermaid – and Nike athletic shoes. Now all those folks in the Asian sweatshops can stop worrying about Michael Jordan’s feet. The following companies have pledged to stop selling soft vinyl made with phthalates, but will still sell vinyl in other forms – Gerber, Safety First, First Years, Toys “R” Us and Mattel.
This latter group is an odd collection of corporations. One would think Gerber, known more for baby food than baby toys, would be in the hard-line anti-vinyl group. Same goes for companies with names like “Safety First” and “First Years.” Toys “R” Us is, like Nike, a corporation so consistently caught engaging in shady practices that they need to generate all the goodwill they can.
Finally, there’s Mattel, one of the big American toymakers, whose best-known toy – Barbie – is made from vinyl. Mattel says Barbie is a toy for older children and will continue to be made with vinyl.
In one light, Barbie is the perfect symbol and warning for the hormonal hazards presented by toxic toys. As we all know, Barbie and Ken cannot have children. In fact, Barbie and Ken do not have genitals. Children, and adults whose tastes are somewhat – ahem – offbeat, should be advised not to suck on Barbie.
Getting vinyl out of toys is a good first step, but it remains only that – a first step. Next is hospital supplies and then building supplies. As the old saying goes, a child shall lead them.
From the Mouths of Babes
Happy Thanksgiving. Welcome to the holiday season, which officially began last night with Thanksgiving eve festivities.
Thanksgiving is a holiday for children, a day to think about what we put in our mouths and a day when many of us begin to think about that other holiday, which is now less than a month away.
Nineteen Ninety-Eight will be remembered as a good year for toys and a healthy year for children, because this is the year when toymakers began to turn their backs on vinyl. Vinyl is the popular name for polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. It is a plastic that is nearly ubiquitous in our society, from vinyl siding to plumbing to car interiors. Vinyl is also used to make toys – soft toys for children.
Small children put everything in their mouths – it’s part of their job description. Too often, those things are made of vinyl. Some things children are supposed to put in their mouths – like teething rings – are also made of vinyl. Soft vinyl is made soft by mixing the plastic with chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates can account for more than half the weight of the plastic. There are two problems with phthalates – one – they leach out of soft plastic and – two – they have been linked to cancer and disruption of hormonal development.
Give a child a soft vinyl toy and he or she sticks it in her or his mouth and starts sucking out the poison. Obviously, this is not a good situation. That’s why five European nations are banning soft vinyl toys and Canada is issuing consumer warnings. Here in the U.S., where it takes a village to raise a child, the government is doing — nothing, but the toymakers are starting to listen to environmentalists and advocates for children’s health.
Get your pencils ready, you may want to take some notes before you begin your holiday shopping. The following companies have pledged to stop the use of vinyl altogether – Lego, Little Tikes – which is a division of Rubbermaid – and Nike athletic shoes. Now all those folks in the Asian sweatshops can stop worrying about Michael Jordan’s feet. The following companies have pledged to stop selling soft vinyl made with phthalates, but will still sell vinyl in other forms – Gerber, Safety First, First Years, Toys “R” Us and Mattel.
This latter group is an odd collection of corporations. One would think Gerber, known more for baby food than baby toys, would be in the hard-line anti-vinyl group. Same goes for companies with names like “Safety First” and “First Years.” Toys “R” Us is, like Nike, a corporation so consistently caught engaging in shady practices that they need to generate all the goodwill they can.
Finally, there’s Mattel, one of the big American toymakers, whose best-known toy – Barbie – is made from vinyl. Mattel says Barbie is a toy for older children and will continue to be made with vinyl.
In one light, Barbie is the perfect symbol and warning for the hormonal hazards presented by toxic toys. As we all know, Barbie and Ken cannot have children. In fact, Barbie and Ken do not have genitals. Children, and adults whose tastes are somewhat – ahem – offbeat, should be advised not to suck on Barbie.
Getting vinyl out of toys is a good first step, but it remains only that – a first step. Next is hospital supplies and then building supplies. As the old saying goes, a child shall lead them.
Happy Thanksgiving.