Phthalates In Toys- Which Toys Are Now Safe?

Congress approved a federal ban on phthalates (7/08) used in making children's products, because they could cause a variety of health issues. The European Community banned phthalates in toys two years before.

Phthalates are used to soften plastics (PVC/vinyl primarily) in children's toys like dolls, teething and bath toys. They can leach from the products and potentially cause reproductive harm, especially in infant males. The possible harm that phthalates can cause, is most significant from toys that are mouthed by younger children.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission imposed a permanent ban on three dangerous phthalates DEHP, DBP and BBP in concentration of more than 0.1%, for "children's toys" or "child care articles" used by children younger than 12.Three additional phthalates, DINP, DIDP, and DnOP, have been prohibited pending further study and review by a group of outside experts and the Commission. This interim prohibition applies to child care articles or toys that can be placed in a child's mouth or brought to the mouth and kept in the mouth so that it can be sucked or chewed that contains a concentration of more than 0.1% of the above phthalates.

The 2009 Deadline For Compliance
2009 is the transition year for new rulings to take effect. All toys produced after Feb. 10, 2009 must comply with the guidelines. Given the lead time for shipping and distribution, these products started hitting the shelves in April. What about all the millions of toys on the shelves that were produced before?
Some major retailers put the ruling into effect earlier. Unfortunately, products are not required to show their phthalate content on packaging~ so how can you know whether a toy complies or not?

Date Coding~ Your Only Way To Know!
Most toy companies now date-code their products. There is no set format, but typically the code will show Date/Month/Year. This is your key to knowing if a toy complies. Made Safe™ members are required to use date coding. So what should you do if you don't see a date code?

You can trust any product sold in Wal-Mart or Toys R Us. They will be compliant. If shopping elsewhere, then we suggest this simple guideline: play it safe and only buy a date-coded toy made on or after Feb. 10, 2009. We highly recommend this for any toy that will possibly wind up in a child's mouth, and contains vinyl.

Hard plastics, intended for use by older children, pose little or no risk. Many plastics have always met the new Federal Guidelines for phthalates. Another idea is to ask the store owner or manager if the toys comply. If the individual doesn't know and there is no date code, then assume it doesn't comply.

Although the use of phthalate compliant plastics has added to the cost of toys, this is truly a victory for our children. While further research may prove or disprove these dangers, for now we have safer toys.