Secondhand toys are an effective way to chop down on bills and be much less of a burden on the setting on the identical time, however one wants to contemplate what sort of poisonous chemical compounds – as soon as considered innocent, however now banned – are in that previous plastic doll and people vintage Lego bricks as they might have come onto the market underneath laxer restrictions for sure poisonous substances.
But new toys can include hazardous chemical compounds as nicely. So what are dad and mom to do?
In a examine revealed just lately within the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, Swedish researchers examined 157 previous and new plastic toys and dress-up objects. They discovered that almost 84% of the previous contained probably poisonous chemical compounds exceeding present authorized limits, together with phthalates and short-chain chlorinated paraffins, used as plasticizers and flame-retardants, that will disrupt kids’s growth and hormones.
“The concentrations of poisonous substances have been considerably larger within the older objects,” mentioned Bethanie Carney Almroth, who led the examine, performed on the Interdisciplinary Centre for Future Chemical Risk Assessment and Management Strategies (FRAM) on the University of Gothenburg.
“For example, many of the old balls were found to have concentrations of phthalates totaling more than 40% of the toy’s weight, which is 400 times over the legal limit.”
The findings did not shock Kerstin Effers, a chemist on the client recommendation middle within the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who mentioned customers ought to avoid older mushy plastic toys: “You shouldn’t buy them second hand for a simple reason: The European Union’s ban on certain hormone-damaging phthalates in toys didn’t go into effect until 2005.”
She mentioned dad and mom have usually requested the middle whether or not it was secure to cross on their previous dolls. “Upon inquiry, manufacturers confirmed to us that they had used the now banned plasticizers at the time, since they were still permitted back then and less was know about their risks,” remarks Effers.
But older exhausting plastic toys pose dangers as nicely, as exemplified by Lego bricks. A examine by British researchers revealed within the journal Environmental Science and Technology in 2018 discovered that yellow and crimson bricks made between 1960 and 1981, specifically, contained quantities of cadmium that far exceed EU limits immediately.
But you may reward a toddler an untreated, stable wooden toy in all conscience as long as it is nonetheless intact and with none unfastened components, mentioned Effers, including that there is little purpose to fret about it harboring pathogens.
“Old toys can be cleaned, and those made of cloth can be washed,” she mentioned.
New toys aren’t essentially freed from dangerous substances, Effers factors out. In the Swedish examine, practically 30% of the newer plastic toys and dress-up objects that have been examined contained probably poisonous compounds exceeding EU limits. And it is merely not but clear whether or not, and to what diploma, many newly added or substituted substances could also be dangerous to well being.
What’s essential, Effers mentioned, is to look at each new and used toys with your entire senses. This consists of feeling whether or not there are any sharp edges or components that may break off and be swallowed. You must also take note of any pronounced or disagreeable smells.
“Besides that, there are flaws that may not pose a safety risk but show a lack of quality control,” she mentioned. “If the lettering is crooked and the seams aren’t straight – obvious imperfections that were overlooked, in other words – it’s certain that little care was given to chemical management as well.”
Poorly made toys of this type are sometimes marketed on-line by sellers headquartered outdoors the EU. Effers strongly advises towards shopping for from them, and mentioned warning can be warranted in regard to toys for which solely the tackle of an importer is listed. An different, she mentioned, are smaller proprietary items producers and social workshops that clearly state what their toys are fabricated from.
Quality seals may also present orientation for customers. There aren’t many for toys, however one – for stuffed toys – is the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), Effers mentioned. A CE marking, for its half, affirms a product’s compliance with EU security, well being and environmental necessities.
“It’s only a self-declaration by the manufacturer that it has complied with EU laws, and doesn’t have to be verified by an independent third party,” notes Effers.
The date of certification can be essential. As talked about above, the EU’s ban on sure phthalates in toys did not go into impact till 2005, and all toys that acquired a CE marking earlier than that date have retained it.
In May 2021, the EU launched stricter limits on aluminum and formaldehyde migration in toys, and in December, a regulation proscribing aniline – a carcinogenic part of dyes – in sure toys goes into impact.
At the top of the day, security and environmentally-conscious customers face a dilemma, concedes Effers: “On the one hand, we recommend using things as long as possible to save resources and generate less rubbish. On the other hand, this can be problematic when it comes to toys.”
She mentioned it is higher to present kids an expertise as a gift fairly than toys, for example, a day doing handicrafts or a go to to a pony farm.
“Kids usually have plenty of toys already, so many parents are probably thankful when relatives don’t add to the piles of presents under the Christmas tree,” Effers mentioned. “Especially considering that children will remember such experiences much longer than the umpteenth toy.”
