AS FILIPINOS usher in the “ber” months leading to the holiday season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to be reminded of protecting children from hazardous chemicals. Yes, we mean the toxic toys for kids.
During these “ber” months, we must raise consumer awareness on toy safety. The toy industry has the responsibility to make sure that play things sold in toy stores and online shopping platforms are not only affordable, but also harmless and of good quality. Manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers, including online dealers, have a crucial role in ensuring that toys placed on the market conform to the highest safety and quality standards as verified by government regulators.
In countless test buys conducted, the environmental group EcoWaste Coalition has seen toys, especially those targeted for the C-D-E market, posing chemical and other hazards to children who can be very vulnerable to injuries and chemical exposures. Even toys that have been the subject of public health warnings issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are still being sold with impunity.
On Jan. 22, 2020 the FDA through Advisory No. 2020-042 warned the public from purchasing and using unnotified and adulterated toys and childcare articles laden with excessive amounts of DEHP and DINP phthalates, which are added to plastics to make them flexible and soft. Phthalates are known endocrine disrupting chemicals linked to reproductive health problems like malformed penises and undescended testicles in boys and the early onset of puberty in girls.
In addition to toxic chemicals like phthalates in soft plastic toys, there are other hazards in toys that parents and children should be concerned about. Toys with small parts may be ingested causing choking, or, in some instances, get pushed into the nostrils or ears. Toys with pointed or sharp edges may injure the eyes or cut the skin. Toys with cords longer than 12 inches may cause strangulation. There are also toys with the potential to cause blunt force injury or trauma.
Let us protect our children from toxic toys.
