The US Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ)
and the Teamsters Office of Consumer Affairs released its report,
the National Commission of Inquiry into Toxic
Toys, on November 18. While this report relates to toys
for sale in the US, consumers should be aware of these chemical
additives that might be in toys that end up under Canadian
Christmas trees this season.
Two years ago Toys "R" Us (TRU) committed to
reduce sale of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a type of plastic that is
toxic to human health and the environment, and to offer more
PVC-free products. The report highlights results of testing 60
randomly selected products from TRU and Babies
"R" Us. Of note, 72.5% of toys and
children's products tested contained high chlorine levels,
which indicates they are probably made of PVC. This means that TRU
failed to meet its commitment: the company continues to sell
made-in-China toys and infant products that contain and are
packaged in PVC, as well as organotins
