Safe Shopping for Kids

[ysabetwordsmith]

I was deeply perturbed by this post from Illinois PIRG:

We release our annual toy safety report today, and not a moment too soon!
Last week, at the behest of the Bush administration, the Consumer Product Safety Commission -- the agency charged with keeping toys and other products safe -- announced they would let manufacturers ignore Congress and allow them to sell toys laden with toxic phthalates until they run out.
You helped us pass the bill to get these toys out of stores and out of the hands of children. Don't let them roll back this landmark piece of legislation.
Send an e-mail today to the CPSC. Tell them to protect kids, not chemical companies.
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org/action/product-safety/protect-kids?id4=ES
The ban on children's toys containing phthalates was the centerpiece of the landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act legislation that you helped pass in August. That law very clearly stated that all toys with over-the-limit levels of phthalates would need to be off store shelves by February, 2009.
In fact, our toy safety report found plenty of toys that exceeded the phthalate (and lead) limit.[1]
It's bad enough that shoppers need to be on the lookout for dangerous toys this holiday season. If the Bush administration gets its way, manufacturers will keep selling existing toxic toys until they run out.
That could take years.
We're fighting back.
Please take a moment and urge the CPSC to protect kids, not toxic chemical companies like Exxon Mobil.
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org/action/product-safety/protect-kids?id4=ES
Sincerely,
Brian Imus
Illinois PIRG State Director
BrianI@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org
P.S. You can download the report on our Web site.
[1] The new law limits these phthalates to a total of less than 0.6 percent by weight in toys. Our EPA-certified lab tests found one toy that was nearly half phthalates, nearly 47 percent toxic chemicals.

I think the most effective response is to hit them where they live: in the pocketbook. Send a message they'll understand. Dear Megacorps, I'm sorry to hear that you can't afford to make safe toys. I'll be shopping elsewhere, like here:

Planet Happy Kids
Childtrek Natural Toys
Organic Toybox
Fat Brain Toys
Huge blog list of nontoxic toys
Another blog list of bath toys
Safe toy blog

You might even mention to the safe companies why they got your business. Remember that every dollar you spend is a little green folding vote. Don't give those to companies with detestable practices. Give them to companies whose business ethics meet your standards.