Toxic chemicals are still (somehow) being used in products for kids
State laws show the extent of the ingredient safety issue for kids products
Legislators in places like Oregon, Washington, Vermont and other places see cause for concern
In absence of a more protective Federal laws to protect kids from exposure to chemicals in products designed for them, states and even local governments are taking action. Our state legislators are tackling this issue in part because of gaps in the federal approach to managing chemicals in products. But also because the science is clear that our kids are uniquely vulnerable when it comes to exposure to toxic chemicals. More on why kids need extra protection in this blog.
Here's the way these laws tend to work:
Step 1. Identify chemicals commonly used in children's products that have strong science linking them to potential health impacts
Step 2. Add those chemicals to a regulatory list
Step 3. Require manufacturers to disclose the presence of chemicals on the list in their products and make those disclosures publicly available
Step 4. In some states, manufacturers are required to phase out regulated chemicals for safer alternatives
Step 5. State agencies may issue civil penalties (fines) to companies who fail to disclose and/or meet phase-out deadlines
Not only are these laws driving reasonable transparency related to ingredients and chemicals used in products designed for our kids, but they are actually helping push the market to use safer alternatives.
Curious to see who is putting chemicals of concern in kids products?
Since a number of states have similar children's products safety laws on the books, they have banded together to make it easier to manage the ingredient disclosure requirements that are part of their regulations. If you’re curious about just how pervasive this problem is, we encourage you to do a quick search of this database managed by the Interstate Chemicals Clearinghouse (IC2), an NGO funded by a number of state agencies. From their website:
The IC2 High Priority Chemicals Data System (HPCDS) is an online platform that supports reporting of information on the presence of chemicals of concern in children’s products required by the Oregon Toxic-Free Kids Act (TFKA), the Washington Children’s Safe Products Act (CSPA), and the Vermont Chemical Disclosure Program (VT CDP), and priority chemicals in general consumer and commercial products required by Safer Products for Washington (SPWA).
You can search by chemical or company by selecting the corresponding button on the form. A search by company reveals a wide variety of companies and their brands have self-reported their intentional use as well as unintentional-added presence of chemicals of concern to children’s health in their products. In addition to providing some good transparency about which companies are using chemicals of concern in their products, we also like the database for a variety of other reasons including saving taxpayers money and making it easier for manufacturers to comply with the relevant laws.