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Take Action! Urge Congress to Ban Phthalates from Kid’s Toys

Lead contamination in toys prompted mass recalls last year, but toxic chemicals called phthalates are also widespread in toys and still legal in most states. Three U.S. Representatives now have the opportunity to change that, and they need to hear from you to make the safe choice for our kids.

Phthalates make plastic toys and teethers soft and flexible, but when kids put them in their mouths, phthalates can leach from toy to child. Phthalates have been linked to a number of serious health problems including birth defects, early puberty (a risk factor for breast cancer) and testicular cancer. They have no place in our children's toys, especially since safe alternatives exist.

California and Washington have banned phthalates from toys, as has the European Union and 14 other countries. In March, the U.S. Senate passed a critical amendment authored by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) to the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act, which would ban phthalates in children's toys and childcare articles.

Now, a bipartisan congressional conference committee is reconciling differences between House and Senate versions of the Act—including the phthalates amendment. But House members of the conference committee have not yet committed to—and may even oppose—including the Senate ban on phthalates in the final bill.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) and Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) could hold the deciding votes. All three have a long history of leadership on behalf of defending children's health and consumer protections.

They need to know that we are counting on them to once again protect the health of children across the nation. Urge them to support children's health by voting to include the Feinstein amendment in the final CPSC Act.

November 21, 2009

Subject:

Dear Congressmember:

I am writing to express my strong support for including the Feinstein Amendment restricting the use of six toxic phthalates in children’s toys in the House/Senate Conference Committee reconciliation of the Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act (CPSC Act).

In the past year, we have learned that toys are not as safe as we once thought. Thomas the Tank Engine and other toys manufactured in China – and the U.S. -- were recalled en masse because of lead contamination.  The CPSC Act is addressing high levels of lead in children’s toys.  But lead is not the only toxic chemical in toys that parents are worried about.  Phthalates are another family of unsafe chemicals commonly found in our children’s toys.

Phthalates (pronounced “THA-lates”) are toxic chemicals used in many soft, plastic toys like rubber ducks, teething rings and bath books and can leech out of these toys when children chew on them. Scientists worldwide have linked phthalates to early onset of puberty in girls, birth defects in baby boys, testicular cancer and liver problems.

Fortunately, there is a solution that will help protect our children from these dangerous chemicals. The Feinstein Senate amendment would prohibit the manufacture, sale, and distribution of children’s products that contain phthalates and protect laws enacted by the states to more strictly regulate phthalates in toys and other product categories.   By eliminating unnecessary exposure to phthalates in children’s products, the United States will join the European Union and 14 other countries in requiring the safest toys for its children.

California and Washington have recently passed measures to ban the use of these chemicals in toys and ten other states have introduced similar measures.   Now, Congress has the opportunity to provide all of our children the same level of protection afforded now to the children in just a few states.

You have shown leadership over the years on behalf of important public health and environmental health issues.   I am asking you to once again be a leader on behalf of children’s health by supporting the inclusion of the Feinstein Senate amendment to ban toxic phthalates from children’s toys and childcare articles – and protect the states’ ability to further regulate phthalates - in the reconciled version of the House/Senate Consumer Product Safety Commission Reform Act.

Sincerely,

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