I received this in an email and felt it warranted a blog post of its very own. And yes, this is for real! Thanks for reading. To learn about some of the harmful effects of phthalates click here.
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It was more than a year ago that we first began to see the reports about the millions of toys recalled for toxic lead and other hazards. The news was shocking, and we weren't alone in calling on Congress to take swift action to protect our kids.
But more than a year later -- despite the outcry, despite the clear need for reform -- Congress hasn't delivered a bill to make toys safer.
And you won't believe what's holding it up now:
ExxonMobil, the world's richest oil company, is standing in the way. Why? The company wants to kill a provision that would ban toxic phthalates from plastic toys. ExxonMobil just happens to be one of the largest manufacturers of that chemical.
Unbelievable.
Please sign our letter to the congressional leadership. Tell them to stand up to ExxonMobil and deliver a toy safety bill that really protects our kids:
http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES
After 45 million children's products were pulled from store shelves in 2007, I can hardly believe that we're still waiting for Congress to act.
Earlier this year, both the House and Senate passed a version of a bill to improve toy safety. But now, as the final bill is being hammered out, ExxonMobil has joined forces with the toy industry and the chemical industry in an all out attempt to weaken this bill.
And with precious little time left to pass a strong bill -- Congress will recess in August -- ExxonMobil just might get its way. That is, unless we can keep the pressure on Congress to deliver the strong toy safety bill they've promised.
Help us make it happen. Please sign our letter to congressional leadership:
http://www.uspirg.org/action/product-safety/toy-safety-bill?id4=ES
Then, send this message to a few friends and ask them to take action, too.
Let's make sure when it comes to toy safety, Congress sides with America's children, not with Exxon Mobil.
Sincerely,
Joe Rupp
TexPIRG Citizen Outreach Director
JoeR@texpirg.org
http://www.TexPIRG.org
1 comment:
yes. Its all about government and corporations and pocketbooks. Same problem with vaccine safety. So far, California (of course) is the only state to ban toys made with phthalates. This is supposed to be done by 2009.
Phthalates are so widely used. Shampoo bottles, cleaning products, basically any plastic that you can reasonably bend or squeeze. So, you stop using those items, then you have to watch out for the really hard plastic that you can't squeeze b/c then the concern for BPA comes into play.
Its crazy!
I just try to do as much research on specific toys as possible, especially the ones that will be going into her mouth.
At least there's a big push for the Bisphenol-A to be removed from store shelves. By some time next year, Walmart & B-RUS will both no longer carry baby / toddler items that release BPA. (polycarbonate products)
Good post!
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