US Toys'R'Us to ban phthalates by year's end

15 February 2008 23:54  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US toy retailer Toys"R"Us will phase out phthalates in all of its juvenile products by the end of 2008, the company said on Friday.

Toys"R"Us also said it would reduce the amount of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in its products and packaging, but it did not set any deadline by which it would stop using PVC.

Toy"R"Us is the nation’s second largest toy retailer after Wal-Mart, which also responded to pressure from environmental groups with a recent pledge to phase out PVC packaging.

Other major US retailers, including Target and Sears, have also made similar moves against PVC use, although the Vinyl Institute, a US trade group, says that PVC is not a carcinogen, as some environmental groups have claimed.

The tide is turning even more quickly against phthalates, which are additives mainly used in used in PVC applications to confer useful toy-manufacturing characteristics, such as malleability and softness.

Various types of phthalates are already banned in California and the European Union, and recent a study by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that phthalates can damage the reproductive systems of children.

However, these results are disputed by chemical industry trade groups. In addition, the director of public affairs for the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said the commission has done extensive research on phthalates and determined that the additives are not a significant risk to safety and health. 

Toys"R"Us also announced on Friday it was implementing tougher standards concerning the amount of lead in surface coatings. The company would use lead-screening equipment to ensure that the standards were met.

Last year, several widely publicised toy recalls were issued after the toys’ surface coatings were found to contain dangerously high levels of lead.

For more on PVC visit ICIS chemical intelligence

By: Greg Holt
+1 713 525 2653

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