It seems that in the name of making a fast buck and keeping our little girls in cheap pretty jewelry, some manufacturers have replaced lead with cadmium. Lead is known to cause impaired intellect, memory loss, kidney and renal problems to name a few. Cadmium, on the other hand is known to cause kidney and renal problems,  respiratory and musculoskeletal system problems, and more.

Seems to me that the switch wasn’t motivated by the consumers’ best interest but rather to continue making money. Consumers are becoming much savvier though and a simple switch in toxins isn’t going to cut it anymore. We now have many organizations monitoring the marketplace and blowing the whistle when businesses make bad decisions in the name of profit.

It is true that some of the larger corporations have pulled the offending merchandise. However, maybe there is a better solution: not putting toxic products on the shelves in the first place. There are stores that strive to ensure that what they sell is fun and safe. I suggest we shop at local stores that take the time to know as much about their products as they can.

Dreampower makes costumes that can transform any little girl into a princess. Most are handmade in St. Jacob’s in Ontario. The costumes are made to be everyday dress up that can be handed down again and again. What they do not make themselves, they carefully source to ensure that what they do sell is safe and lasting.

Undine Jewellery is another Canadian success story, which sells fun, colourful jewellery for kids. Rima Macikuna ensures that the materials she works with are safe, sourcing her silver from Canada and Italy to ensure that it is not mixed with lead. She also uses glass beads for the majority of her work, as they are beautiful and safe to wear. When she does use metal, she works hard to ensure that they are safe.

In chatting with Sarah from Dreampower and Rima from Undine Jewellery, they both commented on how challenging it is to source safe materials, but with determination both of these Canadian companies are doing everything they can to bring our children safe products that are also incredibly gorgeous and lasting.

Tags: cadmium, kids' jewellery, lead, safe toys, toxic toys

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 11:57 am and is filed under Children & Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.