I’m no activist. Now I’m just a pissed off parent, who is sick of not being able to buy a toy that isn’t “Made in China”, grapes that aren’t grown in Chile or Argentina (where if I recall correctly–DDT is still in use), or clothes that aren’t “Made in Honduras” by small children in sweat shops who get paid ten cents a day to work 12 hours and miss out on an education.

I know I’m exaggerating to an extent, but once I tried to go a whole month without buying something made in China due to their human rights violations. I only lasted 3 weeks and it was a rough 3 weeks. If it’s not something I can do without, I try to find an alternative made in the USA and then buy that, even if it’s more expensive. If everyone did that, the tide might shift.

I challenge readers to take a week, or even one trip to the store, and look at where everything you pick up is manufactured. It’s truly frightening. How does anyone in this country even make a living you have to wonder?

Not really. I don’t need to research to know that a toy made of plastic, in China, is probably not good for society or the environment in general. I’m pretty sure that the $5 toy I pick up at Walmart was not made with good ethics, and that the people making these toys are not paid a fair wage.

2. Do you provide your feedback to companies? For example, on how you’d like them to perform on environmental and social measures?

No, I have never thought about doing that before.

3. If you are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of toy manufacturers:

Have you noticed the latest news about Mattel toy recalls and their safety concerns of the toys they produce?

Absolutely. These recalls were the first to alert me to the fact that perhaps all was not well in Toyland.

Has this lead you to changing your buying habits over the past few months?

Definitely. I used to buy any toy I saw, willy nilly. However, I’ve recently stopped purchasing all plastic toys, and any toys made in China. It’s not just toys, either. I am trying to pay more attention to where my stuff is made.

Do you think this news has impacted sales in a positive or negative way?

I think it affected sales negatively at first, but that it’s already faded away. People have short memories, or they think that things have actually changed. As though these companies had a few recalls, so they totally changed their ways. I don’t believe it.

The latest financial reports on Hasbro and Mattel do not reflect that consumers are concerned with issues of the environment or safety. So where can I see how this news impacts parents?

I don’t think most people are concerned any more. The next wave of recalls will get them concerned again, and then they’ll forget all over again. I know for myself, I will not be buying any mainstream toys anymore, nor will I allow others to buy them for my children. It’s not just the lead threats, either but the sheer amount of plastic already covering our poor planet, the sheer amount of toys littering my house, and the poor living and working conditions for factory workers.

You get what you pay for. You pay $10 for a plastic battery-operated toy, likely your child will play with it for a few days, and when it breaks, or the battery dies, or the novelty wears off, you are left with nothing but trash. Even though I am broke broke broke, I am willing to pay more for a quality toy that I can be sure isn’t going to poison my children’s bodies.

Not as much time as I should spend learning how products are made.. but I can tell you that if I hear anything or see anything written about unethical corporate behaviour in relation to products that it definitely sticks in my mind, and I won’t buy products from those companies. I get my information from friends, from the news, from alternate media sources, from websites, from union and political sources etc. I trust the information outright if it is from a reputable source, if I’m not so familiar with the source or I think they could have their own agenda then I research them and the product on the internet.

2. Do you provide your feedback to companies? For example, on how you’d like them to perform on environmental and social measures?
Very occassionally, if there is a good opportunity or if it is a big purchase - like investing my money in shares.

3. If you are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of toy manufacturers:

Have you noticed the latest news about Mattel toy recalls and their safety concerns of the toys they produce?
Yes.

Has this lead you to changing your buying habits over the past few months?
I’m not a big purchaser of Mattel products currently.

Do you think this news has impacted sales in a positive or negative way?
Probably no real impact at this point.

The latest financial reports on Hasbro and Mattel do not reflect that consumers are concerned with issues of the environment or safety. So where can I see how this news impacts parents?

Australia recently experienced a scandal where one of the leading imported toys was found to dissolve into chemicals resembling ecstacy if swallowed. Children almost died, this kind of scare captures media attention and parents are motivated to increase their awareness of the toys they purchase.

1. Absolutely, out of sheer necessity and fighting the inertia to just buy what is on sale or readily available. And believe me, as the mother of two young children, this is hard, but I feel necessary in our current world where corporations rule what is in most of our products. I research product ingredients for my children at the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database, looking for ingredients that are deemed the least potentially harmful and the best rated. I also research and consider the environmental impacts of purchases, such as packaging, potential recycling or reusing, and I read environmental literature and websites to gain more of an understanding around those issues.

2. I don’t, because most of the companies I support are ones that are making good environmental and social decisions. But not all are. So, I should be contacting companies about this, but truthfully, it takes a good deal of time to do the product research for a household, and there is only so much time. I try to think of it as voting with my money. I can’t always do this, however, because of finances. If I could, I would be wearing only organic cotton, clothes from Patagonia, living in a house with only solar, eating solely organic seasonal food… you get the idea!

3. Yes! Yes! Yes! Did I mention yes? I have been very concerned about the recalls and it has mostly definitely changed my buying habits and the habits of my friends and family. For example, this Christmas I bought only toys made in the US, constructed from wood, with a non-toxic finish (also from a small family owned business). My blog called Non-Toxic Kids is all about product safety, environmental and social concerns for families. It is getting more and more traffic everyday. Parents care about what they are exposing their kids to, where their money is going, and what companies are doing to help our world. My friends discuss these issues frequently, and are less and less likely to trust and buy mainstream toys because of the quality issues we have seen in this past year. I know that as more and more people learn about the labor, social and environmental issues surrounding Wal-Mart, many people refuse to shop there as much as possible.

To see what parents are talking and caring about with product safety (such as exposure to lead and chemicals and children’s products) look to the increasing news reports from mainstream media about these issues. Look at recent books such as Exposed, the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What is At Stake for America’s Power by Mark Schapiro. And also look at what I would think would be increased interest in toy safety reports (such as the one released by healthytoys.org in December- I could barely access the site because of all the traffic), and the online discussions and activism through blogs and groups like momsrising.org. There are also bills in state legislators pending about reducing exposure to lead, phthalates, and there is a new congressional inquiry about the chemical Bisphenol A in baby products. All of these points to parents and lawmakers thinking, talking, and worrying about (and hopefully acting on) these issues. A recent article in Newsweek said that chemicals showing up in our bodies from products, starting in utero, will be the next major environmental issue after global warming. This is huge, and more and more people are paying attention to it. It would be wise of companies to make their products EU compliant as soon as possible, because people are looking at their standards as way more progressive towards protecting our kid’s health.

Thanks for asking these questions. I would be glad to expand on any of these thoughts via phone or email. Please visit my blog (Non-Toxic Kids at http://nontoxickids.blogspot.com) for contact information and more information on environmental health and safety issues that parents are talking about.