Baby Products Made In China—To Buy or Not to Buy?
As a parent, you’re always going to take negative information about baby products seriously. And let’s face it, the recent press about toxic toys and other baby products manufactured in China is pretty overwhelming. Couple that with the fact so many affordable baby products, including 80 percent of toys, are made in China, and you have to wonder what options you have to keep your baby safe.
If you think buying only American-made products is your best bet, think again. HealthyToys.org “has not found a consistent correlation between the country of manufacture and the presence of toxic chemicals in toys. 21% of toys from China and 16% of those from all other countries had detectable levels of lead in 2008. 17 toys manufactured in the U.S. were sampled and 35% of those had detectable levels of lead.” Lead and other chemicals have been found in all types of baby products from all types of stores. Even name-brand and high-end products have been found to contain lead and other hazards.
Back to square one. While the US and China work on enacting more stringent restrictions on various chemicals in children’s products, we’re still uneasy about our daily baby-product purchases, so many of which seem to have been made in China. Why is that? Simple. Prohibitive US manufacturing costs. American product designers would love to use American-based manufacturers, but most people can’t afford what they’d have to charge for an item, so designers look to manufacturing companies overseas.
It all comes down to oversight by the US-based designers who have their products manufactured in other countries. For example, Atlanta, GA-based baby-gift designer Baby Aspen works with their Chinese manufacturers to make absolutely sure their products are safe. Their Web site includes the following affirmation: “Rest assured that all our baby gifts are safe and lead-free. Our company has a rigid testing process in place for lead content in every baby gift we manufacture. Baby Aspen’s mission is, always has been, and always will be to keep our little "end users" safe, secure and happy.” Even Mattel, which owns Fisher-Price and manufactures in China, has a Product Safety page on their Web site that addresses their quality and safety standards.
To buy or not to buy? When you consider all the products—baby and otherwise—that come to us from China and other overseas manufacturers, the chances that a particular toy or product will do your baby harm are limited. Want to be sure? Do your research. Before you buy, check with HealthyBaby.org, the US Consumer Product Safety Commision’s Infants/Children Products Recall page (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html)or contact the manufacturer directly.
It’s always wise to be cautious, but being overly paranoid, especially when it comes to baby products Made in China, might cost you a fortune. And remember, higher-priced American-made products are not necessarily guaranteed toxin-free. All we can do is push for the highest standards worldwide—and hope for the best.
This article was brought to you by Corner Stork Baby Gifts, a baby gift store located online at http://www.cornerstorkbabygifts.com specializing in baby shower favors and unique baby gifts including baby blankets, baby clothes, personalized keepsakes and much more to help celebrate your new arrival.
Author: Susan Hawkins