A friend told me that several well known brands of car seats tested high for toxic flame retardant content, and I have been wanting to write about it for some time. It seems there is a never ending stream of news and information about toxic chemicals in our everyday lives to write about.
These are some of the same flame retardants I have written about in these posts, and they are downright scary.
Now, a new study by Friends of the Earth found high level of halogenated fire retardants in Graco’s portable cribs, infant carriers, car seats, strollers, bassinets and walkers. Imagine how much contact babies have with these items on a daily basis, especially when they are travelling. This can lead to multiple, prolonged exposure. Flame retardants have been linked to physical and cognitive development in children, and thyroid problems as adults.
The fantastic MomsRising team has put together a petition to send to Graco, urging them to take action about flame retardants in their products and become a leader in this field. We saw how many companies are reacting to the news about BPA, long before any government action, so if Graco takes the lead, this would be a good step i the right direction.
Click here to sign the MomsRising petition.
Photo by Edmunds.com
6 comments:
What happens in case of an auto accident? Do these flame retardants help protect a child until a rescue occurs? An adult can flee a burning car but a child usually cannot by herself. Do we need some fire protection in our cars, both children's seats and adult seats? Something to think about.
Thanks for your comment, Mimi! Yes, fire protection is obviously a good thing, but using toxic chemicals to do it is no longer necessary. If you look under flame retardants in the labels section of this blog, I wrote a post earlier that shares some alternatives. Also, over at www.enviroblog.org, Amanda has lots of information about flame retardants and their safer alternatives.
Are there any carseats available that are toxic free or at least have lower levels?
www.healthycar.org is a consumer guide to toxic chemicals in car and car seats. It rates a selection of car seats from least to most toxic.
This is confusing. YOu say on your site that Graco has the most fire retardants and is most toxic but the site you send people to, healthycar.org, rates them as one of the safest lines. ???
It is all confusing! Graco is rated in the best and the worst-- with different models on healthystuff.org. Check it out:
http://www.healthystuff.org/departments/childrens-products/product.seatsbestworst.php
That is why it is so hard to keep it all straight!
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