Cleaning Up Toxic Toys
It seems so simple – toxins like mercury, arsenic, and lead should not be in any products that we use, especially those used by our most vulnerable – children. If these toxins are present, then we should find a way to inform consumers - we have a right to know what is in the products we buy. The best case scenario would be an ingredient list on the back of the package, just like in prepared food. That idea had very little support in Michigan, so instead we proposed that manufacturers would have to share with the state what toxins they are using in children’s products. The state would then publish this information on a website. This would really just be the beginning of a full-fledged transparency program. One where manufacturers share the pertinent information and consumers have the ability to access that information.
In an ideal world, we would no longer make products that contained such dangerous toxins. Unfortunately, that isn’t a politically viable solution right now – so our next best option is to at least make the information available so that as consumers, we can make decisions based on fact.
Michigan LCV, along with our partners at the Michigan Network for Children’s Environmental Health, worked really hard on legislation to do just that. We started this campaign a year ago by asking candidates running for office to sign a platform that said they supported protecting children’s health. You can see a full list of current lawmakers that signed the list here. Just a couple of weeks ago the Michigan House of Representatives voted in on this legislation and I am happy to report it passed. We didn’t get the full support we expected, especially from certain lawmakers that signed the platform but then voted against the legislation.
The legislation is now over in the State Senate and has been assigned to the Health Policy Committee chaired by Senator George. George is a doctor, an anesthesiologist. We are cautiously optimistic that he will be open to hearing this legislation. If any of you out there in the blog world have a connection to Senator George, please let me know as we will need all the help we can get to actually see this through to the Governor’s desk.
It is time that we put protecting children’s first in this state. Now is our opportunity.
