You’ve gotten rid of BPA from baby bottles and out of water bottles, but did you know another unnecessary toxic plastic may be hiding in your children’s school supplies?
Your child’s innocent-looking pencil case or three-ring binder could contain chemicals linked to learning disabilities, obesity and asthma. That’s because many school supplies are manufactured using polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the most hazardous plastic for our health and environment.
This plastic can contain a toxic stew of phthalates, lead, cadmium and organotins—making it a recipe for disaster. As a result, some of these chemicals, like phthalates, are building up in our bodies. To the developing body of a child, even a small exposure to these toxic chemicals can be dangerous. A new 2011 study found PVC is the most widely used hazardous plastic in the world. This toxic plastic is being used in more forms than ever for your kids, from notebooks to art supplies to backpacks.
From its manufacture to disposal, PVC releases hazardous chemicals like dioxins and phthalates that are harmful to your children’s health. When incinerated (at disposal), PVC releases dioxin a potent toxic chemical linked to several harmful health effects, including cancer. Dioxin then builds up in the food chain (especially in the fatty tissue of animals) and in turn an estimated 90 percent of our exposure to dioxin is through food consumption.
The good news is there are safer and cost-effective alternatives. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) has just released their fourth-annual 2011 Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies.
The guide features a listing of the most common school supplies made out of PVC and safer PVC-free alternatives in over 35 product categories, from laptops to lunchboxes and everything in between. Parents around the country will find this useful for safer, healthier alternatives to PVC for their children.
Buying a PVC-free product also means that you are exerting your consumer buying-power in the right direction, toward companies that manufacture products safer for our kids’ health.
Find safer products for your kids. Download the new Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies.
Download the guide here.
Download the wallet-sized version here.
The Healthy Legacy Coalition is co-releasing the Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies with CHEJ. Healthy Legacy is a diverse public health coalition of 34 member groups that works to phase out the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy is a co-founding member of the coalition.
