Leading manufacturer replaces PVC in toys for under-threes

Artsana, one of the 3 world leading manufacturers of infant toys in Europe and the US, says it has substituted soft PVC with the plastics EVA and PE in toys for children under three years. Other manufacturers, Prenatal and Grazioli have also taken the same measure.

“This is a serious and effective step taken by a major toy manufacturer to protect infants from the hazards of soft PVC’, said Madeleine Cobbing of Greenpeace International. “This decision confirms what we [Greenpeace] have been claiming for over one year, that substitutes for soft PVC are readily available and are cost effective for the companies concerned”.

This week the European Commission’s Scientific Committee is meeting in Brussels to consider further studies on the leaching of phthalates from soft PVC toys, by scientists in the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Britain. They will be considering whether their original opinion, that children could be exposed to unacceptably high levels of phthalates from soft PVC toys, is still valid. They are expected to announce their decision next week.