Study finds toxic metal in children's jewelry items

By Justin Pritchard
Associated Press
January 11, 2010 2:00 AM

LOS ANGELES — Barred from using lead in children's jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States, an Associated Press investigation shows.

The most contaminated piece analyzed in lab testing performed for the AP contained a startling 91 percent cadmium by weight. The cadmium content of other contaminated trinkets, all purchased at national and regional chains or franchises, tested at 89 percent, 86 percent and 84 percent by weight. The testing also showed that some items easily shed the heavy metal, raising additional concerns about the levels of exposure to children.

A spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which regulates children's products, said Sunday that the agency "is opening an investigation" and "will take action as quickly as possible to protect the safety of children."

Cadmium is a known carcinogen. Like lead, it can hinder brain development in the very young, according to recent research.

Children don't have to swallow an item to be exposed — they can get persistent, low-level doses by regularly sucking or biting jewelry with a high cadmium content.

To gauge cadmium's prevalence in children's jewelry, the AP organized lab testing of 103 items bought in New York, Ohio, Texas and California. All but one were purchased in November or December.

The results: 12 percent of the pieces of jewelry contained at least 10 percent cadmium.

Some of the most troubling test results were for bracelet charms sold at Walmart, at the jewelry chain Claire's and at a dollar store. High amounts of cadmium also were detected in "The Princess and The Frog" movie-themed pendants.

Walmart and Claire's are both store chains that have locations in the Seacoast area.

"There's nothing positive that you can say about this metal. It's a poison," said Bruce A. Fowler, a cadmium specialist and toxicologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

On the CDC's priority list of 275 most hazardous substances in the environment, cadmium ranks No. 7.

Jewelry industry veterans in China say cadmium has been used in domestic products there for years. Zinc, the metal most cited as a replacement for lead in imported jewelry being sold in the United States, is a much safer and nontoxic alternative. But the jewelry tests conducted for AP, along with test findings showing a growing presence of cadmium in other children's products, demonstrate that the safety threat from cadmium is being exported.

A patchwork of federal consumer protection regulations does nothing to keep these nuggets of cadmium from U.S. store shelves. If the products were painted toys, they would face a recall. If they were industrial garbage, they could qualify as hazardous waste. But since there are no cadmium restrictions on jewelry, such items are sold legally.

The CPSC has cracked down on the dangers posed by lead and products known to have killed children, such as cribs, but it has never recalled an item for cadmium — even though it has received scattered complaints based on private test results for at least the past two years.

There is no definitive explanation for why children's jewelry manufacturers, virtually all from China in the items tested, are turning to cadmium. But a reasonable double whammy looms: With lead heavily regulated under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, factories scrambled for substitutes, just as cadmium prices plummeted.

That law set a new, stringent standard for lead in children's products: Only the very smallest amount is permissible — no more than 0.03 percent of the total content. The statute has led manufacturers to drastically reduce lead in toys and jewelry.

The law also contained the first explicit regulation of cadmium, though the standards are significantly less strict than lead and apply only to painted toys, not jewelry.

To determine how much cadmium a child could be exposed to, items are bathed in a solution that mimics stomach acid to see how much of the toxin would leach out after being swallowed.

The jewelry testing for AP was conducted by chemistry professor Jeff Weidenhamer of Ashland University in Ohio, who over the past few years has provided the CPSC with results showing high lead content in products that were later recalled. His lab work for AP assessed how much cadmium was in each item. Overall, 12 of the 103 items each contained at least 10 percent cadmium. Two others contained lower amounts, while the other 89 were clean.

Ten of the items with the highest cadmium content were then run through the stomach acid test to see how much would escape. Although that test is used only in regulation of toys, AP used it to see what hazard an item could pose because unlike the regulations, a child's body doesn't distinguish between cadmium leached from jewelry and cadmium leached from a toy.

"Clearly it seems like for a metal as toxic as cadmium, somebody ought to be watching out to make sure there aren't high levels in items that could end up in the hands of kids," Weidenhamer said.

The CPSC reacted swiftly to the AP story. Agency spokesman Scott Wolfson said: "CPSC will open an investigation into the products tested by Professor Weindenhamer, who we have worked closely with before."

He said CPSC would study Weidenhamer's results, attempt to buy the contaminated products content and "take appropriate action as quickly as possible."

Weidenhamer's test results include:

Three flip flop bracelet charms sold at Walmart contained between 84 percent and 86 percent cadmium. The charms fared the worst of any item on the stomach acid test; one shed more cadmium in 24 hours than what World Health Organization guidelines deem a safe exposure over 60 weeks for a 33-pound child.

The bracelet was purchased in August 2008. The company that imported them, Florida-based Sulyn Industries, stopped selling the item to Wal-Mart Corp. in November 2008, the firm's president said. Wal-Mart would not comment on whether the charms are still on store shelves, or how many have been sold.

Sulyn's president, Harry Dickens, said the charms were subjected to testing standards imposed by both Wal-Mart and federal regulation — but were not tested for cadmium.

In separate written statements, Dickens and Wal-Mart said they consider safety a very high priority. "We consistently seek to sell only those products that meet safety and regulatory standards," Wal-Mart said. "Currently there is no required cadmium standard for children's jewelry."

As was the case with every importer or retailer that responded to AP's request for comment on the tests, neither Sulyn nor Wal-Mart would address whether the results concerned them or if the products should be recalled.

Four charms from two "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" bracelets sold at a Dollar N More store in Rochester, N.Y., were measured at between 82 percent and 91 percent cadmium. The charms also fared poorly on the stomach acid test. Two other charms from the same bracelets were subjected to a leaching test which recreates how much cadmium would be released in a landfill and ultimately contaminate groundwater. Based on those results, if the charms were waste from manufacturing, they would have had to be specially handled and disposed of under U.S. environmental law. The company that imported the Rudolph charms, Buy-Rite Designs Inc. of Freehold, N.J., has gone out of business.
Two charms on a "Best Friends" bracelet bought at Claire's, a jewelry chain with nearly 3,000 stores in North America and Europe — including the Fox Run Mall in Newington, N.H. — consisted of 89 percent and 91 percent cadmium. The charms also leached alarming amounts in the simulated stomach test. Informed of the results, Claire's issued a statement pointing out that children's jewelry is not required to pass a cadmium leaching test.


"Claire's has its products tested by independent accredited third-party laboratories approved by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in compliance with the commission's standards, and has passing test results for the bracelet using these standards," the statement said. Those standards scrutinize lead content, not cadmium.

Pendants from four "The Princess and The Frog" necklaces bought at Walmart ranged between 25 percent and 35 percent cadmium, though none failed the stomach acid test nor the landfill leaching test. The Walt Disney Co., which produced the popular animated movie, said in a statement that test results provided by the manufacturer, Rhode Island-based FAF Inc., showed the item complied with all applicable safety standards.

An official at FAF's headquarters did not respond to multiple requests for comment when informed of Weidenhamer's results; a woman at the company's office in southern China who would not give her name said FAF products "might naturally contain some very small amounts of cadmium. We measure it in parts per million because the content is so small, for instance one part per million." However, the tests conducted for AP showed the pendants contained between 246,000 and 346,000 parts per million of cadmium.

"It comes down to the following: Cadmium causes cancer. How much cadmium do you want your child eating?" said Michael R. Harbut, a doctor who has treated adult victims of cadmium poisoning and is director of the environmental cancer program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit. "In my view, the answer should be none."

Xu Hongli, a cadmium specialist with the Beijing office of Asian Metal Ltd., a market research and consultancy firm, said test results showing high cadmium levels in some Chinese-made metal jewelry did not surprise her. Using cadmium alloys has been "a relatively common practice" among manufacturers in the eastern cities of Yiwu and Qingdao and the southern province of Sichuan, Xu said.

"Some of their products contain 90 percent cadmium or higher," she acknowledged. "Usually, though, they are more careful with export products."

She said she thought that manufacturers were becoming aware of cadmium's dangers, and are using it less, "But it will still take a while for them to completely shift away from using it."

The CPSC has received dozens of incident reports of cadmium in products over the past few years, said Gib Mullan, the agency's director of compliance and field operations. Though the CPSC has authority to go after a product deemed a public danger under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act — the law used in lead-related recalls several years ago — there have been no enforcement actions.

"We are a small agency so we can't do everything we think would be a good idea. We have to try to pick our spots," Mullan said. At most, the agency can investigate 10 percent of the tens of thousands of reports filed by the public each year, he said.

With the help of an outside firm, the CPSC has started a scientific literature review of cadmium and other heavy metals, including how the substances fare in leaching tests, according to spokesman Wolfson. "If there has a been a shift in manufacturing to the use of cadmium, CPSC will take appropriate action."

Meanwhile, the CPSC's Mullan cites "a trend upward" in cadmium reports the agency has received — and private-sector testing AP reviewed shows cadmium is showing up more frequently.

Two outfits that analyze more than a thousand children's products each year checked their data at AP's request. Both said their findings of cadmium above 300 parts per million in an item — the current federal limit for lead — increased from about 0.5 percent of tests in 2007 to about 2.2 percent of tests in 2009. Those tests were conducted using a technology called XRF, a handheld gun that bounces X-rays off an item to estimate how much lead, cadmium or other elements it contains. While the results are not as exact as lab testing, the CPSC regularly uses XRF in its product screening.

Much of the increase found by the Michigan-based HealthyStuff.org came in toys with polyvinyl chloride plastic, according to Jeff Gearhart, the group's research director. Both lead and cadmium can be used to fortify PVC against the sun's rays. Data collected by a Washington-based company called Essco Safety Check led its president, Seth Goldberg, to suspect that substitution of cadmium for lead partly explains the increase he's seen.

Rick Locker, general counsel for the Toy Industry Association of America, and Sheila A. Millar, a lawyer representing the Fashion Jewelry Trade Association, said their industries make products that are safe and insisted cadmium is not widely used.

Millar said jewelry makers often opt for zinc these days. "While FJTA can only speak to the experience of its members," Millar wrote in an e-mail, "widespread substitution of cadmium is not something they see."

It was flood yesterday

It's heavy rain yesterday over our neighborhood for 4 hours.  Finally it's flood many people couldn't get off the houses, some got struck on the road.  It's terrible day but I don't feel like wanna go out anyway.  Therefore I went into my small studio and started creating my jewelry.  It's really fun and look what I have got now on my online shop, www.jarm-hug.com

Tips for Sewers

I was surfing the Etsy site and found this is very useful tips and I cut some part of them to post here.  If anyone want to read the whole article please go directly to the etsy site.  You will see how useful the site is.... love etsy ...

ArretsPlace says:
Save your empty paper towel rolls and roll your fabric on to them. It will diminish many wrinkles and easy to store. You can also place your remnants on them to save for use for another time.
Posted at 7:06 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

mybonnie says:
Great idea. Here is another, for a quick and easy gather, use a slight zig zag over waxed dental floss. There is no easier way to gather if you don't have a gathering attachment.
Posted at 7:13 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

ArretsPlace says:
Here's another tip you might find useful.

You know those handheld lint removers? Keep one handy to remove all those pesky little threads that fall to the floor, or gather up on your sewing table. Also once you rip out a seam and you have little threads that are difficult to remove, just take the lint roller and roll it across a few times. It does a wonderful job.
Posted at 7:14 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

InuInspirations says:
I roll up all my fabric and store it in those hanging show/sweater fabric things that go in closets. I don't use the paper rolls, but that would work good for smaller fabric (I have mostly fleece)

This way I can see all the colors I have and what I will need more of :)
Posted at 7:26 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

jayteedoubleyou says:
My best tip: Hire a woodworker to make cool portable thread caddies. There's a new line coming to etsy soon. (BSquareDesignns - my neighbor down the street and the IT guy at work. Mark this and check him out once I can get him to improve his pics!)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6418976
Posted at 7:35 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

berrybluecreations says:
Great tips. The only tip i have is if you use store bought patterns, tape the cover envelope to a file folder and keep the pattern and directions in that folder. I do this because I can never get the pattern back in the envelop properly. Also I like to iron the pattern pieces I use to plastic coated freezer paper. they don't tear as easily that way.
Posted at 11:29 pm, January 19 2009 EST - Report this post

NGHDesigns says:
Been sewing far longer than I've been creating jewelry & have been doing quite a bit of sewing lately~ :)

I like 2" masking tape better than lint rollers. Cheaper & far stickier. Zips a row of snipped stitches right out of the fabric. De-sticky it some on my slacks or shirt before using on more delicate fabrics.

Label fabric w/price & date bought -- have had some interesting "historical" discoveries thanks to that. My stashing has been going on... well, never mind how long.

Indicate whether or not you've washed & preshrunk fabric -- cut edges don't always get fuzzy enough for me to be sure & silly to waste time doing it over.

This tip(?) may be more for jewelry makers, but hem gauges are my all-time favorite sewing gadget. That little 6" ruler is handy for so many measuring jobs. Have an extra near my computer to help me envision bead sizes in millimeters.
Posted at 12:04 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

sewphisticate says:
ah, my favorite kind of etsy thread!

* store thread in snack sized zip top bags. i sort them by color ranges and then stack them in a desktop drawer organizer. works great!

* store serger thread in quart sized zip top bags, 4 cones per bag. these fit nicely in a filing cabinet drawer. easy to find the right color and all the cones stay together!

* store patterns and instructions in file folders marked with the manufacturer's name and number, filed numerically. make any notes about the pattern on the outside of the file folder: size it's cut to, fitting notes, etc. store the pattern envelopes in binders sorted by your personal choice: i have women's, men's, children's, household, crafts, etc. i just flip through the binders when i want to make something. all the info is right there on the envelope, so i can take the binder to the store and get the necessary notions. finding the pattern is really easy and file folders take up a lot less room than pattern envelopes!

* hang a magnetic strip behind your sewing machine to hold: seam ripper, thread snips, threaded needles, etc. very handy when you are in hurry!

* love my peg board! everything is on it! scissors, rotary cutters, rulers, ribbons, bobbins. i use long hooks for the bobbins and a couple of paper towel holders for the ribbons i use most often.

* bobby pins are great for turning small bias tubes

um....i have more, but my brain is tired.
Posted at 12:34 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

CraneCrochet says:
Those cardboard boxes that hold a pair of gallon jugs of milk are just the right size to hold pattern. I lined a few up and spray painted the ends white. Then I wrote the contents on the ends of the boxes and lined them up in the bookcase.
If you tape the flaps down on the outside of the box and stand them on their ends in the shelf they are perfect for holding magazines as well.
I also iron interfacing on the back of the pattern pieces that get used repeatedly.
Posted at 1:18 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

moddyboy80 says:
I keep a candle(unlit!) near me when I sew.
I use it to wax my fingertips and then the end of the thread. Makes threading a needle a million times easier!
Posted at 2:32 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

JaynasCloset says:
I roll my bias tape (for binding blankets and quilts) on the empty toilet paper rolls. The as you pin it just rolls off and you don't have that gigantic strip of fabric getting twisted and tangled as you pin and sew.

Also, when I end up with an empty tissue box, I use it to store thread/fabric/lace bits or even better leftover water soluble stabilizer bits. It's that plastic looking stuff you put on top before you embroider. THEN later I empty all the bits into a spray bottle, add a little water and make spray stabilizer (basically a stiffening spray). It works WONDERS when you have to hem anything fine like chiffon or silk. Spray it on, let it dry, then after you hem your piece, you just rinse it out when your done.

Sorry that was a long one but handy anyway! =)
Posted at 4:01 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

ArretsPlace says:
So many wonderful tips. I love it!

I also use empty tp rolls for my lace and yarns etc.

For my patterns, I use a gallon size ziplock to place 'same' patterns into and hang them in my craft closet on pant hangers. I can find my patterns very easily.

I also cut the flaps of larger boxes and use them for my larger yards of fabric. Like a bolt holder. Reuses those boxes, less for the landfills.
Posted at 10:36 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

LiDDesignsBoutique says:
When I make bias binding, to set the creases without scolding my fingers using an iron, I feed it through my hair straighteners, so much better control.
Posted at 10:41 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

ittybittyrevolution says:
If you shop at a local fabric store or a quilting shop that also sells fabric, sometimes if you ask, they will let you have the empty bolts for free as they're going to throw them away anyhow. I know they sell them on ebay, but it gets expensive.

These are great to take home and re-wrap your fabric on. Once you're re-wrapped the fabric, you just store the bolt on a bookcase. You can even categorize them according to color and/or season. It not only makes it easier to see and cut your fabric, but it gives your sewing shop a nifty little store-like appearance--and it reminds you of how much fabric you've got.
Posted at 11:04 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

threadsoffancy says:
i keep a new toilet brush net to my embroidery machine. a few quick brushes across the floor and all the big threads are gone! easy to clean too, so much easier than having to take the roller out of the sweeper to get all the threads undone from it!!
Posted at 11:50 am, January 20 2009 EST - Report this post

and more.... from the link http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6005112

My new hair scrunchies

I've just finished my new creations, it's hair scrunchies for girls.  These hair scrunchies are made with mighty acrylic and flowers polyester hang on good quality elastic for last long.  I made the first one for my niece last 5 years ago who live in Denmark and she loves it.   She still uses it everyday so that I am sure these hair scrunchies are good quality.  Lovely colours.... now available at www.jarm.etsy.com

My First Sale

This is my first sale.... Oh! I am so happy today, I've got an order at my Etsy shop after opened for 3 months.  I intent to put 5-10% of my every single sale to donate to Buddhist Temple in Thailand for supporting homless children' and monks' food and their education fee.  Some money will be shared to  homeless dogs' and cats' food that live at the temple as well.

I don't put my intention on my announcement board at my shop because I don't want to used this to promote my sales but I will tell my customers after they buy from my shop.  I hope they feel good as me.   Hmmmm... I am so happy and hope all of you will be... I love my job......

Fabric from Our Royal's Project

Last week I went to Bangsai Arts and Crafts Center of H.M. Queen Sirikit of Thailand.  Here they are producing tons of fabric which are very nice and best quality in Thailand.  I have many ideas to create handcrafted bags from those fabric, hope to finish them by next week and will difinately put them in my etsy store.  

Have a look here they are very nice and sturdy fabrics.

Say hi!

Hi! 
I am a stay at home mother of 2 teenage boys. I always love craft and art since I was a girl. All my handmade is designed and made with all my desire heart. My mom passed away when I was only 3 years old, therefore my dad sent me to stay with my eldest sister who was a dressmaker. Since then I watched and help her made clothes and accessories for people in town and always felt good when look at their happy faces once they picked up our works. My sister taught me how to make bags and I also grabbed the ways she made accessories and adapted it to do handmade jewelry. She pushed me to study in the university and I did get a bachelor degree in accounting and master degree in business administration. After I graduated I worked for foreign companies in Thailand but art and crafts always be deep inside my mind. I want to make people happy as much as my sister did. 

I decided to quit a job and started to turn my hobbies in to business. The best feeling come when I see my customers' happy faces while they are receiving, using or wearing my pieces.

I made jewelry and bags for my cousin, friends, friends of cousin and friends of friends .... and so on... They encourage me to sell online. Therefore I open this store and hope more people can see my pieces of work. 

Please come and check out my handmade jewelry and bags gallary place ---> http://jarm-hug.com