New York Times
December 21, 1999
Barbie and Other Toys to Go on an Oil-Free Diet
By HOLCOMB B. NOBLE

Barbie is about to become environmentally correct. Her creator, Mattel Inc., the world's largest toy maker, announced this month that it would begin an effort to eliminate petroleum-based plastics, which have been linked to an assortment of environmental and health problems, from its most popular doll and many of its other toys.

Environmental and consumer groups say the announcement marks a significant break with industry practice. "It is a major move, and other manufacturers are going to have to follow," said Rick Hind, legislative director of the environmental group Greenpeace.

But Mattel's decision to use plant- and vegetable-based plastics instead of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, only partly quieted an angry controversy surrounding a host of plastic toys. Greenpeace is one of about a dozen public advocacy groups that have campaigned against vinyl plastics -- not only because so much is manufactured that is not degradable and poses an eventual threat to the earth's ecosystems, but also because of potential health risks.

Some ingredients in polyvinyl chloride, including lead, cadmium and phthalates, can leach out of the plastic under certain conditions and present serious health risks, the advocacy groups contend.

A spokesman for Mattel said that its toys were safe but that it was acting because "concerns do exist and have been expressed by environmental groups as well as retailers and others, and we want to address those concerns."

The industry's trade group, the Toy Manufacturers of America, echoes the view that the toys with polyvinyl chloride are safe for children or all ages, but it has taken no position on the Mattel decision.

The company's announcement came directly after it was asked by reporters about the results of new tests by the National Environmental Trust, a Washington-based environmental group, on the content of plastic toys made by Mattel and 16 other manufacturers. These products, specifically bathtub or squeeze toys, are designed for children under 3 who often put them in their mouths and suck on them.

The consumer groups say the toys, which contain phthalates, chemicals that have been found to cause liver, kidney and reproductive problems in animals, may present an immediate danger. The Mattel announcement also came just before the 15 countries of the European Community, as expected, imposed a ban on the teethers and rattles, and also required safety labeling on other plastic toys that are not designed for the mouth but that often end up there.

A year ago, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission asked manufacturers to remove phthalates voluntarily from both kinds of products.

Jeff Wise, policy director of the National Environmental Trust, says its testing shows that American manufacturers have complied with the commission's request in one area -- teethers and rattles -- but not in the other.

"It is welcome news that Mattel will make a big effort to find alternatives to phthalates and PVC-based plastics," Mr. Wise said in an interview. But he added, "The company and the entire toy industry are dragging their feet on these mouth toys, which are an immediate problem while millions of children are being exposed to these chemicals."

The National Environmental Trust's tests of 17 kinds of the bathtub and squeeze toys found one form of phthalate, DINP, or diisononnyl phthalate, in all of them. A Mattel toy, Pooh Bathtub Pal, was among those with high concentrations, as were the Teletubbies, a product of Ritvik Toys of Montreal. The analysts also found one toy, Pony Luv, made by the Tara Toy Corporation of Hauppauge, N.Y., that had a 24.4 percent content of another form of phthalates, DEHP. American toy manufacturers who had widely used this DEHP, a suspected carcinogen, agreed voluntarily to ban it from its products in 1986.

Rich Molyneux, a senior vice president at Mattel, said the company did remove phthalates from teethers and rattles but not from Pooh Bathtub Pal because "it was not designed for the mouth." This was the also the view of Ritvik. Tara declined to comment. The toy industry says the Consumer Product Safety Commission has asked for the removal of phthalates only from teethers and rattles.

The commission insists that it has asked for action in both categories. The commission sought the voluntary action on DINP on the ground that significant uncertainty existed about its safety. Tests have shown that it causes kidney and liver damage in animals. But the commission did not order a ban, saying the amount of the substance that children ingest appeared to be far below levels that would be harmful.

Critics dispute that, saying the decision was based on one small Dutch study showing that children suck on squeeze and bathtub toys just 12 minutes a day. On Friday, a National Institutes of Health advisory panel said the study was of "only 19 children" and was preliminary at best.

The issue is exposure: how much time plastic toys are in babies' mouths. Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician in Santa Monica, Calif., said the Dutch research did not reflect reality. "Children come into my office with plastic dolls and toys they have literally chewed through," he said. "Parents just don't understand that when this happens, toxic materials can leach into their children's mouths."

A spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission said its researchers were conducting broader studies, expected to be completed in the spring.