On Monday, May 10th, 2010, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a voluntary recall in cooperation with Claire’s Boutiques Inc., of Hoffman Estates, Ill. A charm bracelet “Best Friends,” which are three bracelet sets with silver-colored chains and metal pendants contain words “Best,” “Friends” or “Forever” and a heart lock and key charms with different colored stones.
These bracelets were recalled because they contain cadmium. The CPSC did not specify how much cadmium was found in these bracelets. There were approximately 19,000 units sold exclusively sold at Claire’s stores nationwide from February 2009 to January 2010 for about $12. They were manufactured by Dae Yeon Industries Corporation of China.
Consumers are warned to immediately take these bracelets away from children and return the heart lock charms or the entire bracelet to any Claire’s for a full refund or replacement product. Contact Claire’s toll-free at (866) 859-9281 between 9am and 5pm ET Monday through Friday or visit www.claires.com
This recall is a continuing effect of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) and an investigation that began back in 2009 with the Associated Press (AP) and data that was supplied to the AP by Essco Safety Check. In October of 2009, Essco Safety Check presented data on consumer products and how much lead and cadmium were found in toys, ceramics, jewelry and other consumer products at the Northwest Children’s Environmental Health Forum. This data had been collected with our proprietary software suite (to collect and analyze data) and by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers to test consumer products for moms and dads in their homes, as well as, for businesses selling children’s products.
Over several months of data analysis and sharing, the Associated Press began their own investigations which lead to the first recall for cadmium found in children’s jewelry in January 2010. Cadmium is a known toxicant and carcinogen; it can be very harmful to children. This recall is the third that has been prompted by the AP’s reporting, and Essco Safety Check’s initial data. No recall had ever been issued for cadmium in consumer products prior to this year.
Claire’s and other retailers have begun to add testing procedures to ensure that their suppliers are testing for cadmium. There are no total content standards set for cadmium in the CPSIA for children’s jewelry, unlike lead which has a limit of 300 parts per million (ppm). In testing done by the Associated Press, their tests showed the bracelets from Claire’s contained up to 91% (910,000 ppm) of cadmium.
Several states have begun to take action including California, Connecticut, Illinois and Washington (Washington State is not currently enforcing their regulation; the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) has been superseded by the federal regulation do to interstate commerce). The CPSC has also begun to screen imports of jewelry at the 10 largest ports in the United States by using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers to look for heavy metals including cadmium.
Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that this will not be the last recall we hear about cadmium or children’s products. It can make one wonder why do we even permit lead, cadmium and other harmful elements or chemicals in products we use regularly, specifically products for children and pregnant women. If you are concerned about any consumer products and would like them tested, Essco Safety Check will be participating in several different community events this summer. Checkout our website for details.
