The latest Disney movie The Princess and the Frog was a Christmas holiday hit. Merchandising tie-ins have been popular sellers with young girls and their parents, so the recent finding of high levels of toxic metal in themed jewelry sent shock waves through Philadelphia homes and retailers. High levels of the toxic metal cadmium were found in Chinese-made The Princess and the Frog pendants being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. The discovery comes on the heels of the Christmas recall of Chinese-made cadmium-laced children's jewelry at Wal-Mart and Claire's stores.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which began testing children's metal jewelry for cadmium after the December scare, announced the voluntary recall of 55,000 Chinese-made pendants by Rhode Island jewelry company FAF Inc. Cadmium is a known carcinogen that, like lead, can hinder children's brain development, although federal regulations do not currently require testing for cadmium in children's jewelry nor do they set a maximum limit on the amount of cadmium in a product. In response to the recall, Disney acted to require cadmium testing of all products bearing its brand and halt in production and distribution of products when cadmium is detected. Philadelphia Wal-Marts voluntarily pulled The Princess and the Frog children's jewelry from shelves and will provide a refund or replacement product for affected items returned to their stores.
Chinese whistle blowers say they noticed factories substituting toxic cadmium for non-toxic zinc around 2003 when cadmium prices dropped significantly. Chinese manufacturers preferred cadmium not only because they could save money on the cost of raw materials for making children's and fashion jewelry for foreign markets but because the metal was malleable at lower temperatures, ensuring cheaper production costs. Congress is now considering legislation that would ban cadmium from children's jewelry and toys.
When Philadelphia children suffer personal injury from toxic toys or defective products, Philadelphia personal injury lawyers can initiate product liability suits to bring manufacturers and distributors to account and protect the public and our children.
