The Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling all the Claire’s kid jewelry known as “Best Friends” because of high levels of the toxic metal, cadmium, found in the jewelry, some up to 10,000 times what was expected. The investigation however was not started by the CPSC, but by the Associated Press. More jewelry recalls of children’s trinkets should be expected. The jewelry was made in China and investigators are visiting the 10 busiest ports, shooting x-ray beams into the jewelry to see if it contains cadmium.
The “Best Friends” jewelry is sold exclusively at Claire’s, which has 3,000 stores in the U.S. and in Europe.
The Environmental Protection agency calls the metal, which is found in batteries, a probable human carcinogen. A buildup can affect the kidneys and bones. This is the third recall of cadmium coated kids jewelry and this one was initiated after the CPSC’s own tests confirmed what AP had found.
What can parents do? Claire’s says you can bring back the $12 bracelets for a full refund or replacement. There are such things as a cadmium test kit, but like a lead test kit, you need to know what you are doing. Parents are the best advocates for their children and can make things happen faster than any government agency by complaining to the giant retailer that they want their children’s jewelry scanned for unwanted metals before it is sold to innocent children.
Claire’s also took four months before it agreed to pull items from the shelves, saying it still believes they are safe. How about better safe than sorry? In fairness to Claire’s, there is no federal standard for cadmium and Claire’s says it would like some clearer standards to follow. No standards set and no retailer taking the lead to keep kids safe. Guess who has fallen between the cracks? Fortunately, a watchdog press took up where others failed.
Legislation is brewing in the Senate in the form of the Safe Kids Jewelry Act (S. 2975), which was introduced last February by a number of Senators. While it is stuck in committee you can go to Open Congress online and vote whether you support this bill. If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, a Jacksonville defective product attorney can be your best advocate to help you right a wrong and compensate you for the harm created by others.
