Toxic Toys
Ripple teamed up with the Ecology Center to release the first-ever consumer guide to toxic chemicals in toys. The release of this data – which found lead, PVC, cadmium and other harmful chemicals in popular children’s toys – was a startling wake-up call to many consumers who immediately started paying closer attention to what they were purchasing for their children. Ripple released these findings to the press three years in a row at www.HealthyStuff.org (formerly www.HealthyToys.org) and each time generated hundreds of television, print and online stories including features on CNN (Lou Dobbs, American Morning, Headline News) ABC, NBC, FOX News, CBS, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and National Public Radio.
This story also was featured in China, Indonesia, Mexico, Canada, Korea, France, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Romania, Honduras, Pakistan, Vietnam, Australia, Argentina, Switzerland, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Britain.
For each of these campaigns Ripple identified spokespeople, developed talking points, wrote and placed op-eds, developed press releases, created targeted press lists, edited website content, and pitched reporters. As a result of this popular site and consumers’ increasing awareness about this issue, many toy manufacturers have started to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. Ripple has been publicizing www.HealthyStuff.org since it was launched in 2005. We’re very proud to say that the site has had over 30 million page views and continues to be the most reliable source of information about toxic chemicals in everyday products. This campaign prompted a change in policy by the Consumer Products Safety Commission regarding toxic chemicals in children’s toys.