#AskTamara
Question: Do “mermaid” reversible sequin things have unsafe levels of Lead?
Answer: Please read my full response below to see the XRF test results for one example of this type of item.
My young son is currently invested in pink, purple and sparkles; anything that is pink or purple and/or or sparkly is very exciting for him, and makes his day!
I always try to buy him one small gift on every business trip that I am away from him – a little something, usually with a cap of about $10. So earlier this year, while on a business trip, I picked up this little “mermaid purse” (pictured here) as a gift for him. It was on the “impulse buy” racks at a Staples store in Santa Monica.
Given what I know about the types of products that are likely to be toxic, I did not have any concerns for this possibly being unsafe for him (from my experience, I suspected that this likely did not contain any toxic chemicals – at levels that would be concerning – given the intended use of the purse.)
Of course, when I had the chance I did test it anyway, and – just for your edification – I wanted to share with you my XRF test results of this newly purchased (2018) mermaid (“color-changing” sequins!) purse — which confirmed my initial expectation [and I would expect that all products similar to this would also have similar test results — although things like pillows and other items that a child might cuddle or sleep with) may have higher levels of antimony — given the requirements for use of flame retardants in such things.]
After testing this item, I am confident that it is a safe object for my child to play with/use as intended. [Specific XRF test results for each of the components are listed below.]
This particular purse comes from StyleLabGirl.com and here are some similar items on Amazon*:
Click here to see similar purses available for sale on Amazon
Click here to see similar pillows available for sale on Amazon
Sparkles On The Outside of The Purse:
- Lead (Pb): ND
- Mercury (Hg): ND
- Arsenic (As): ND
- Cadmium (Cd): ND
- Antimony (Sb): 120 +/- 31 ppm
- Bromine (Br): 6 +/- 2 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 90 +/- 11 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 38 +/- 14 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 58 +/- 23 ppm
Zipper (Metal Part – Pictured Below):
- Tin (Sn): 1,273 +/- 161 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 530,700 +/- 3,500 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 450,600 +/- 3,100 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 15,600 +/- 700 ppm
Purple Wrist Strap (vinyl fabric):
- Zinc (Zn): 58 +/- 18 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 256 +/- 55 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 31, 600 +/- 900 ppm
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing!
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
This may not have much to do with lead, but I thought this would be of interest to you. I recently discovered that my Rosetti handbag was made of a chemical called polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) which, according to many google results, is very toxic to humans and used in almost everything! So, I’m on the hunt for a purse made of more natural or safe chemicals/ingredients. I also found this article in relation to my search that you might find interesting! If you have an suggestions or advice on this subject, I would be glad to know! https://www.ceh.org/legacy/storage/documents/accessory_bag_report.pdf
Hello! Thank you for posting these results. I purchased a reversible mermaid scale sequin fabric like this one from the garment district in L.A. I would like to use it as an appliqué fabric for little girl mermaid t-shirt design to sell. I believe the results would be the same as yours and be safe to use on children’s clothing products. Where can I send this material for testing so I can provide USCPSC compliance certification if requested? Can you recommend the lab you used for testing? I am new to the embroidery world and children’s materials, and want to make safe compliant children’s products. Thank you so much for your time.