This newly purchased (2018) set of Walmart brand “Holiday Time” 8-function battery-operated LED multicolor mini lights (pictured above) was tested with an XRF instrument. It was not disassembled for testing, so only accessible parts that one would normally touch when using them (installing them or operating them) were tested.
To learn more about XRF testing, click HERE.
Of note: There is NO “Prop 65” warning on the package, product tag or package insert for these lights. They also tested negative (across the board) for toxicants (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic, and other metals) with an XRF instrument.
This example supports my theory that nationally branded holiday light manufacturers (like Walmart and Walgreens who make their own branded products, which they also sell in California) now (in 2018) appear to only be including the Prop 65 warning when there is a toxicant present. Said another way, in 2018 (and later), newly purchased and nationally sold holiday lights without a “Prop 65” warning* are likely to be Lead-free!
*The “Prop 65” warning is a legislated California standard (requiring specific labeling for Leaded products and products with other specific toxicants present). If national chains manufacture branded products that they sell in California AND elsewhere across the country, the California market is large enough that it makes sense for ALL of their branded product to have the appropriate labeling for California so they don’t have to worry about what stock gets sent where (when managing distribution).
Also in support of this theory, when we went to buy Halloween lights in 2017, Walgreens had some Walgreens branded lights with Prop 65 warnings and some without. I bought the ones without the warnings and it turned out they were also Lead-free when tested with an XRF instrument.
Ikea holiday lights are also a good Lead-free choice.
That said, please do be wary of older holiday light sets, which can be VERY high Lead in the parts you touch. One way to tell the difference between older sets of potentially high-Lead lights and newer lights is the older lights have a more rubbery sticky texture on the cords and other elements whereas the newer lights tend to have stiffer harder plastic elements (usually with rougher/ dryer texture to the plastic).
Please scroll down through all of the images below (and past all of the annoying ads that help to fund our work on this site!!!) to see the exact XRF test results for each component of this set of lights we tested to make this determination.
Click here to see these exact lights on Walmart’s site.
Green Wire (image above):
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 263 +/- 60 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 296 +/- 194 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 147 +/- 12 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 662 +/- 54 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 2,140 +/- 103 ppm
- Iron (Fe): Non-Detect / Negative
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Battery Pack (exterior, image above):
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): Non-Detect / Negative
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 189 +/- 11 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 21 +/- 12 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 164 +/- 12 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 478 +/- 32 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): 1,269 +/- 231 ppm
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Continue reading to see the XRF test results for each color bulb.
Blue Light:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 1,603 +/- 107 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 3 +/- 2 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 137 +/- 11 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 76 +/- 20 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Green Light:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 1,243 +/- 151 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 516 +/- 15 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 83 +/- 14 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 230 +/- 25 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 74 +/- 15 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,298 +/- 73 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Purple Light:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 1,376 +/- 140 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 107 +/- 6 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 103 +/- 12 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 18 +/- 10 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 78 +/- 25 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Yellow Light:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 1,150 +/- 149 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 9 +/- 3 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 108 +/- 13 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 45 +/- 25 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
Red Light:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 1,640 +/- 179 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Bromine (Br): 15 +/- 4 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 125 +/- 17 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 78 +/- 34 ppm
- Vanadium (V): Non-Detect / Negative
- Titanium (Ti): Non-Detect / Negative
- Indium (In): Non-Detect / Negative
If I celebrated Christmas, I would definitely consider purchasing these for use in my home.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing these test results.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
For those new to this website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times to confirm the test results for each component tested. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).
Yay! So good to know! Now if Everyone could make their lights this way!
So you’re fairly comfortable in thinking that as long as they’re 2018 lights without the prop 65 label, they shouldn’t test positive? Wonder if this particular brand (without prop65) would be a safer bet than others (until we know for sure).
Also…I’ve been in contact with a tree company and they claim to ne made with PE and no flame retardant…would you possibly consider the tree safe? How about a PET tree with optic fiber lights & no flame retardant? Thank you for educating the world on lead and heavy metals!
Hi Sarah. I do think these lights will be safe. I have another Walgreens set I am testing too – with similar parameters that I expect will also be Lead-free. I am fundamentally against fake trees – from an environmental perspective… and I think a potted tree you can keep in the house is better – or a small real tree if possible. But we also don’t celebrate Christmas (we are Jewish) so my perspective is skewed.
Seeeeee! I look forward to seeing the results of more light testing. Oh yes, I totally get that about trees! 🙁 I’m sorry. We do enjoy a real tree and will also be making a wooden tree at some point. There’s just something (to me) though about having a tree I can put up in early Nov and keep it up until end of Jan. I tend to enjoy stretching out the festivities in my mind. 😉 if it’s any consolation, I like the pencil trees that don’t have many branches. I do wonder if they’ll at least be lead free if they’re made without pvc tips.
hi Tamara, can you test any big name brands of plug in Christmas lights such as Philips (sold at target) or the ikea ones? I really want to buy some plug in white lights for my kids Christmas tree but so worried they may have lead, thank you so much!
Hi! How did testing go with that Walgreens brand? It’s our first non toxic Christmas and I waited too late to get this exact model of lights from Walmart, so I’m hoping the Walgreens models are lead free (and available!)
THANK YOU for everything you’re doing and sharing ♥️♥️♥️ And HAPPY CHANUKAH!!
Oops! Came back to show my family. Meant *sweeeeet! Not see. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Tamara!
Thank you! You too! Have a great holiday!
just curious-what holiday do you celebrate?
Chanukah & very low-key:
• Organic potato latkes (sometimes vegan) and beeswax candles in the menorah.
• Small gift exchange/ white-elephant gift exchange.
• One or two GIANT MUSICAL latke parties each year too (where we invite everyone we know and I am on my feet for 6 or 8 hours cooking latkes while everyone plays jazz in the living room!) 🙂
Thanks very much for this! Perfect timing. Ordered multiple sets using your affiliate link.
Oh – I don’t have an affiliate link for Walmart – It’s just a direct link. 🙂
I need to figure out how to make it an affiliate link!!!
Hi Tamara, Do you think all the Walmart branded “Holiday Time” lights will test safe like the one you tested? Even the plug in versions? Is there anyway you could test more versions of this brand so we can feel confident buying this brand? I will gladly buy through your affiliate link as well!
I expect to be posting more today. Unfortunately I don’t have an affiliate link for Walmart – so it’s just a normal link! 😉
FYI, here is the link to become a Walmart.com affiliate so you can post affiliate links for us to use and help you out for all the work you do! https://affiliates.walmart.com/
Thank you so much! What a sweetheart you are!!!!
I agree, I would like this as well! Perhaps some white lights?
Hi Tamara,
I’m so grateful for all your work in keeping our world informed, I frequent your site before most purchases. Regarding holiday lights, did you happen to test any white lights or just the multicolored?
Thanks in advance!
Amanda
Hi Tamara, I saw the plug in version of the Walmart holiday time lights have arsenic and antimony. The thing is, I prefer white lights. Do you think the battery pack white lights will test the same, arsenic, lead and antimony free as the colored battery pack lights?
I do think all the battery pack style lights will be similar from this brand [educated guess.]
Hi, where did you see that the plug in version of Holiday Time lights have arsenic in them? I just bought a bunch assuming they would be safe…
Sorry, never mind, I missed Tamara’s new post.
hi tamara! have you ever tested this style of light before? does it seem like it may contain lead based on appearances? im thinking of sending them to you for testing if interested?
https://amzn.to/34SYUf7 (Tamara’s affiliate link for the product).
Hi Nicole,
I don’t recall testing one like that.
Tamara
do think its worth sending to you for testing based on appearance?
I love your work and appreciate it so much!! I was wondering if you feel your test for this would apply to the other battery powered lights of the same brand such as this one:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Holiday-Time-8-Function-LED-Ultra-Slim-Wire-Light-Set-Multi-100-Count/150957490?athcpid=150957490&athpgid=AthenaItempage&athcgid=null&athznid=siext&athieid=v0&athstid=CS004&athguid=mwKmWstogyIyNFhH0K06qjfBecSFJNloDIBD&athancid=null&athena=true