School supplies could be tainted with harmful chemicals, MARY PIRG says

Baltimore, MD - Nice cute little puppies.

The doggies on the pencil case are nice, but the stuff that makes up the pencil cases, the binders, the backpack and well pretty much everything on this table isn't nice.

”PVC is a chemical that's accumulating in our bodies we're finding it in children and women and it's also linked to many health concerns some of the additives in PVC such as thalates are linked to reproductive and developmental disorders.” MARY PIRG Associate Jenny Levin says.

MARY PIRG bought many of these items at deep discount stores, but others were purchased at more main stream retailers like Target.

The group is lobbying to revise chemical safety laws that govern the types of chemicals used in products for children and to create better labeling.

Because it's what you don't know that can hurt you in the long term.

“The backpack is probably the worst offender if you look at the whole thing it's made out of this big plastic there couldn't be anything wrong with it it's this big pink pack for kids but if you look inside on the label it is completely made out of polyvinyl chloride." MARY PIRG Coordinator Sophie Hess says.

So how can you tell if an item is made up of PVC?

Sometimes they just feel cheap and have strong plastic smell.

The plastic is shiny and soft, the coating on things like notebooks have sparkles and glitter or the plastic is clear.

Back to school shopping is a multi billion dollar business.

MARY PIRG says for parents who do the shopping, they need to do what they do in the supermarket when it comes to making good food choices....read the labels...and make good supply choices.

“There's enough things and enough choices you have to make in the first place, label reading and food choices and to have to now go to the store and read the labels on my school supplies is yet another thing." Says Jenny Gaintner, who has just started shopping for supplies for her two boys.

MARY PIRG has published a guide of supplies and what to look for when buying supplies.

If you would like a copy you can go to their website at www.marylandpirg.org.