In a landmark legal settlement, a national retail chain that sells jewelry and other products aimed at girls ages 7 to 14 is eliminating the use of cadmium in all of its products.
As the Associated Press reports, the operator of the Justice stores chain, Tween Brands Inc., in July, 2010, recalled 137,000 pieces of jewelry manufactured in China after they were discovered to have high levels of the toxic metal cadium.
The court case that led to the settlement with Tween Brands was brought by the California-based consumer advocacy group Center for Environmental Health. The suit was brought under California’s Proposition 65, which aims to limit consumer exposure to toxic substances.
The suit was spurred by the discovery of a store owned by Tween Brands that was shown in February, 2010, to be selling jewelry that was 69 percent cadmium. In agreeing to the settlement, “Tween is really being a leader and doing the right thing,” said Caroline Cox, the Center for Environmental Health’s research director.
The group also is negotiating with 39 other jewelry retailers, and hopes that the decision by Tween will encourage other vendors and manufacturers to follow suit.
The use of cadmium — which poses danger to the kidneys and the bones, and can be fatal in large doses — has been widespread in jewelry, leading to five recalls last year. Laboratory testing performed for the AP found recalled pieces that were more than 90 percent cadmium.
Under the agreement, Tween’s products will have a composition of, at most, 0.03 percent cadmium as of this coming January. The agreement technically applies to jewelry sold in California only, but the size of the state’s market is such that Tween is understood to be carrying out the policy nationwide.
A California law limiting cadmium in jewelry content to the same 0.03 percent level goes into effect at the same time, though only for products intended for children age 6 and younger.
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