Greenpeace Toys With The Facts

A Statement by Tim Burns, Executive Director,
The Vinyl Institute,
Washington, D.C., December 8, 1999

Mattel Inc.'s announcement to seek plant-based plastics for its products and packaging in the course of the next year or so should be viewed as a business decision that companies make every day.

Every company wants the best-performing material that is also safe and environmentally acceptable. Currently, for Mattel and many other toy manufacturers, the material of choice continues to be vinyl. Decades of use have shown that vinyl is safe and environmentally benign, as well as being durable, versatile and affordable. We believe vinyl will continue to be the standard against which other materials are judged.

Greenpeace's interpretation of Mattel's announcement as an environmental and safety move linked to concerns over vinyl and phthalate plasticizers, used to make toys soft, distorts the company's action. Greenpeace is the Grinch trying to steal Christmas with its annual toy scare. It's a shame they're trying to alarm parents with baseless allegations during this holiday season.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has reviewed the safety of toys and stated "the amount of phthalates that come out of these products does not come close to a level of risk." We applaud the CPSC's continued examination of phthalates in children's toys and are confident their conclusion will mirror previous findings that these products are safe.

In its contortion of science for maximum media hype, Greenpeace consistently fails to admit that studies of rats and mice eating huge amounts of phthalates are not directly transferable to humans.

Recent studies illustrate this point.

An expert panel, chaired by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D., issued a report after a comprehensive review of the scientific literature concerning the plasticizers DEHP (used in medical products) and DINP (used in toys). Conducted under the auspices of the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), the panel concluded "DEHP, as used in medical devices, is not harmful to humans even under chronic or higher-than-average conditions of exposure," and that DINP is "not harmful for children in the normal use of these toys." Comprised of seventeen nationally and internationally recognized scientists and physicians, the panel members' expertise in relevant disciplines included pediatrics, toxicology, metabolism, epidemiology, risk assessment and medicine. The panel was formed in response to allegations raised about the safety of these compounds.

Additionally, a study published in the October issue of the journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology concludes "that the use of DINP in soft PVC toys and other children's products does not present a significant risk to children."

For the second year in a row, Greenpeace has chosen the holiday season to play "Grinch" with some of America's favorite toys. It's unfortunate that in this season of giving, parents across the nation will once again be unnecessarily alarmed by their unfounded allegations.

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The Vinyl Institute, founded in 1982, is a trade association representing the leading manufacturers of vinyl, vinyl products and additives.

For further information contact:

Allen Blakey
The Vinyl Institute
(703) 741-5666