Below are the XRF test results for the Burt’s Bees Baby Organic Cotton Pajamas (Made in India) pictured here.
What I love about this example is that the photos clearly show that a baby will CHEW on these zippers, so it is extra important that these components are free of toxicants.
This is one reason to avoid hand-me-down or vintage clothing for use with children, as buttons and zippers are often leaded on vintage (or even new off-brand) products. Only children’s clothes post-2011 are “guaranteed” to be Lead-free and Cadmium-free, but even then some pieces slip through the cracks. (Here’s a LINK to a recent recall for children’s clothing that was found to have unsafe levels of toxicants.)
White Painted Metal Zipper:
(Minimum 60 second test, if a metal is not noted it was not detected by the XRF instrument.)
- Gold (Au): 15,800 +/- 5,200 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 753,400 +/- 5,600 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 223,200 +/- 2,000 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 3,015 +/- 1,379 ppm
- Magnesium (Mn): 1,118 +/- 438 ppm
Please continue reading below image.
White and Blue Painted Metal Logo Snap (image above):
- Zinc (Zn): 304,900 +/- 2,200 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 512,200 +/- 2,700 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 612 +/- 137 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 179,700 +/- 1,800 ppm
Main part of zipper (not pull tab):
(mostly plastic, so few metals detected)
- Antimony (Sb): 81 +/- 26 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 100 +/- 9 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 126 +/- 21 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 722 +/- 236 ppm
Please continue reading below image.
Painted Logo Tag (on cloth):
- Zinc (Zn): 176 +/- 12 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 23 +/- 11 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 200 +/- 27 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,498 +/- 328 ppm
#SimpleSolutions:
- Stick with name-brand, recently made high quality clothing for your children whenever possible. (Organic is a plus!)
- Don’t accept vintage or hand-me-down (older/ pre-2011) clothing for your kiddos.
- Never buy off-brand clothing for children online. [Here’s a LINK to an example of a high-Lead recently purchased online piece of children’s clothing.]
- Safe clothing does not have to be expensive. Target and Walmart are good sources for clothing that is more likely to be safe (because they are so closely watched by regulatory agencies and have a lot to lose if there is a violation.)
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Have you ever tested the brand “Lamaze” for organic cotton baby clothes? There zippers and snaps look like plastic. What are the chances of it being leaded?