Wal-Mart Proves Dedication to High Quality Toys by Selling Low Quality Toys

More news from Wal-Mart’s Department of Ironic Double Standards: mere hours after promising to raise toy quality standards, Wal-Mart got slammed today by the Baltimore Health Commissioner for selling kids’ jewelry with 117 times the legal limit of lead in it. Because as long as Wal-Mart can put out press releases with appealing promises, it doesn’t actually matter what the company is doing.

Before Wal-Mart tries to raise the quality standards for its toys, it needs to meet its current standards first. More testing, more oversight, fewer corners cut in overseas factories and fewer press releases.

Children’s jewelry with high lead levels found in city stores [Baltimore Sun]

Two city businesses have received citations for selling children’s jewelry with excessively high levels of lead, Baltimore health officials announced today.

The Wal-Mart at 2701 Port Covington Drive was cited for selling stud earrings with blue hearts produced by Girl Connection, which were found to have 70,400 parts per million of lead. The Murray’s at 2317 E. Northern Parkway was cited for two vending machine necklaces that had lead levels of 2,940 parts per million and 3,740 parts per million, according to the Baltimore City Health Department.

The products were identified as part of 17 items of children’s jewelry tested last month by the health department. City regulations adopted in September limit children’s jewelry to no more than 600 parts per million of total lead content.

As a result of the citation, Wal-Mart management has stopped selling Girl Connection merchandise at stores across the nation, according to city Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein.

City officials say they have banned the items from being sold in Baltimore and also alerted the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Posted by Alex Goldschmidt on Thursday, May 15, 2008