advocacy group | Lake Oconee Breeze

Fidget spinners sold at Target have high levels of lead, consumer group says

(RNN) – A consumer advocacy group said they found fidget spinners sold at Target contained more than 300 times the lead levels allowed in children’s toys.

In response, Target and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the fidget spinners in question were not recommended for kids, according to the Public Interest Research Group.

“Saying fidget spinners aren’t toys defies common sense, as millions of parents whose kids play with spinners can tell you,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, U.S. PIRG Education Fund toxics director. “The CPSC, Target and Bulls i Toy (the manufacturer) need to acknowledge the obvious – that all fidget spinners are toys.”

The group said lab results showed the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass had 33,000 parts per million of lead. Another product, the Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Metal, had 1,300 ppm.

The legal limit for children’s toys is 100 ppm.

The CPSC told PIRG that fidget spinners are classified as “general use products,” and the package stated they were for ages 14 and older. A Target representative told The Washington Post the fidget spinners were not marketed to children.

As of Thursday, the Target website mistakenly had the age recommendation as “6 years and up” in the product details under the Fidget Wild Spinner Premium Brass. The product sells for $19.99.

The CPSC has previously warned people that models of the popular trinket are a potential choking hazard for children.

“Even small amounts of lead in toys can be ingested when transferred from fingers to mouth or from fingers to food,” said Dr. Helen Binns, pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago in the PIRG news release.