According to reports filed with the Washington State Department of Ecology, over 5000 children’s products contain toxic chemicals that are linked to cancer, hormone disruption, and reproductive problems. The Washington Toxics Coalition and Safer States performed an analysis of the reports and found that several major companies that manufacture kids’ products are using a total of 41 chemicals identified by Ecology as a concern for children’s health. Some of these problematic chemicals include toxic metals such as cadmium, mercury, and antimony, plus organic compounds such as phthalates. Walmart, Gap, Gymboree, Hallmark and H & M are just some of the companies who admit they use these chemicals in various products marketed specifically to children and adolescents. The report notes that the toxic products include items such as children’s clothing and footwear, personal care products, baby products, toys, car seats, and arts and craft supplies. Some specific products containing harmful chemicals include:

• Hallmark party hats which contain cancer-causing arsenic.
• Graco car seats which contain a toxic flame retardant TBBPA (tetrabromobisphenol A).
• Claire’s cosmetics which contain cancer-causing formaldehyde.
• Walmart dolls which contain hormone-disrupting bisphenol A (BPA).

Erika Schreder, science director for the Washington Toxics Coalition notes, “The data shows store shelves remain full of toxic chemicals that we know are a concern for children’s health. These reports are critical for understanding the presence of toxic chemicals in our homes and the marketplace.”

The sultry dog days of summer are nearing, so we’ve rounded up Inhabitots’ favorite canine-related stories! If you live in a locale where temperatures continue to drop at night during the summer months, check out our story on how to make sweaters out of your dog’s fur. Thinking of adding a four-legged friend to your family? Be sure to check out these 8 questions to ask before adopting a dog. Whether you’re out walking your dog or your kids like to approach dogs when out and about, here’s a quick lesson in dog safety that can help prevent dog bites. If you love dogs but adopting a pooch isn’t in the cards, consider propping up one of Marc Tetro’s puppy pop-outs as cute canine decor. Does everyone in your family constantly lose socks and gloves? Don’t render the pair obsolete — instead upcycle strays into adorable plush puppies via Miyako Kanamori’s DIY craft books. Artist Amelia Santiago creates amazing lifelike miniature versions of your beloved pet using 100% wool felt in her pet portrait sculptures. Robert Bradford impresses with his recycled toy dog sculptures that are chic and cheery. Star Wars fans and dog lovers will be delighted by Katie Mello’s hilarious AT-AT costume for dogs.

Is your baby already reaching for your iPhone? Keep your baby and your phone safe, by handing over the all-natural Wooden Cell Phone Toy from 3 Princess Engraving instead. These cute teething toys don’t emit dangerous cell phone radiation, and they’re made from Canadian maple and finished with unscented, non-toxic beeswax polish. To make the iPhone teether even more fun, get it personalized! The designers will engrave your child’s name on the back in the font of your choice and you can choose who is calling – Daddy, Mommy, Auntie, a sibling and so on.

+ Wooden Cell Phone Toy $12.00

+ Personalized Wooden Phone Toy $17.00

+ 3 Princess Engraving

From amazing life-sized Lego structures and spooky Halloween Lego mansions to Lego household goods and Lego sets that inspire girls to build; we love Lego here at Inhabitots. What we don’t love however, is that LEGO products are not sustainably designed or manufactured. The company rarely makes recycled bricks, they use a plethora of plastic packaging and they don’t even print their instructions on recycled paper. Bummer. You could opt for a wooden Lego alternative, but it’s not really the same — and there are only so many recycled crafts that Legos are good for. So what’s a Lego loving family to do?

You could try Pleygo! Pleygo is a new and innovative Lego rental service (think Netflix for bricks) founded by A-List Mom publisher, Elina Furman. With Pleygo, green families can feel a little better about all that plastic because this service allows you to rent and/or trade Lego sets rather than purchasing new ones. Keep reading to learn about all the benefits of Pleygo, and see how this Lego swap service works.

According to Save the Children, a baby’s first day of life is his most dangerous. As data from the 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report shows, each year, more than 1 million babies die on the very day they’re born, and 75% of these deaths could be prevented with some basic, cost-efficient care practices in place. The 2013 edition of this report, aptly entitled, “Surviving the First Day,” goes on to share that the United States is a major part of the problem when it comes to newborn mortality.

It is now riskier to be born in the United States than it is to be born in 68 other countries, with 11,300 U.S. babies dying on the day they’re born.

Additionally, this valuable report is also packed with information about what it means to be a mother in today’s world, and apparently it’s not at all a good thing to be a mama today in the good ol’ USA. As in past year’s reports, the United States ranks abysmally low when it comes to mother-value and care, coming in as only the 30th best place to be a mother in the entire world. That’s just shameful. Keep reading to see how other countries stack up and to find out the best and worst places in the world to be a mom.

Kids are full of boundless, vibrant creativity, and qb Playhouses enable a child to channel his or her fanciful imagination and colorful take on life into a one-of a-kind miniature abode. Via an easy, 1-2-3 process: “Choose, Build, Play,” “everything is possible” when it comes to designing and customizing a qb playhouse. What a wonderful philosophy to encourage a child’s dreams.