MANILA, Philippines — Those looking to buy toys and accessories featuring the trending “Labubu” character should stay away from unofficial items as these could contain the poisonous element lead, environmental group EcoWaste Coalition warned on Saturday.
According to the group, “unofficial” products inspired by Labubu, a toy designed after the currently popular elf character, were found all over shops in Manila’s Divisoria area.
The toxics watchdog said it saw imitation dolls, stuffed toys, key chains, phone accessories and other items being sold at affordable prices, typically without the required authorization and labeling information.
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After buying and testing 42 of these items through X-Ray Fluorescence screening, EcoWaste found eight such toys containing lead, which ranged from 212 parts per million (ppm) to 1,728 ppm.
The group said most of the items were made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, which uses lead as a stabilizer or colorant.
“Children are exposed to lead in PVC toys when they put such toys inside their mouth and chew on them,” warned EcoWaste. “Chronic exposure to lead even at low levels can harm a child’s health over time, affecting the child’s growth, development and future.”
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, lead affects children more than adults as they can “absorb about four to five times more of the lead that enters their bodies.”
The UN agency said the chemical “affects almost every organ in a child’s body,” including the brain, resulting in decreased intelligence, behavioral disorders and learning problems.
EcoWaste also warned that these PVC plastic toys could contain phthalates, which are used as plasticizers to make the product soft and flexible.
Known as “endocrine disrupting chemicals,” phthalates can “block, imitate or interfere with the body’s hormones,” said EcoWaste. These chemical compounds are also harmful to children as it “has been linked to allergies, asthma, abnormal genital formation and behavioral problems.”