Back-to-school drive calls for lead-free zippers in kids’ uniforms

Are your children’s school uniforms lead-free?

A toxics watch group teamed up on Sunday with a church and a zipper manufacturer to replace lead-tainted zippers in old school uniforms and bags in preparation for the resumption of classes next week.

Under the “Palit Zipper na Ligtas sa Tingga” (trade-in of lead-free zippers) campaign conducted by EcoWaste Coalition, Our Lady of Remedies Parish in Malate, Manila, and YKK Philippines, nontoxic and eco-friendly zippers were distributed for free.

The beneficiaries included more than 100 mothers from Malate who went to the Remedios Training Center upon the invitation of parish priest Fr. Leo Distor.

The priest told them that he agreed to hold the activity with YKK and EcoWaste to encourage them to avoid relying on “cheap, low-quality” items that may contain substances harmful to their children.

“Despite the shoestring budget of these mothers who will be sending their kids to school on June 2, they can now breathe a collective sigh of relief because this ‘palit zipper’ initiative has taught them to choose zippers that are free from the poisonous chemical lead,” Distor said.

Alma Lonoza, a 32-year-old mother of five, told the Inquirer that the activity was very helpful especially for women like her who had been concerned about where to get the money for the repair of their children’s school uniforms and bags.

She said that she has three children studying in Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School in Malate.

“Now I don’t have to spend a cent to have these uniforms repaired, and I am also assured that the replacement zippers are very safe for my children,” Lonoza added.

EcoWaste national coordinator Aileen Lucero said that the project which was also part of their “Waste-Free, Toxic-Free Back-To-School” campaign was aimed at drawing attention to the lead content of some zippers and encouraging the public to buy only those which were safe.

On the other hand, YKK Philippines marketing manager Agustin Villanueva who was also present at the activity said that their company made sure that the zippers they distributed were lead-free.

“The zippers we brought today are lead compliant to get students’ uniforms and bags ready for the start of the school year,” Villanueva added.

“We carefully study our products and make sure that they comply with the latest Chemical Control Order (CCO) issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on December 2013 to give customers peace of mind and real value for their money,” he said.

In the CCO released last year, the DENR limited the amount of lead in paints to 90 parts per million. It also prohibited the use of the harmful chemical in the production of school materials and toys.

EcoWaste explained that while the CCO does not explicitly mention zippers, “it is a fact that these items are accessible parts of bags and garments that kids use in school.”

The group’s Project Protect coordinator Thony Dizon explained that zippers with high levels of lead should be kept out of children’s reach for their protection.

“There is no known amount of lead exposure that is considered safe, especially for a child’s developing brain,” Dizon said, adding that it was important for parents to get rid of all possible lead sources.

The World Health Organization has estimated the number of lead-related deaths per year at 143,000 worldwide.