Can Shopping at a Dollar Store Make You Sick?

HealthyStuff released a report this week about toxic chemicals found in many dollar store products.

The report includes testing results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and other household items, that found over 81% contained at least one hazardous chemical above levels of concern.

The chemicals of concern found in dollar store products tested include: phthalates, linked to birth defects, reduced fertility, cancer, learning disabilities, diabetes, and other health issues; polyvinyl chloride plastic, and toxic metals such as lead, which harms brain development, leading to learning disabilities, lower IQ, and cause other serious health impacts, especially in children.

Other key findings from the report include:

49% of products tested contained two or more hazardous chemicals above levels of concern;
38% of the products tested contained the toxic plastic PVC (vinyl)
32% of a subset of vinyl products tested for phthalates contained levels above the Consumer Product Safety Commission limit for children’s products.