Avoid PVC in Baby Bibs

Awhile back, there were reports of lead in baby bibs. But if you are like me, you heard the tail end of the report while making dinner, changing a diaper, or between loud toddler talk and a baby crying, you missed something!

The Issue: Last August, an environmental health group in California tested several vinyl bibs (and some with vinyl backing) for lead. Many came back positive, testing at three or four times the legal limit of lead in paint. The bibs were sold at Toys R Us and Walmart, which swiftly took the bibs off the shelves this last summer. The Consumer Product Safety Commission did not recall the bibs, and the reasoning for this is unclear.

The brands of baby bibs that tested positive were:
Disney's Winnie the Pooh bibs
Koala Baby
Especially For Baby
Kidcosmic bib sold at Lisa Kline stores

Lead was found on the surface of these bibs, which obviously comes in direct contact with babies and puts them at risk of ingesting lead every time they wear the bib. I find this particularly disturbing because my toddler used to chew her bibs, I used them to wipe her face and I had several of these bibs in use until I heard about this issue.

What to do? Throw away all vinyl bibs! According to Caroline Cox, Research Director at the Center for Environmental Health, "Parents need to know that vinyl is a poison plastic that doesn't belong near their kids. " That's enough to make me ditch any bib that has a plastic vinyl feel or backing. Use cotton or terry cloth bibs instead (preferably organic cotton). There are lots of PVC free bib options here at MightyNest.