When: In the late 1990s, consumer and environmental groups protested toys using polyvinyl chloride, made with phthalates. In one instance, Greenpeace clashed with the International Council of Toy Industries and demonstrated at the Toy Fair in Manhattan in 1997.
Why: Reports of possible health risks and also restrictions imposed on plastic in children's products in Europe stirred the controversy. In the U.S., the Consumer Product Safety Commission has found that phthalates were not hazardous in the amounts that children were likely to ingest them by chewing or sucking on plastic toys.
The European Union and more than a dozen other countries have banned phthalates in children's products. In California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year signed legislation prohibiting the use of some phthalates in products designed for children under the age of three. Wal-Mart Stores and Toys "R" Us have also put restrictions on phthalates in products they sell.
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Last updated July 16 2008: 10:50 AM ET