Children's equipment manufacturers the Early Learning Centre and Mothercare are among retailers who have signed the Friends of the Earth Safer Chemicals Pledge. This commits them to identify which of their products contain risky chemicals and to phase them out from their own-brand goods within five years.
Friends of the Earth sent questionnaires to retailers asking about chemicals in their products. Ikea, Body Shop and Marks & Spencer came out top for their strong commitment to reducing use of risky chemicals. The Early Learning Centre and Mothercare came sixth and twentieth in the league table respectively.
The Early Learning Centre acknowledged that phthalates could be found in some of its products. Phthalates are used as softeners in toys made of PVC plastic and are suspected of causing cancer, kidney damage and disruption of the body's hormone system.
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