According to a recent study released by researchers for the Michigan-based Ecology Center, one in three toys tested was found to contain toxic chemicals such as lead, flame retardants and arsenic.
It turns out that researchers tested more than 1,500 popular toys for lead, cadmium, arsenic, PVC and other harmful chemicals and said they found that one-third of the toys contain "medium" or "high" levels of chemicals of concern, which are not bad for the environment from a manufacturing standpoint, they're also terrible for the health of little ones.
Wondering whether or not that gift you were about to purchase made the list? Click through to find out.
The group said it selected toys and children's products that attempted to represent a cross section of the most popular items used by U.S. children, and researchers bought the toys at chain stores including Target, Kmart, Toys R Us, Babies R Us, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart, as well as drug stores, dollar stores, on-line retailers and independent toy stores as well.
And as promised, if you'd like to ascertain whether or not that shiny new toy your child's been asking for made the list there's an easily searchable database located on their website, HealthyToys.org, where you can get the complete low down before you wrap it up and put it under the tree.
HealthyToys Database Cuts Through Confusion for Consumers Everywhere