Dollar store deals might look like a bargain from the outside: everything usually is a dollar or at least close to it. But looking at the harmful product ingredients it can turn out to be not a bargain after all.
Recent testing of dollar store products found that nearly 81% contained one or more hazardous chemicals. The tests, conducted by a third party consumer testing group, found chemicals associated with cancer, obesity, diabetes, asthma, thyroid and kidney diseases, learning problems, lower IQ, birth defects and early puberty. Here are five items you should think about buying from elsewhere.
1. Kitchen Dollar Store Items
The black solid color spoons, spatulas and forks may contain high levels of bromine, a component in flame retardants or BFRs. Though these are added to make the products resistant to fire, the have been linke d to cancer, birth defects and impaired brain development. That ingredient has effectively been phased ou in the U.S. but thy are still available in these cheap, dollar store utensils.
What To Do: Use stainless steel or real wood utensils.
2. Plastic Silly Straws
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Sily straws found in the dollar store have tested high for level of DEHP used in consumer products. Some phtalates interfere witheh body’s endocrine system, and studides have linked them to ashta and allergies, prostate and testicular cancer and type 2 diabeses.
What To Do: Brands like “Silly Straws” and non-plastic straws (look for recycled carboard) are BPA and PVC free.
3. Electronic Accessories
Extension cords, USB charging cords and cell phone charges are something we all need , but maybe not from the Dollar Store. Those from your local dollar store tested high in chlorine, a sign that the items were made with a plastic called plyvinyl chloride or PVC.
PVC is made from vinyl chloride, a cancer-causing chemical that has harmed workers and contiminated communities close to the factories.
What To Do: Go to your local electronic or battery store instead.
4. Vinyl Floor Coverings
Flexible, adhesive bath mats from dollar stores have tested high in both phthalates and chloriene. Exposures to these phthalates affect multiple parts of our bodies.
What To Do: Avoid any products labeled “vinyl” on the label.
5. Holiday Lights
Shopping at the dollar store during the holidays can save us a lot of money , but at what cost to our health? There are high levels of chlorine and bromine, including flame-retardant chemicals in thesw have been linked to cancer and thyroid problems.
What To Do: When buying holiday lights, check the tags to make sure they are ROHS-climpliant.
