You know how almost all little girls have their princess years? A period of time where they just adore dressing up to the nines either to emulate yourself (the gorgeous mummy) or an elder sister (the beautiful sister) or simply a favourite Princess from a bedtime story? And at that age, although they love all accessories from tiaras to hair clips and necklaces to rings…they tend to have a taste that is different to ours. They love cutesy jewelry with lots of bling and manufacturers know just how to make them irresistible- add a dash of adorable, some colourful stones/plastic and a whole lot of shiny.
Now you and I both know almost all little girls have them, those adjustable rings, colourful charm bracelets and plastic Disney Princess tiaras…just to name a few. Sometimes we buy them at the departmental store and sometimes we pick those up at a bazaar. But the point is they are usually cheap (unless you’re talking about anything from a Mattel’s Barbie line or even Disney’s) and there’s a good reason for it.
The law of business is simple. If there’s demand, you make plenty of it and the lower you can bring your cost, the higher the profits you make. So when that law is applied to children’s jewelry, here’s what happens:
1. Parents love their kids and will buy them everything they can afford.
2. Kids are a tad too young to be wearing the real deal (robbery, theft and carelessness all come to mind as worries) so fakes are the sought after.
3. The lower the cost of making, the more variety a manufacturer can produce.
4. Manufacturers need to find the perfect metal to make these jewelry and since lead has been banned, the next best thing is cadmium because it is soft, shiny, malleable and can be worked at lower temperatures.
Now here’s the problem. Cadmium is dangerous. It’s classified as a neurotoxin and carcinogen. Poisoning usually occurs through inhalation and ingestion so just wearing it ought to be safe right? I guess but have you considered how children tend to taste everything? And what happens if they swallow it?
I’m not sure if there’s a unified ban all across the world for using cadmium in children’s jewelry but it’s not exactly regulated in China and we all know almost everything is made in China these days. And because it’s not easy to identify if cadmium is in the jewelry (the tests would cost more than the accessory) so it’s best to always be safe. Unless it’s from a reputable brand/make, you’d best go through your little girl’s drawer and toss those you are doubtful about. Cadmium poisoning is no laughing matter.
