Frequently Asked Questions
- Do your products contain BPA or Phthalates?
- Do Dandelion toys meet the brand new CPSIA safety requirements?
- What other testing do you do?
- What about the sound makers inside your toys?
- Are your fabrics 100% organic?
- Why do you use corn filling?
- What kind of dyes do you use?
- Where do your products come from?
- What is your Top Secret formula for your feeding products?
Answers
Do your products contain BPA or Phthalates?
Dandelion products do not contain BPA, and do not contain phthalates.
————^Back to Top^————Do Dandelion toys meet the brand new CPSIA safety requirements?
YES! Our parent company, Re-Think It Inc, has been providing safe, tested children’s products for 20 years…and the Dandelion collection continues the tradition! Our toys meet or exceed all required tests for toy safety, such as choking hazard, lead, flame resistance and stuffing contents; including the newest set of testing requirements which were added in August 2008. The Consumer Products Safety Improvements Act (CPSIA) imposed extensive additional testing requirements on children’s products and apparel. It was an impressive set of tests, but we sailed through with flying colors!
Whew, glad that’s done! Let’s get back to playtime. For more information about CPSIA visit www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML
————^Back to Top^————What other testing do you do?
Dandelion toys are tested, and fully comply, with US toy safety standard, ASTM F963, as well as the European toy standard, EN71. We do everything possible to provide a safe product for your baby!
————^Back to Top^————What about the sound makers inside your toys?
Our toys are adorable to look at, but baby needs more… they need stimulation, too! Sounds add an element of surprise, and help baby learn about cause & effect. The sound accessories in Dandelion toys are tucked inside an extra inner cloth pouch, and then sewn into the toy seam. All of our toys pass required safety tests for small components and choking hazard.
————^Back to Top^————Are your fabrics 100% organic?
All of our toys are made with organic cotton. Our velour and waffle-weave, are so incredibly soft, that they require a small amount of non-organic poly to provide strength and structure – and last through playtime and machine washings!
————^Back to Top^————Why do you use corn filling?
We choose corn fiber filling because it is both natural and washable (pretty important features for a baby toy, don’t you think?!) Corn filling retains its loft and does not clump, like cotton filling can.
————^Back to Top^————What kind of dyes do you use?
We use fiber reactive dyes. Fiber reactive dyes are also called “Low-Impact” dyes, due to the low-impact on the environment.
Currently, there are 3 choices for coloring fabrics: natural dyes, low impact dyes, or no dye at all (and then, well, everything would be plain ☹)
Unfortunately, natural dyes will fade and leach. They require chemicals called mordants, which can contain heavy metals, to set the dye to the fabric. The use of natural dyes requires a large volume of the dye, requires a vast amount of water to flush the excess dye out of the fabric, and creates the additional problem of what to do with all the toxic rinse water.
Dandelion, like most users of organic fabrics, chooses low-impact dyes. They have a significantly higher dye absorption rate (70-80%), which means less rinsing and much less dye runoff in the water: hence, a “lower impact” on the environment. Low-impact dyes typically have no heavy metals and don’t require mordants. We believe low-impact dyes, while not a perfect solution, are the best option currently available.
————^Back to Top^————Where do your products come from?
Our office and warehouse operations are located in Florida, and our growers and manufacturers are in Asia. We’re an American-owned family business and we have successfully teamed with factories overseas for almost 20 years. Through factory visits, and on-going batch testing, we are able to ensure that our products continually meet our (and your!) high quality standards, and both the US and the EU standards for safety.
————^Back to Top^————What is your Top Secret formula for your feeding products?
Ha! Nice try…
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