Fidget spinners pulled from Target after concerns over high lead counts
One day after a report was released claiming that certain fidget spinners sold at Target contained harmful amounts of lead, the retailer pulled the device from its shelves.
The “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass” and “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner” metal products are no longer available at Target, ABC News reported Friday evening.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund published a report and news release Thursday concluding that “two fidget spinners purchased at Target and distributed by Bulls i Toy, L.L.C. contained extremely high levels of lead” based off lab results. The group called on the companies to immediately recall the toys.
The reports found that the spinners in question wildly exceeded the legal maximum amount of in children’s toys manufactured after August 2011. Federal law says children’s products should not exceed 100 parts per million of lead content. One of the fidget spinners (brass) tested for 33,000 ppm. The other (metal) tested for 1,300 ppm.
“Based on the concerns raised, we’re removing them from our assortment,” Target spokeswoman Jenna Reck said in a statement to ABC News.
Target’s initial response Thursday, as the report was referenced across national media, was not to pull the products, but to point out that they do not technically violate laws or guidelines for children’s toys – the spinners are actually labeled for ages 14 and older.
“The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has reviewed and explicitly defined fidget spinners as ‘general use products.’ They are not defined by the CPSC as toys,” Target spokesman Lee Henderson said in a prepared statement, according to CBS News.
The U.S. PIRG report, however, addresses Target’s defense: “U.S. PIRG Education Fund staff found these fidget spinners sold in the toy aisle of Target stores and on the Target.com website, which includes a statement that the product is intended for children ages 6 and up. Furthermore, common sense dictates that fidget spinners are meant for kids and therefore should be classified as toys.”
CPSC comissioner Elliot Kaye tweeted Thursday: “Seems obvious fidget spinners are toys and should comply with all applicable federal safety standards.”
Fidget spinners exploded in popularity earlier this year, and are indeed popular among adults as well as kids.
This story was originally published November 11, 2017 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Fidget spinners pulled from Target after concerns over high lead counts."