Target is hawking fidget spinners that contain dangerous amounts of lead, according to a consumer advocacy group.
The three-pronged toys designed to relieve stress and improve focus quickly became one of the year’s most ubiquitous gadgets and a lucrative product for manufacturers and retailers.
But after testing several models, US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (PIRG) is accusing Target of selling two models that contain “extremely high levels of lead.”
Due to its harmful effects on child development, federal laws limit the amount of lead in children’s products to 100 ppm of total lead content.
PIRG found 33,000 parts per million (ppm) of lead in the center circle and 22,000 ppm in the arm of one model called “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Brass.”
The group also found 1,300 ppm in the center circle and 520 ppm in the arm of a model called “Fidget Wild Premium Spinner Metal.”
Bulls-i-Toy, based in Iowa, supplies Target with the fidget spinners.
Target argues that the products do not have to follow the 100 ppm limit because they are not toys intended for children.
“The two fidget spinners cited in your letter are clearly marked on the package ‘appropriate for customers 14 and older,’ and are not marketed to children,” a Target official wrote in an email shared with Business Insider. “As a result, the fidget spinners identified are not regulated as toys or children’s products and are not required to meet children’s product standards.”
PIRG disputed the designation and claimed its representatives found the toxic fidget spinners in toy aisles at Target stores.
“Saying fidget spinners aren’t toys defies common sense, as millions of parents whose kids play with spinners can tell you,” said Kara Cook-Schultz, toxic director at PIRG. “The CPSC, Target and Bulls i Toy need to acknowledge the obvious — that all fidget spinners are toys.”
The consumer group has called on Target to stop selling the gadgets and recall the models it has sold.