Back seat drivers!
With an overwhelming array of car seats out on the market, Bryony Moore asks who is really looking out for your child's safety.
As of September 18th 2006, a new UK law on child car seats came into force, urging parents to be more conscious of the safety of their child. The law requires all children to use a car seat until they are either 135cm tall or 12 years old. After this they must use an adult seat belt. Which? recommends that you steer clear of booster cushions because they don't offer protection from side impacts.
Second-hand
Safe in the knowledge that protective parents will always be prepared to fork out a little extra, car seat manufacturers are able to charge large sums of money for products which will quickly (for newborn babies, in as little as a year) become unusable.
Many also play further on parents' safety concerns by discouraging the use of second-hand car seats, which conflicts with environmental imperatives to reduce our carbon footprint.
The RoSPA website says that using a second-hand seat can be safe, but that you should not buy if there are any signs of damage that might mean the seat has been involved in an accident. Further regulations will come into force from May 2008, stating that any car seat should conform with the safety standard UN ECE 44.03 or subsequent versions, and some older seats may not meet this standard. To be on the safe side, they recommend sourcing a relatively new one, complete with instruction manual, from friends or family, in which case you will be aware of the seat's history.
Chemicals
Making car seats involves the use of materials which contain chemicals thought to be harmful to both the environment and to people.(1) For instance, the manufacture and incineration of PVC results in the formation of large quantities of dioxin which can cause cancer and damage to the immune, developmental and reproductive systems.(2) Discarded car seats cannot be recycled and will eventually end up being incinerated or in landfill.(3)
None of the companies in this report responded to our request for their environmental report, and as a result, have all received our worst rating for environmental reporting. Disappointingly for companies that project such a caring image, our request for a policy on workers' rights at supplier companies also received no response.
Perhaps of greater concern for parents are the potential health implications for their children. An investigation carried out by the US-based Ecology Center in May 2007, found that chemicals used in the manufacture of car seats, such as flame retardants, are easily released into the environment during the seats' use. It is thought that heat and sunlight may increase the rate at which such chemicals are released, and may also cause them to break down into more toxic compounds.
The study focused on chemicals containing the elements bromine, chlorine and lead, as well as other heavy metals, allergens and carcinogens. Suspected side-effects of exposure to these compounds include growth and development problems and delayed puberty onset.(7)
Because their systems are still developing, children may be more vulnerable to these possible health risks.(8) All of the companies included in our table were asked whether any of their car seats contained bromine chlorine or lead, and none replied.
The Ecology Center points out that it is the repeated exposure to these chemicals which poses a threat to children's health, not car seats alone, and that parents should not stop using them. "We encourage parents to ask manufacturers about the chemical ingredients of children's products to reduce [this] exposure where possible."(10)
Do One Thing
Make sure you keep the manual for your car seat, then once it has been outgrown you can pass it on to friends or family, or advertise it on Freecycle.
Links
References
1 http://archive.greenpeace.org/toxics/html/content/pvc1.html viewed on 30/10/07
2 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
3 http://www.penwith.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=20321 viewed 28 October 2007
4 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
5 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
6 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
7 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
8 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
9 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07
10 HealthyCar.org 2006/7 Guide to Car Seats 05/07