Toxic lead levels in fashion accessories at two retailers [Video]

People usually don’t think of shopping as a health hazard, but a report called “Toxic Fashion” released this week by CEH, the Center for Environmental Health, said their investigators found high levels of lead in fashion accessories sold by two retail chains, Ross and Burlington.

“What we found is handbags, belts, wallets, shoes, whether they’re leather or faux leather disproportionally have high levels of lead,” said Kizzy Charles-Guzman, CEO of the Center for Environmental Health.

The CEH report says the non-profit’s investigators went to 63 Ross stores and 15 Burlington stores across California, including more than one dozen stores in the Bay Area.

The report says lab tests showed hundreds of items, under a wide range of brand names, had lead levels above 300 parts per million, compared to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s safety limit of 100 parts per million for children’s items.

“We absolutely need safer standards. We …