Why cadmium, a metal that can cause kidney and bone damage, is still used in jewelry

Just a few days after the hip seltzer company LaCroix faced a class-action lawsuit over its ingredients list, which includes a common flavoring that also happens to be used in cockroach poison, the Center for Environmental Health in California said that after testing dozens of pieces of jewelry, it found significant levels of the heavy metal cadmium in "31 jewelry items sold at major national retailers" like Nordstrom Rack, Burlington Coat Factory, Walgreens, and Ross According to the organization, the jewelry contains 40 to 100 percent cadmium - the level allowed in children's jewelry in California is just 0.03 percent, per the 2011 settlement of a CEH lawsuit against a number of major retailers California state doesn't have rules on cadmium content in jewelry for adults, but it does typically have stricter health laws than the rest of the country, so it would make sense to invoke its standards here.

While more expensive jewelry might be made of silver, gold, or platinum, cheaper alternatives can be formed from metals like nickel, which can cause allergic reactions, lead, or cadmium Cadmium's use in contemporary jewelry may be linked to manufacturers shying away from working with lead Reporting on the use of the former in children's jewelry back in 2010, the AP wrote, "Barred from using lead in children's jewelry because of its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers have been substituting the more dangerous heavy metal cadmium in sparkling charm bracelets and shiny pendants being sold throughout the United States" The metal poses a heightened risk when it's used in children's jewelry and toys because kids are in the habit of absentmindedly putting things in their mouths, which is one of the easier ways to get it into your system, says Fowler.

According to the organization Safer States, New York, Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, and California have restrictions or bans on the use of cadmium in children's jewelry. . Source