Remove toxic products from shelves
1
10 children's products sent for inspection on a public welfare basis
In March, Toxics-Free Corps tested 10 children's products, including toys, shoes, stationery, and sporting goods, provided by parents at the Living Hall of Ivy League Institute for Sustainable Development in Xicheng District, Beijing. The test report revealed that one rubber duck toy contained 282 times the national mandatory standard for phthalates (DBP, BBP, and DEHP). Parents reported that the toy was a complimentary bathing ear pad and their child frequently bit it. Another pair of children's sandals contained phthalates exceeding the national mandatory standard on both the sole and upper, with the upper exceeding the standard by 232 times and the sole by 199 times. The soluble boron content in one type of ultra-light clay exceeds the EU toy standard by 0.75 times.
Reference Standards:
Ruby Duck: GB 6675.1-2014 "Safety of Toys - Part 1: Basic Specifications"
Children's Sandals: GB 30585-2014 "Technical Specification for the Safety of Children's Footwear"
Ultra-Light Clay: EU EN71-3:2019 "Safety of Toys - Part 3: Migration of Elements."
Picture: Samples of yellow duck exceeding the standard
2
Child Anti-Collision Strip Survey
In March, Toxics-Free Corps, using the keyword "Children's Anti-Collision Strips," selected 10 NBR (nitrile butadiene rubber) models ranked by sales on e-commerce platforms. These products were then sent to a qualified third-party testing agency for formamide testing. The test results were based on the GB/T 39498-2020 "Guidelines for the Control of Key Chemical Substances in Consumer Products," which stipulates that the formamide content of foam toy materials should be ≤200 mg/kg. The test report showed that all 10 models exceeded the standard for formamide.
Picture: One of the anti-collision strip samples submitted for inspection
3
Survey results released on children's jump ropes and student transparent desk mats
In March, Toxics-Free Corps released survey results on children's jump ropes and students' transparent desk mats.
4
Survey on PVC children's sandals:
From March to April, Toxics-Free Corps used the keyword "children's sandals PVC" to purchase the top 10 selling models on JD.com, Taobao, Pinduoduo, Douyin, and Kuaishou, totaling 50 infant-sized children's sandals. These models were then sent to a third-party testing agency to determine whether their phthalate content met the limit requirements of the national mandatory standard GB 30585-2014, "Technical Specifications for Safety of Children's Shoes." The test results showed that 25 models of children's sandals exceeded the phthalate limit, with a failure rate of 50%.
5
Push for the removal of links to mercury-containing whitening cosmetics
Based on the results of the 2021 survey, in November 2024, we searched for "pictures" of products with mercury risks on platforms such as JD.com, Taobao, Pinduoduo, 1688, Douyin, and Kuaishou, and found that 16 products were still on sale on Chinese e-commerce platforms. According to incomplete statistics conducted by Toxics-Free Corps and 10 volunteers over a period of one month, there were at least 1,468 illegal links selling these 16 products across the entire network.
From January to April 2025, we initially engaged in dialogue with various e-commerce platforms. While this effort was ineffective, media coverage led to improvements in the rectification process. As of April 30, 2025, the platforms had removed a cumulative 1,443 illegal links, achieving a removal rate of over 98%, demonstrating significant improvement.
AI Products and Services
From March to April 2025, the Toxics-Free Corps AI Assistant focused on launching a children's shoe fact-checking project on the occasion of Children's Day, and actively carried out preparatory work, laying the foundation for providing users with professional and effective children's shoe information.
1.User Research
1.1Questionnaire Survey
We designed a questionnaire covering multiple key dimensions such as children's shoe purchasing habits, concerns, and purchasing scenarios, attracting 25 users to participate.
1.2User Interviews
In order to further deepen our understanding of core users, we selected 9 representative users for in-depth interviews. During the interviews, we had in-depth exchanges with users and gained many valuable insights, which provided a lot of inspiration for our subsequent knowledge base construction and function optimization. We made it clear that complex information should be presented in a way that is easy for users to understand, helping them to make purchase decisions more easily. Through questionnaire analysis and interview feedback, we have preliminarily outlined the core user portrait. At the same time, we found that when parents buy children's shoes, they generally have a low awareness of checking and retaining labels; parents generally have no concept of implementation standards and lack professional judgment ability. They hope to have authoritative and easy-to-understand information channels for reference; when parents choose shoes for their children, they mainly refer to physical properties and have a low awareness of chemical safety.
2.Knowledge base construction focuses on the theme of children's shoes
We focused on building the knowledge base from the following three aspects, which improved the professionalism and practicality of the content and ensured that users were provided with comprehensive and reliable fact-checking response information on children's shoes.
2.1 Collection and Interpretation of National and Industry Standards for Children's Shoes: We collected and interpreted the current national and industry standards for children's shoes, such as GB30585-2014 Children's Shoes Safety Technical Specification, to ensure that key standards for children's shoes are covered. We collected professional interpretations of these complex standards, comparing national mandatory standards with industry standards, focusing on the requirements for chemical substances in each standard. We translated this information into accessible text, laying the foundation for subsequent verification of implementation standards.
2.2 Children's shoe label information and test report interpretation rules sorting out: The team worked with Prompt to organize internal resources and collaborate with a third-party professional testing company to collect various children's shoe samples from the market, categorize and organize their label information and test reports, and establish a set of rules for interpreting label information and test reports. These rules were then translated into prompts that the AI assistant could understand, allowing it to provide clear and accurate judgments and responses when interpreting user-provided label information and test reports.
Children's shoes public opinion information compilation: Focusing on the official channels of recalls of children's shoes by provincial and municipal market supervision and management bureaus and enterprises, we organize the random inspection and recall information of children's shoes and create a random inspection information database and a recall database. This allows users to check at any time whether the children's shoes they purchased have a record of unqualified random inspections or recalls, so as to help users avoid potential risks.
Public Events
1
The book club "Children and Environmental Toxins" concluded successfully
On April 2, the "Children and Environmental Toxins" book club, co-sponsored by Toxics-Free Corps and monthly donor Qi Yuting, concluded successfully. The book club was launched on January 8, 2025. After 3 months and 11 sessions of book club, the 10 members read for a total of 1,132 minutes.
The book club's philosophy and format of co-creation permeated the entire experience. During the online meeting, participants took turns leading the reading, logged and shared their learning and Toxics-Free actions daily, and shared product recommendations and scientific information within the WeChat group. This community and learning atmosphere imbued the book club with a sense of fun and warmth, in addition to its serious and professional content. We believe that this reading journey, which began in the cold winter and culminated in the Qingming Festival, is not only a transfer of knowledge but also a collective awakening to the chemical risks in children's living environment.
2
Offline science activities for Earth Day
On April 22nd, Hu Yongling and volunteers Qi Yuting (a monthly donor), Liu Quanzhen, and Yang Chuqi traveled to the Flextronics Industrial Park in Zhuhai to participate in the "Our Energy, Our Planet" event, themed for World Earth Day. At the event, we showcased interactive educational products like the Toxics-Free Corps AI assistant, product surveys for substandard samples, and the "Toxics-Free Home" guide. We engaged in engaging conversations with nearly 100 consumers, sowing the seeds of awareness about chemical safety and health. We hope that this shift in awareness will lead to the emergence of toxics-free products in even more homes.
1
Opinions on the "Limits of Hazardous Substances in Coatings Part 1: Architectural Coatings" (Draft for Comment) were adopted
On March 4, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued a public comment requesting nine mandatory national standards, including the "Rubber and Plastic Machinery - General Safety Requirements" (Draft for Approval), which included the "Limits of Hazardous Substances in Coatings - Part 1: Architectural Coatings" (Draft for Approval) and its compilation instructions. The compilation instructions, "Handling of Comments Received After the Public Comment Deadline," listed the opinion submitted by Toxics-Free Corps and the Changsha Shuguang Environmental Protection Public Welfare Development Center regarding the "Limits of Hazardous Substances in Coatings - Part 1: Architectural Coatings" (Draft for Comment), stating that they supported reducing the limit on lead, a hazardous substance, in various coatings to below 90 mg/kg. The response was adopted.
2
Introducing invisible pollution in a class at Zhejiang University
On March 19, at the invitation of Huang Guangsheng, a "Hundred Talents Program" researcher and doctoral supervisor at the School of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University, a science lecture entitled "Invisible Pollution, Making It Visible" was held in his undergraduate class. The lecture covered the ubiquitous invisible pollution (toxic and hazardous chemicals), the costs of invisible pollution, governance actions taken globally and in China, actions taken by non-governmental organizations to promote governance, and what actions a communication major can take.
3
Held a pre-departure meeting for the Asia-Pacific regional preparatory meetings for BRS conventions
On April 1st, a pre-departure meeting for the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the 2025 Conferences of the Parties to the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions (hereinafter referred to as "BRS Conventions") was held to help participants better understand the conference context. Wang Kejing, an international policy researcher, briefed participants on the key objectives of the BRS conventions and the agenda for the Asia-Pacific preparatory meeting. Mao Da, strategic director, also provided some precautions for attending the meeting.
4
Participated in the Asia-Pacific regional preparatory meeting for BRS conventions
From April 4 to 6, the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meetings for the 2025 Conference of the Parties to BRS conventions were held in Beijing. These regional preparatory meetings aim to systematically advance the preparations for the Conference of the Parties by establishing a pre-Conference of the Parties interregional consultation mechanism. The meetings primarily reviewed Conference of the Parties documents, discussed substantive issues, identified regional priorities and challenges, and coordinated the development of regional position documents. The regional preparatory meetings were held in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Strategic Director Mao Da, Deputy Director of the Center He Linghui, and 13 partners from various institutions attended the meetings as observers.
Representatives from Toxics-Free Corps attended the 6th CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Forum and Exhibition
On April 14, 2025, the 6th CHINAPLAS x CPRJ Plastics Recycling and Circular Economy Forum and Exhibition was held at the Shenzhen Crowne Plaza Hotel. Jiang Chao, Project Director of the Toxics-Free Corps Plastics Initiative, attended the forum and visited the CHINAPLAS 2025 International Rubber and Plastics Exhibition the following day. The forum explored the plastics economy and recycling through a main forum, parallel thematic sessions, and presentations of reports and findings. Jiang Chao engaged in in-depth discussions with participating experts on topics such as the health of plastic materials and the control of hazardous additives.
5
Hold a pre-departure meeting for BRS conventions
On April 22, 2025, in order to help participating organizations better understand the negotiation focus of the 2025 Conference of the Parties to BRS conventions and provide some participation suggestions for partners without participation experience, we invited Zhao Nana and Dong Qingyin from the Basel Convention Regional Center for Asia and the Pacific to hold a pre-departure meeting. Through this meeting, the partners better understood BRS conventions and improved their ability to participate in the conference.
6
Held an online training session on "Problematization Strategy for Environmental Advocacy"
On April 25, 2025, Huang Guangsheng, a researcher and doctoral supervisor of the "Hundred Talents Program" of the School of Media and International Culture of Zhejiang University, held an online training session on the theme of "Problematization Strategy of Environmental Protection Advocacy" for partners of SEE FOUNDATION's Blue Defenders Chemical Management and Promotion of Safe Consumption Project.
7
Participate in the 2025 Conference of the Parties to BRS conventions
Starting from April 25, 2025, nine partners from various institutions, including Strategic Director Mao Da and International Policy Researcher Wang Kejing, arrived in Geneva one after another to attend the 2025 Conference of the Parties to BRS conventions as observer representatives.
1
Self-media operations
#Operation of "Toxics-Free Corps" WeChat official account (March-April): 42 articles published, 529 new users;
#According to incomplete statistics as of the end of April, the total number of readers of Toxics-Free Corps's self-media operations on all platforms has reached more than 500,000.
2
Brand influence
#On March 8, International Women's Day, Toxics-Free Corps and Bioriginal launched the #ProtectMenstrualSafety campaign, giving 38 participants the "Hormonal Awakening" science booklet (currently not on sale, only paper copies available) and organic cotton sanitary pads (free of hazardous chemicals) donated by Bioriginal Organic Products to protect the safety of women's products.
#On March 15, International Consumer Rights Day, the investigation into the Toxics-Free Corps whitening cosmetics trended on Weibo, garnering tens of millions of views. Driven by media coverage, e-commerce platforms removed over 98% of the illegal links, demonstrating significant rectification efforts.
#In April, Toxics-Free Corps, Green Taihang, and China Environment launched a small survey on adult slippers.
#On April 19th, Li Benben, Communications Director of Toxics-Free Corps and co-author of the book "Life Should Be Like This: The Simpler, the Better," was a guest speaker at a World Book Day book signing event in Zhengzhou, hosted by China Economic Publishing and Zhengzhou Xinhua Bookstore. She shared stories about Toxics-Free Corps' actions on chemical safety in consumer products. At the same time, Yang Xiaojing, founder of the local charity Zhengzhou Environmental Protection Association (Lvzhongyuan), shared examples of zero waste practices. Over a thousand people participated online and offline.
3
Report
#WhiteningCosmeticsSurvey:
Upstream News: Upstream 315 | All 55 sets of whitening cosmetics submitted for inspection exceeded the mercury limit, with the highest exceeding the limit by 6399 times. Long-term use may cause mercury poisoning:
http://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1826617123209956829
Caixin: Night Reading Selection | Report: Many whitening products sold on e-commerce platforms contain excessive mercury:
https://mappsv5.caixin.com/articlev5/8628/998628.html?fontsize=1&isNight=0
China Environment: Focus on March 15th | Beware of the "mercury assassin" in whitening cosmetics:
https://res.cenews.com.cn/h5/news.html?id=1205346&t=1742036944633
New Yellow River: All 55 sets of whitening products submitted for inspection exceeded the mercury limit, with the highest exceeding the limit by 6399 times:
https://kandianshare.html5.qq.com/v2/news/1742042741652752706
#Toxics-Free Corps AI Assistant:
Tencent programmer: This AI seal swims to wider waters
Origin Research Institute: 315 Special | "We tested more than 1,800 products"!
3 Others:
China Environment: 2025 Conference of the Parties to BRS conventions opens in Geneva:
https://res.cenews.com.cn/h5/news.html?id=1275115
3
Public Fundraising
1. Monthly donation
As of April 30, our monthly donation project [Delivering Products Safely to Children] has received a total of 89,422.49 yuan; the cumulative number of donations has reached 2,009, with the support of 172 monthly donors.
2.Crowdfunding
As of April 30, our crowdfunding project [Give Children a Healthy Future] has received a total of 55,474.74 yuan and 2,397 donations. The investigation into high-risk infant and children's products is ongoing.
