CERTAIN LOOM BANDS may contain toxic chemicals according to research carried out by a lab in Birmingham.

An online parenting group, MummyPages.ie, is advising Irish parents to remove the charms until it’s confirmed which ones are safe.

The parenting group warned that some loom bands and their charms contain a dangerous, carcinogenic chemical called ‘phthalates’.

EU regulations permit 0.1% of phthalates in weight, but some loom charms contain over 50% of the chemicals.

However, this only applies to certain manufacturers – which cannot be names due to legal reasons.

MummyPages.ie says that:

The toxic chemical is carcinogenic and can be absorbed into the body via ingestion or through body sweat. These bracelets pose a threat to children, young adults, pets and anyone who may come into contact with them.

A spokesperson for the group, Laura Haugh, said that, ”The loom band craze has had mixed reactions from our community of mums over the summer. The craft activity has been praised for taking children away from digital media for entertainment purposes.

“However reports of bands getting stuck on fingers, springing into eyes, and being ingested by small children and animals have demonstrated the need for greater parental supervision.

The new report from a laboratory in Birmingham which now suggests that carcinogenic chemicals are contained within the loom band charm accessories are extremely worrying.

“Our advice is to remove the loom band charms from your child’s craft activities until such time as the retailers reassure us that they are safe for your children to use.”

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