Urban Outfitters Sure Does Sell a Lot of Products With Toxic Lead

An eagle-eyed tipster wrote an email to us with the subject line: “Urban Outfitters belt composition: leather, mixed metal, nickel… lead.” The lede image is the screenshot she sent us. This is surprising, because last time I checked, lead was toxic.

Specifically, injesting or inhaling lead is dangerous, especially for children. Pregnant women should also watch out since lead exposure can be harmful to their developing fetuses. This extends to lead exposure from bags, belts, and other accessories. This link from the Center for Environmental Health, and a previous Jezebel post about lead in lipstick, says there is no safe level of lead exposure.

Is this perhaps why Urban Outfitters is so open about lead in their products? It’s jarring to see them list that element on their product page. A search on their website yields 76 results of products that also contain lead. Furthermore, their Ordering & Payment page contains this disclaimer:

Some of our products such as dinnerware, glassware, wallets, handbags, purses, clutches, totes, clothing, accessories, or shoes made of vinyl or imitation leather may contain lead. In accordance with Proposition 65, we issue the following warning to our California customers: “The materials used on the exterior of this product contain lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.” For more information regarding lead-related FAQs, please click here.

It would be best if Urban Outfitters and other retailers stopped selling products that contain lead. At the very least however, they are open about it, even if compelled by the state of California. Now that it’s easy to find out this information, it’d be nice if Urban Outfitters provided more information on how to handle lead-infested products without risking exposure, such as more details on the spot cleaning they recommend. Jolie?