Latest paint-based recalls are for jewelry, school supplies

WASHINGTON —  The Consumer Product Safety Commission issued another batch of lead-paint-related recalls of Chinese-made children’s products Wednesday, including metal jewelry sold by discount retailers Family Dollar Stores and Big Lots Inc. and school supplies.

About 205,000 units of recalled jewelry were sold at Family Dollar stores from January 2003 to August under the Rachel Rose and Distinctly Basics brands, the agency said.

Also recalled were about 43,000 Sparkle City charm bracelets and tack pin sets sold at Big Lots stores from August 2005 to April for about $1, the commission said.

The charm bracelets contain silver-colored star and butterfly charms and clear and pink beads that hang from a silver-colored chain. The tack pins are silver butterflies or stars with clear and pink beads.

The agency said consumers should return the jewelry to the store where it was purchased for a full refund.

The recalls came as New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that Big Lots, Michaels stores and other retailers agreed to stop sales of children’s jewelry found to contain dangerous levels of lead as part of settlements with New York.

The settlements came after an investigation found high levels of lead in children’s jewelry, Cuomo’s office said.

His office said a national recall by the federal consumer agency of lead-contaminated children’s jewelry was based on Cuomo’s investigation.

The agency also issued two recalls for school supplies because of lead paint concerns, including about 84,200 children’s pencil pouches sold by school supply distributors at campuses nationwide from September 1997 through last month.

The Chinese-made products include Stuff Keepers pencil pouches and Bear Pencil Pouches, with style numbers 63525 and 67221, respectively.

The other school supply recall involved about 20,000 “shaving-style” paintbrushes sold by Discount School Supply’s catalog and website from May 2004 to August.

The recalled brushes were included with the BioColor Foam Paint Starter Kit and Colorations Foam Paint Starter Kit.

The product safety agency also issued a recall of about 45,000 Chinese-made decorative stretchable aqua bracelets sold at various dollar stores, liquidators and school fundraisers nationwide from September 2003 to April for $1 to $12.

The bracelets, which contain high levels of lead, have silver-colored square links and aqua-colored beads, the agency said.

It also issued a recall of about 38,000 Boppy slipcovers, which have a zipper pull that can break, posing a choking hazard to young children. The paint on the zippers also contains excess levels of lead, the agency said.

The Chinese-made slipcovers were sold at discount department stores nationwide from July 2006 to September. The recall includes velvet and boa slipcovers intended for use with the Boppy Bare Naked nursing and support pillow.