EVI dollhouse dolls PVC!!!

[Dana Bottari]

So, I ordered my son the EVI dollhouse doll set family to go with the Ostheimer Farmhouse that I purchased for christmas.  I opened up the package of dolls, to put in a box with tissue paper, and immediately upon opening, I smelled a chemical smell.  I was confused because I had read everyone raving about these dolls and how great they were.  Then I noticed the small tag attached to each doll that read, "Wool fleece, Wire isolated with PVC, and plastic buttons."  I emailed the company I purchased these from, stating that I wanted a full refund. They never mentioned this on their website and the outer package doesn't list it either, which is very misleading! So now the question is: "What dollhouse dolls DO NOT contain any PVC or other toxic materials?"  Does anyone know about the Kathe Kruse dollhouse dolls?  I am thinking that will be my next choice if everything checks out ok.  Thanks!

[mamaUK]

I don't think has always been the case (but I'm not sure) we've had Evi dolls for about four years now, I don't remember it saying anywhere on the packaging about PVC, I just thought it was bendy wire directly inside the doll. I remember getting a doll wet by  mistake and wondering if it would rust or not. I wonder if this is new to Evi dolls, I know they have always been marketed as completely natural, so I'm shocked! 

[Melaniee]

Is this the new style with the removeable clothing?

Just curious as we have several of their dolls, though they were all purchased from stores so could have long-since aired out, but I never noticed a smell or those tags.

[laangel]

you can get some really beautiful handmade dolls from etsy :-)

[WindyCityMom]

Although we do have a few Plan Toys dolls that probably have the same nasty PVC in them, DD usues her Ostheimer figures (the regular ones) in her dollhouse. 

Ostheimer also now makes dollhouse dolls.

The Wooden Wagon has them in their Dollhouses & Dolls section.   

http://thewoodenwagon.com/woodentoy/dollhouses/FOS840.html

[sukilove]

I second the dollhouse dolls by Ostheimer. We just purchased 3 from The Wooden Wagon and they really are very well made and no PVC! Wow, nice to know that about evi dolls.

[Dana Bottari]

  The PVC is covering all of their dollhouse dolls, it seems.  Apparently this is some kind of new regulation that the store I purchased them through wasn't even aware of.  This is the response I received from the store I purchased them from:

Hello,

Thank you for your email and bringing this to our attention.

We have checked with the manufacturer and due to the new toy safety laws all wire now has to be coated in plastic for the safety of the children. The plastic coated wire is deeply embedded in the dolls and it gives the dolls their flexibility: the coating prevents the wire from penetrating the cloth. It should at no point be exposed on any of the figures. But you are right, we neglected to see that this new precaution was made by Evi Dolls and we did not indicate this on the web site something we have now rectified.

However, the PVC is NOT deeply embedded in the dolls.  It's a rather thick piece of plastic covering the wires of the moveable parts of the dolls.  All that is covering it is thin cloth fabric.  I will look into the Ostheimer dolls, thanks.

 

[WindyCityMom]

And the PVC is not a necessity... I have some wool felted dolls with plain wire in them.  They're for our nature table, but they're fine.

[Melaniee]

That makes sense. Manufacturers have to be so CYA now with all the litigious people. *eyeroll*  Ruins it for everyone else.

[JudiAU]

I looked as close as possible at our Kathy Kruse dollhouse dolls purchased within the last year from a local toy store and/or Magic Cabin. The ones I could get a good look at had a closely woven cotton-looking fabric around the bendy parts. 

I head banging on table also have some of the new dressable Evi dolls but they are in their packages. The ones I have are from Nova and dated 09 production. I don't want to open them because I want to be able to return them. There is no way I am buying PVC for my kids. 

I don't buy that PVC is "required." A coating might be required but it I don't believe that it necessarily needs to be plastic and it certainly doesn't need to be PVC. 

Dana - Would please PM me what store you got them from? Before I do more work I'd like to know where to start.

[JudiAU]

I contacted Nova Naturals yesterday because they are the American distributor. They didn't know anything about the issue but the person I spoke to talked to EVI and reviewed their dolls. They called me back this morning and confirmed that the posable dolls do now contain PVC-coated wire, because they are no longer able to use plain wire. All EVI posable dolls have the PVC coated wire. The newest production is marked on the packaging. They aren't sure if the 09 production, which is not marked, contain PVC or not or when the change is made. They said they are also for sale in Europe with the PVC "and can be" but that makes the least amount of sense to me. PVC is not allowed in children's goods under EU regulations. I did tell them that the Kathy Kurse dollhouse dolls are using cotton coated wire.

So, I am quite dissappointed and think it is a major misstep from a respected natural goods company and producer. I won't buy PVC containing toys from Toys R Us and I certainly won't do it for "natural" dolls.

Can anyone recommend a similar soft dollhouse doll with removable clothing? We have a few of the KK dolls and while quite nice, I liked the more substantial feel of the EVI dolls. And if you have an etsy suggestion, please provide the specific seller. Thanks!

[Dana Bottari]

Thanks for the update. I, too, am in search of another brand of dollhouse dolls, minus he PVC of course.  I'm also surprised that EU regulations would permit the use of PVC in children's toys )

I mean, what is the point of spending $130 on a set of dollhouse dolls, that are supposed to made of all "natural" materials, when they have a thick dense coating of PVC on the outside of the wires?  PVC- the toxic,cheap chemical, loaded with heavy metals and endocrine disruptors. They've starting phasing out PVC shower curtains, but yet, add it to children's "natural dolls?"  I'm curious to see if this will  effect the demand for the dolls.  Hopefully, they will come up with another way to meet whatever regulation needs to be met, minus the PVC.

[sukilove]

I saw these handmade dollhouse dolls at Palumba. They also have a sweet looking new dollhouse made for them especially by Camden Rose.

http://www.palumba.com/product/1188/

[irismum]

Nova Naturals *just* started being the distributor for Evi Dolls within the past six months, and they did not know there was PVC in them until after they began distributing.  They are attempting to find an alternate material and are hoping to change the current situation. I sell their dolls through the co-op and have only been ordering the actual dolls lately, not the smaller ones with PVC.

You can check out Georgian Wood Toys- they have some nice bendy dolls... I also think it's not that hard to make them- the Silver Penny has a tutorial for a bendy doll that with a little creativity and imagination could probably be adapted to any sort of figure/character you want!  That's the direction I am headed in. ;)

[MamaFern]

my friend on etsy (woolhalla) makes beautiful handmade dollhouse dolls :D she will make customs as well, so you can have your own family traits.

[LeeDeeDee]

It's not a concern, as Franz from Evi Dolls writes (translated from the Portuguese):

"As the wireframe wrapped in PVC I have no option. We knew that in certain circles PVC is seen as a highly dangerous materials and sent to an individual test of this structure in accordance with the standards for toys in the lab SGS-Brazil, international accreditation.  According to the Appraisal Report this lab the level of phthalates (which is the villain of this story with PVC) in our wireframe is so small that is well below the reference table." 

Their dolls also meet the testing for European Union EU-71 and are sold by Grimm's Spiel und Holz in Germany.

It's good to be cautious, but given the above, I don't believe that we need to worry about the PVC-coating on the wire frame in the Evi Dolls.  Both the Brazilian lab and the EU testing that Grimm's must have had done to import them will be testing for limits that, as with children's safety, are many times well below the suspected safe levels.  As Evi Dolls says, in the Brazilian lab, the level of pthalates tested was well below this level, that itself would be many times lower than that deemed safe.

Testing and regulations for children's toys are very strict and very cautious.  If it is passing these tests in Brazil and Germany, I don't think it is a problem.

Evi Dolls is a great company with a noble history, past and present.  They originally supported disabled peoples and women with children, many of them single mothers in poverty in Brazil, and taught them skills for doll-making, and a means to make a living and a way out of poverty.  Now it is mainly women working there, but still a social development project.  They use all wool stuffing, and they use the plastic coating because it is law that they do so for protection of children, should the wire become exposed. 

[JudiAU]

It is a concern for many people. PVC has no place in natural toys. EVI is not required to use PVC-coated wire. They are required to use coated wire. Kathy Kruse chooses to use cotton wrapped.

[LeeDeeDee]

The PVC in the coating of the wires in the Evi dolls had pthalates that were so low, that they were even off the charts for what was said to be the lowest tolerable amount for children's toys by law.  It's like an analogy of an apple containing acetone, cyanide, and formaldehyde, which they all do, in very low amounts.  No one is banning apples and saying that formaldehyde has no place in food.  It's the amount that is critical.

I believe that they are required by Brazilian toy law to coat the wire in plastic, but I completely agree that cotton-wrapped would be a very good alternative indeed!  I will see what they say to this.