Ask TSL: Do You Know of Any PVC-free Pools and Toys?

We never dreamed how difficult it would be to answer this question!  We’ve spent the last 2 months searching for PVC-free baby pools, floaties and toys -  so you’d think we would have quite a long list of options – but that’s not the case.  At this point, Summer’s here, so we’ve decided to go ahead and share our list along with tips for avoiding pool toys that are generally made from PVC.

Products Typically Made with PVC

Inflatable Pools, Floaties and Toys

We found that almost all inflatable toys are made from PVC (usually listed as Vinyl).  In fact, we didn’t find a single one made from an alternative material, as there doesn’t seem to be a suitable substitute at this time.  We also realize that it’s almost impossible to avoid them, so if you can’t find an alternative product to meet your needs, we suggest you consider buying them used.  This gives them a chance to off-gas before using it with your children, and also helps reduce the use of PVC (which is regarded as the single most environmentally damaging of all plastics).  Keep in mind that buying used doesn’t help with phthalates and other toxins common to PVC.  We didn’t have the man (or woman!) power to research every single inflatable pool toy to find out which are phthalate-free, so you may want to contact the manufacturer before buying used items.

Please note that this category includes the spring style floats as seen here.  We confirmed with several manufacturers that the inflatable ring inside the nylon casing is made of PVC.

Dense Foam Life Vests and Mats

Most dense foam kickboards, life vests and mats are made from closed-cell PVC foam and are covered in a layer of waterproof vinyl.  Even the floaties made from non-PVC foam were mostly covered with a layer of PVC on the outside.

You can identify them by their shiny and slightly rubbery exterior.  You can see an example of a PVC life vest here.

Life Vests with Neoprene or Nylon Covering

We were surprised to learn that most of our good old standby life vests were made with a PVC foam core.  Their neoprene and nylon covering hides the interior, so be sure to contact the manufacturer to confirm what type of foam is used for buoyancy.  Not all of them contain PVC foam, so it’s worthwhile to double check.  You can se examples of neoprene covered PVC life jackets here.

This is another time where either buying used, or doing your own investigatioin with the manufacturer is definitely warranted.

PVC-free Pool Products

Polyethylene and EVA Foam Floaties, Noodles and Mats

Noodle style pool toys are usually made from polyethylene foam, which is PVC-free.  This material is often used in packaging and as insulation as well.  It can be identified by its more lightweight feel and porous appearance as compared to the dense, heavy PVC foam.  Also, it typically doesn’t have an exterior covering like PVC foam does.  You can find a giant list of great polyethylene foam toys here.

We also came across floaties and mats made from non-toxic EVA foam here, here and here.

Hard-sided Polyethylene Kid Pools

Thank goodness there are still old-fashioned molded pool made with PVC-free polyethylene around!  They are getting harder to find, but we’ve seen them at Walmart, Target and Kids R Us this year.  We found the one pictured to the right here, as well as the Little Tikes Butterfly Beach Sandbox and Wading Pool here.

Be sure to look for recycling code #2, because some hard-sided pools like this one are made with with PVC.

Additional PVC-free Products

One company in particular was much more helpful in providing information than all of the others we contacted.  Following is a list of all PVC-free toys offered by Swimways:

• Kids Vests: Swim Sweater,  Swim Vest and Power Swimmer
• Toypedo Twister
• Can ‘o Worms Sink ‘n Link Dive Game
• Skip Disk
• Lounge Chairs: Santa Cruz, Newporter Elite, Palm Bay and Captiva

We’ll continue to add to our list as we locate more PVC-free pool options!

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