Remember the whole hulabaloo over the term ‘organic’ and that it wasn’t really enforced so who knows what’s actually organic and what’s actually not? The term ‘non-toxic’ is kind of the same. The people labeling those crayons “non-toxic” are the same companies making and marketing the product. Since there is no official independent certifying agency for the term it gets pretty tricky to know what you can trust.

This will likely change with the impending CPSIA rules that have every independent toymaker (myself included) quaking in their converse.
I could go into hazardous materials, but it would be easier to send you here: http://www.cpsc.gov/BUSINFO/fhsa.html

One of the main things to stress is that “natural” isn’t always the safest bet. Formaldehyde is natural (albeit toxic) and you find that in house paint to prevent chipping. You’ll also create formaldehyde when you melt crayons. And your carpet is probably off-gassing formaldehyde right now too.

So how do you know what non-toxic really means? At Greener Choices, in their Eco-labels center, you can find out what the labels on your favorite products really mean.

If you have a crafter safety or health issue that you would like to see addressed, email us. I’m not an expert, I’m just someone who has seen other artists and crafts people hurt themselves because they didn’t know some basic stuff.