Is GoodGuide helping to poison the same children it's trying to save?
We should all applaud consumer groups for doing their part to make us aware of unsafe products. GoodGuide recently rated the Zhu Zhu Pets Hampster[sic]. They found unsafe levels of tin and antimony in these toys. According to Dara O’Rourke, co-founder of GoodGuide, levels of about 93 to 106 parts per million of antimony were found, well above the new federal standard of 60 parts per million. Russ Hornsby, CEO of Cepia, the company that manufactures the Zhu Zhu Pets, countered in a written statement, “The results of every test prove that our products are in compliance with all government and industry safety standards.”
According to GoodGuide’s About Us page, “GoodGuide is incorporated as a “for benefit” organization. This new organizational structure enables us to access the resources and expertise of for-profit enterprises, while maintaining a deep commitment to our social and environmental mission. At GoodGuide we’re about more than just making money. We are a independent organization, dedicated to providing you with the best available information on products and companies. Our commitment to being socially, ethically, and environmentally responsible is written right into our “for benefit” charter.”
So far, so good. Right? Not really. If you click on the Buy Now link on GoodGuide’s Zhu Zhu ratings page, you will see a Compare Prices and Save matrix on the bottom left hand side of the page. These are affiliate links. In other words, GoodGuide is paid a referral fee when you click on the link and buy something from Amazon. In the spirit of full disclosure, this blog is also an Amazon affiliate.
To summarize. GoodGuide is a for profit organization and claims to be dedicated to a social and environmental mission. They also claim to be “about more than just making money.” However, GoodGuide does not mind making a few bucks from the very same toys it claims are hazardous to your children.
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ZHU ZHU PETS ARE SAFE…..DON’T LISTEN TO EVERYTHING YOU HEAR OR SEE IN THE MEDIA! http://blog.goodguide.com/2009/12/7/goodguide-clarifies-our-toy-testing-methodology……….. I Hope that they sue GOODGUIDE.COM for every penny & shut them down…. They wanted to get there name out there… Think about it how could you get your website tons of HITS… go after the #1 toy in america & say there are chemicals that could hurt your kids….. PLEASE SUE THIS COMPANY!
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by dspenc1: Christmas shopping? The same group that claims Zhu Zhu Pets are poisonous also profits from their sales. http://www.theupperdeck.com/?p=401…
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