The saying goes, 'beauty is pain' but now, according to recent scientific studies, accessorising with cheap costume jewellery can actually be dangerous.After running a series of tests on a variety of low-cost jewellery items targeted at youngsters, non-profit environmental safety organisation, The Ecology Center, found alarming levels of harmful chemicals in their composition.
Lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury and arsenic among other highly toxic chemicals, were detected in over half the 99 items taken from branches of Claire's, Forever 21 and H&M and other retailers across the United States.
The health issues linked to these substances in past tests on animals and humans include acute allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity and cancer.
Jeffrey Weidenhamer, Ph.D, Professor of Chemistry at Ashland University, a leading national researcher on metals in jewellery collaborated with the Ecology Center on the study. Read More
