Last week, as reported by Lyndsey Layton for The Washington Post, Wal-Mart has made a bold move to push its suppliers to stop using the controversial flame retardants, known as PBDEs or polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Can I just say – YAY Wal-Mart!?

While a few states have stepped up to ban this class of compounds found in many electronics, in much of our furniture (including baby furniture), children’s and infants’ pajamas, sporting goods, pet supplies, curtains, toys and much, much more, we have yet to see large-scale chemical legislation which would protect us and our loved ones. Why do we need protection from PBDEs? They’re causing significant and worrisome issues in the liver, thyroid, reproductive systems and brain development in animal models. Think about this: Our children are often sleeping on mattresses with PBDEs and wearing PJs with PBDEs…so they’re breathing the fumes for 9+ hours every night! Then, they spend many waking hours in classrooms and/or homes with computers, TVs and cell phones. Additionally, PBDEs are being found in our water supply and getting passed along to farm-raised fish.

If you’ve followed my blog here for long, you know that I am very passionate about chemicals and toxins that may be causing harm to our children. For this reason and to avoid PBDEs, in our home we only buy organic cotton pajamas for Ethan. (Read more about my chemical concerns here.) I’m constantly looking to learn about new chemical studies, progress in legislation and scientific studies.

But, it is the following two lines from The Washington Post article that ring most true for me: “Several members of Congress have been pushing to reform chemical laws to make it significantly easier for the EPA to restrict or ban chemicals that are known hazards. But retail regulation may prove a faster route, observers say.” [Emphasis mine.]

We may have dedicated members of Congress pushing for reform (for whom I am eternally grateful), but I believe it will also take retailers (like Wal-Mart) and consumers (like us!) making a statement with how we spend our money! I’m very pleased to know that Wal-Mart is influencing producers – and holding them accountable – in this way. GO Wal-mart!!

If you haven’t read the article by Lyndsey Layton, I encourage you to do so. I also strongly encourage you to take note and learn more about the real dangers of PBDEs; especially for those individuals (like many children with ASD) who are unable to detoxify as well as the rest of society.

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Leigh Attaway Wilcox is a writer and editor for the projectLD family of companies. Leigh is Assistant Editor of the internationally acclaimed AutismSpot.com and her work can be found on many of the pLDNetworks sites. Leigh is the author of ALL BETTER: A Touch-and-Heal Book published by Piggy Toes Press in 2007. Leigh lives in North Texas with her husband and young son who loves reading, LEGOs, Mario Bros. and also happens to live with Asperger's Syndrome, an Autism Spectrum Disorder.