A California jewelry company has been ordered to pay $1.6 million in penalties for selling jewelry products with excessive quantities of dangerous metals, including jewelry intended for sale to and use by children.
According to a press release issued by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) of California’s Environmental Protection Agency, the Los Angeles-based company Luxy Accessory, Inc. reportedly repeatedly violated California’s Metal-Containing Jewelry Law by marketing jewelry products containing excessive levels of lead and cadmium. The DTSC says it confiscated more than 110 styles of jewelry marketed by the company containing levels of lead and cadmium in excess of California law. In addition, some of the products were falsely labeled as “lead free.”
The fine against the company followed multiple investigations by the DTSC and a complaint filed with the California Superior Court’s Central District in Los Angeles County.
This is apparently not the first instance in which the company was found to be selling lead-tainted jewelry and for making false representations regarding their products’ composition. In 2012, the company paid $145,000 in civil penalties to settle a suit brought by the California Attorney General’s Office based on similar violations of the law.
Read the California EPA press release announcing the fine against Luxy Accessory, Inc.
