A pilot project by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) intended to gather information on chemical substances “of very high concern” found in consumer articles has yielded some alarming results, according to the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI). The inspectorates of 15 EU Member States checked 682 articles supplied by 405 companies.

Anyone heading into stores – brick and mortar or online – this holiday season should visit SaferProducts.gov, the government’s safety database for household, outdoor and children’s products. That recommendation comes in report by the Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Kids in Danger, Public Citizen and U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which analyzed the most dangerous manufacturers and products among the 29,000 incidents submitted over five years.