Unfortunately, this isn’t a huge surprise. It looks like pencils are now on the list of items recalled due to unsafe lead levels. The ones in question are a novelty brand aimed at children.
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Help! I am an American living in China. My daughter is starting kindergarten and I wanted to buy some pencils for her (I can have them sent from the US). She’s a lefty, so I wanted to find good non-smearing starter pencils for her. After looking around, I am now overwhelmed with the breadth and variety of pencils. After all the lead paint scares, I definitely don’t want her to have pencils from here. Can anyone make any recommendations for me? Much appreciated. Irene irenehongtanner@hotmail.com
I think Faber-Castell 9000 will be a great choice for you. It’s coated with water-based varnish. Remember the HB grade of FC9000 is similar with H grade of other brand. I don’t know if it’s available in China, but I think it is. Try to visit some big art supply or stationery store. But I’m not sure if you can buy the genuine one… but I’ve never heard about there’s imitaion pencil.