Wal-Mart, the biggest toy retailer in the world, has raised its safety standards on toxics in toys. The announcement comes on the heels of some 25 million toys having been recalled in the United States last year, in many cases due to unsafe levels of lead. Toy suppliers for Wal-Mart must meet the new standards by later this year.

Wal-Mart’s new standards apply to several toxics including antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury. Their new lead standard is six times stricter than the current federal standards. Also, the levels of some phthalates will be restricted in products used by children under the age of three.

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