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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| 3rd China Toy Recall |
| 2007-09-05 |
| Mattel Inc., whose reputation has been battered ... but not nearly so badly as China's ... by two high-profile toy recalls this summer, will announce on Wednesday the recall of a third batch of Chinese-made toys because they may contain excessive amounts of lead paint, The Associated Press has learned. The latest recall by the world's largest toy maker will be for a Fisher-Price toy and accessories to a Barbie playset and involves several hundred thousand units, according to two persons briefed by Mattel executives who asked for anonymity because the company has not yet formally announced the action. It could not be learned whether the toys were made in different Chinese factories. Expect to see a lot of BOT Made in China stickers on the toys for Christmas this year. With more than 80 percent of toys sold worldwide made in China, toy sellers are nervous that shoppers will shy away from their products in this year's critical holiday season. Late last month, Toys "R" Us announced it was recalling thousands of art sets made in China due to excessive levels of lead in some black watercolor paints. In June, toy maker RC2 Corp. voluntarily recalled 1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line. The company said that the surface paint on certain toys and parts made in China between January 2005 and April 2006 contain lead, affecting 26 components and 23 retailers. In July, Hasbro Inc. recalled faulty Chinese-made Easy Bake ovens, marking the second time the iconic toy had been recalled this year. The Aug. 14 worldwide recall covered more than 400,000 die-cast cars modeled after the cartoon movie character "Sarge" that contained excessive amounts of lead paint. Eckert told reporters the correct paint was sent to a subcontractor, who apparently chose not to use it. Bad timing, after Labor Day. Wonder if there will be a question about protecting American Children from Dangerous foreign toys at the debates. |
| Posted by:Nimble Spemble |
| #9 Mattel Inc., whose reputation has been battered ... Hey, Mattel. Here's a nice big fat hairy clue at no extra charge. Why not rehabilitate your corporate name by being the first major American toy manufacturer to declare a five-year moratorium on producing toys in China? You'd have the moral highground and people would readily pay an extra few bucks if they knew there was a much lower likelihood of toxic ingredients being present. As this Consumers could easily drive Mattel out of China by threatening a total boycott of all their products. Within seconds after starting such a consumer boycott the next thing heard would be a loud popping sound of air rushing in to occupy the space once occupied by Mattel in China. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2007-09-05 18:02 |
| #8 condoms that have defective wrappers So a lot of Inadvertent-Americans will have the Made in China label. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-09-05 16:13 |
| #7 Boy, its about time some young entrepreneur from the good ole USA steps into this breach and starts making toys here again. I'd pay $$$ more to know that they are not using lead paint etc. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2007-09-05 16:02 |
| #6 ANd in other related Chinese-Made defective toy news: the WAPOST on line today is reporting the return of many condoms that have defective wrappers and may cause the product to be defective. No word as to whether this latest slap to Chinese product will put any lead in your pencil, so to speak.... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-09-05 14:23 |
| #5 Ya know, while the Chinese have the pie on their face, there is an awful ot of glossing over the negligence of Mattel. Whatever happeded to their QA program? Seems to me that when you have a vendor the botches it, you ( the customer) slap a Corrective Action on their little pinko asses. Twice you start an internal investigation into your own house and clena out the rats. This tells me that Mattel ain't so swell..... |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2007-09-05 14:04 |
| #4 Oh Joy, less Barbie shit on the market. (You'd never guess I dislike Barbie, Would you?) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2007-09-05 12:04 |
| #3 So, did the bean counters in management factor in the recalls in their cost analysis before moving the manufacturing to China? /sarcasm off Many regulation have hidden costs. They sometimes also have hidden cost avoidances. Bet they calculated the former and not the latter. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2007-09-05 11:41 |
| #2 Maybe China will insert a toy into every box of lead they ship. |
| Posted by: ed 2007-09-05 09:45 |
| #1 Reasons to wait and shop for Xmas the night before. I also knew that Xmas Eve way the best day to buy stuff, expecially this year. |
| Posted by: NOLA 2007-09-05 02:57 |