Toy Recall

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that on August 14, 2007, Mattel announced recalls for 9 million more Chinese-made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and "Cars" movie items, and warned that more could be ordered off store shelves because of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed. The recalls came nearly two weeks after Mattel Inc., the nation's largest toy-maker, recalled 1.5 million Fisher-Price infant toys worldwide, which were also made in China, because of possible lead-paint hazards for children. The writer notes that this occurrence not only affects the toy industry, but it also had a great impact on one major country involved in the industry, China, as a manufacture of choice for American imports of merchandise in textile. The writer maintains that even though the products may be manufactured in countries, such as China and Mexico, where cost-cutting determines whether a business stays afloat or not, there are standards which purchasers can uphold which will make these factories use safe and higher quality parts for their products. The writer concludes that while retailers say that their suppliers are the ones at fault, the New York attorney general says that if the stores sell these faulty products, they will be found at fault and will be fined.

From the Paper:

"The toy industry in the United States polices itself. Toy trains and railroad pieces made directly for RC2 in China are overseen by the RC2 American corporation, which should give it control over safety and quality of toys in that country, but Staci Rubinstein, of RC2, declined to comment on company plants' safety control measures there. Also declining to comment was the Toy Industry Association, representing most American toy importers and companies.
"Staff cuts have made regulators lax, under the Bush administration. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said recently that next year it is planning to curtail efforts to prevent children from swimming pool and bathtub drownings, because of limited resources."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Barnett, Megan. "Mattel to China: Sorry." Conde Nast Portfolio. 21 Sep 2007. http://search.cnn.com/search?query=mattel&type=web&sortBy=date&intl=false&nt=null&currentPage=2>.
• CDC. "Lead Recalls: Toys." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA. 2007. <http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/Recalls/toys.htm>.
• Keithley, Carter. "Toy Info.org." Toy Industry Association, Inc. 2007. <http://www.toyinfo.org/index.html?id=google>.
• Lawrence, Joan. "Toy Safety is Serious Business." U.S. Consumer Product Safety, Commission 2003. http://www.astm.org/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/SNEWS/MARCH_2003/lawrence_mar03.html?L+mystore+qhox8289.
• Lipton, Eric S. and Barboza, David. "As more toys are recalled, trail ends in China." New York Times. 19 Jun 2007. <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/business/worldbusiness/19toys.html>.

More papers on Toy Recall:

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