Made in China: The New Moniker for Danger?
Lead Paint and Diethylene Glycol Come Cheap!
It's not just Barbie, it's also Elmo, Thomas the Tank Engine, Dora and Diego, that have been affected.
Summary of The Recent Recalls
September 4, 2007: Barbie Accessory toys recalled due to unsafe levels of lead paint.
September 4, 2007: Bongo Band toys recalled due to unsafe levels of lead paint.
September 4, 2007: Geo Trax Locomotive Toys recalled due to unsafe levels of lead paint.
August 28, 2007: Robbie Ducky™ Kids Watering Cans due to unsafe levels of lead paint.
August 2, 2007: Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and other Fisher-Price Toys recalled due to unsafe levels of lead paint.
May 4, 2007-July 13, 2007: Various recalls and updates of recalls on toothpaste containing Diethylene Glycol (DEG), which is an ingredient used to make anti-freeze.
Possibly: April 2, 2007: Pet deaths from pet food, may contain ingredients that originated in China.
What do these things have in common? All of the products bare the "Made in China" label.
Can American brands and companies really expect products made overseas to conform to the safety regulations implemented in the US by agencies such as the FDA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission?
From the toothpaste, to lead paint on the Thomas the Tank Engine, the "Made in China" is becoming more a warning sign than anything else.
Products sold in the United States, by law, need to conform to specific safety standards set by various government agencies. Why, then, are so many products manufactured outside of the country, and mainly in China, being allowed to be sold first and then recalled?
Where exactly is the missing link in this process?
U.S. companies farm out their manufacturing to other countries, but still need the products to conform to U.S. safety standards set in place to protect consumers. Are the U.S. companies no longer using and quality assurance to test the products? Why are they selling the products and then testing them?
What about the government's responsibility? Does any business really want more government restrictions to affect their daily workings? Does the government have any way of enforcing safety standards before the products hit the market?
Who is responsible for the glut of unsafe products being sold on retail shelves in the United States? Safety standards are in place for a reason, but they don't protect anyone if both the government and U.S. companies are only willing to take a reactionary, not pro-active approach to enforcing those standards.
According to the Toy Industry Association, "all toys sold in America must conform to U.S. safety standards." Then whey aren't they conforming? Someone is dropping the ball in the quality assurance and safety testing.
When Does it End?
How long will American companies continue to manufacture products in China, when the quality assurance and safety checks are obviously not in place? At what point will the cost of the recalls become larger than the cost savings of manufacturing items outside of the United States?
Because until it costs more to recall and replace, US companies and the US government are not doing much to rectify the increasing problem.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission: "deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually." Does it need to climb up to $800 billion in order for companies to start taking these safety standards seriously and applying them to consumer products before they hit the store shelves?
Finally, and in a bit of unintended irony on the release date, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a press release titled, "U.S. and Chinese Product Safety Agencies Announce Agreement To Improve The Safety of Imported Toys and Other Consumer Products."
This was slow in coming and only time will tell if the "Chinese government..is serious about working with CPSC to keep dangerous products out of American homes." (CPSC press release of 9/11/07)
Sources
Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov
Toy Industry Association, Inc. http://www.toy-tia.org and http://www.toy-tia.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Press_Room/Industry_Statements/Toys_Sold_in_America/Toys_Sold_in_America.htm
U.S. Food and Drug Administration, http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/toothpaste.html
World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org
USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/2007-04-17-premium-pet-food-recalled_N.htm
Published by Pam Gaulin - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment and Lifestyle
Pam Gaulin is a freelance writer, journalist (B.A., Journalism), new (and next!) media writer and artist. Associated Content named her 2007 Content Producer of the Year. "First for Women" magazine featured... View profile
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10 Comments
Post a CommentI agree completely.
I heard about the pet food and the toothpaste and I try to be careful about what I buy. My husband works for a union and they stress to him all the time to buy only USA made products. It's scary to think about what might be in the stuff we buy from other countries whose safety policies are not as stringent as our own. Great article!
I find myself watching labels these days and if it says Made in China, I put it back. I don't see the need to take a chance.
I'm beginning to worry about our food products that are made in China. If our toys have problems what is going on with the food? Great article.
"The lead standards when we were kids allowed a lot more lead and we survived without brain damage." - Carol
As far as we know :-)
Having worked with auto emissions recalls, let me throw in some info here: recall return rates are very low even for bigger products. When you hear of tens or hundreds of thousands of an item being recalled, only a small percentage is actually returned to the mfgr. and replaced. The longer the delay, the less the return rate- so delay can work to the mfgr's advantage. With low priced items, many consumers will just throw the product away. My guess is the cost of the recall will never exceed the savings on small consumer items unless the defect is universally deadly- and then it would be the legal ramifications not the recall itself that imposed the cost. Re: Rodney's comment- good point. The lead standards when we were kids allowed a lot more lead and we survived without brain damage.
I said to my husband last night, the toy business would be a good business to go into now in America..all you need is a good idea for some toys..;)....
This is sure going to have a lasting impact on both our country and China. The toy recalls are really tragic. U.S. companies should have been way more diligent in catching this soomer. Thanks for the summary - good work.
Very strange goings on over there. Sure makes you wonder about all those Mattel toys I had as a kid.
Great article Pam. I threw away some Talipia (which I've never had) the other day as it had no expiration and was from China. So when we went to the store I picked up a new pack (different brand) still from China (Guess it's an Asian fish) but Manufactured in the U.S. I'm thinking of sticking with good old U.S. trout and salmon.