Recent Recalls Turning You into a Scrooge?

Has the deluge of mass product recalls left you will a less than enthusiastic shopping spirit? Would it just seem easier to skip buying kids toys and other items not made in the U.S. this year, because it would be easier and more attractive alternative to actually keeping up with the recalls?

As a a parent and as a freelance journalist I was very interested in keeping up with product recalls, and have been trying to read each recall since the first children's recall that caught my attention, when the Nordstrom coats were recalled.

The barrage of recalls has been so bad that I have taken to barely even skimming the email alerts anymore. The second I see CSPC my eyes glaze over, and I merely go through the motions of checking for the product names. As long as the product that has been recalled is nowhere near our house, I skip the rest.

My Local and Personal Recall Experiences

A Local Paper Puts Aquadots in the Gift Guide

A local newspaper even promoted the Aquadots product before the recall was issued. What irked me about this was that anyone who simply looked at the product who has any kids under 10 in the house would have been worried about those little beads going places they shouldn't like mouths, noses and ears. The product was doomed from the beginning, with or without the toxic chemical coating.

While the newspaper did later print a retraction of their Aquadots gift suggestion, the product should have never made their gift guide list in the first place, recalled or not.

A Local Retailer Sells Refrigerator with a Recalled Part

In the course of doing research on the refrigerator we bought last summer I discovered that the motor in the refrigerator had been recalled because it was known to cause smoke and fire damage.

The recall came out before we purchased our refrigerator. The retail center, Sears, did not replace the recalled motor, tell us about the motor when we bought the refrigerator, or even notify us with a letter. How can retailers knowingly sell products with recalled or defective parts?

After a week of phone calls, poor customer service, and three days waiting for Sears, the part was finally replaced. This would never have happened had I not accidentally found an article about the problem, called the manufacturer, then called Sears, dealt with their incompetent customer service staff, and then was persistent enough to make three different appointments with the service personnel.

The first time the repair man showed up he went to the wrong house. The second time he simply didn't show up. The third time was the charm.

The average consumer could not spend that much time on the phone or waiting for a service person to show up to fix a problem that should have been taken care of before the product left the retail store. The only reason I could do all that is because I work from home. Many consumers do not have that luxury.

Taking Responsibility

As much as we can point the finger at countries with lax product safety standards, the government agencies charged to protect us, there are other culprits at work here: the retailers who don't want to take responsibility for the products they sell, and, yes, I will say, it the consumer.

When retailers will take a product like a pacifier and turn it into a choking hazard and then sell it, there is a problem.

If the product seems very popular, I will try to do some research about it to warn other consumers. But I can't keep up. I could spend what little time I have to write just writing about recalls. As a writer, the ideas of this exhausts me. As a parent it makes me angry. As a consumer, it makes me not want to buy anything.

As a consumer I have come up with my own ways to help avoid future recalls:

1. Beef - Every couple of months frozen beef is recalled. My solution to that is to purchase only meats sold by a local butcher.

2. Vegetables - Produce also gets recalled. My solution to that is to always wash produce even if it comes "pre-washed." Or, I buy local produce that is in season.

3. Toys - As a parent of a toddler, this is the hard one. Here are the questions I ask when I look at toys:

a) Where was it made? Personally, I am not buying any toys "Made in China" right now. This cuts out a lot of options, unfortunately.

b) Does the toy have magnets? Magnets are very dangerous for kids, and I am going to avoid any toys that rely on magnets.

c) Is the toy well-constructed? If I see frayed edges on the plastic, or a lot of little pieces that can come loose, I avoid it.

d) Is the toy age-appropriate? There are many toys that a two-year-old would like, but are better for a three-year-old. To be safe, my son will just have to wait until next Christmas for those toys.

e) Has the toy been recalled? The recent recalls have certainly eliminated any spontaneous toy shopping from my life. If I see a toy I like I will make a note of it, mental or written, then look it up online for safety issues.

f) Is there a lot of paint or could the paint potentially peel? The paint may have a high concentration of lead.

g) Does he really need the toy? More than ever, due to the recalls, I am questioning every single toy purchase, and if he really needs it or not.

All of this seems like a lot of work, and it is. The recalls and tainted products may actually affect consumer spending, over time. Maybe then the manufacturers and retailers will take more responsibility over their products. Until then, the burden lies with the consumer to become more savvy, more knowledgeable, and more discerning in their spending.