Worst of the Week: Mattel
By Karol Dejnicka
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Opinions
Do you ever get the feeling that this year has been filled with recalls of products manufactured in China?
If so, you're not imagining it. The list of products is too ridiculously long to be explained in full here, but I'll do my best to give you a quick summary.
Lead easily dominates the list, found in toy jewelry and on clothes, reinforcing my long-held suspicion that overalls are so much more than a mere crime of fashion.
Another prevalent reason for other recalls throughout the year was due to high flammability and a tendency for electronics to overheat.
Chinese-manufactured products are now back in the headlines. And, like most of the more recent recalls, it involves toys. Sold in Canada as Aqua Beads, these plastic beads have been found to contain the chemical 1,4-butanediol, which, when metabolized after ingestion, can cause drowsiness and seizures, or in more extreme cases, induce a coma or death.
Thus far, seven children in the United States and four in Australia have been hospitalized.
It would be all too easy to blame China for the appearance of these defective and harmful products, but one must bear in mind the measures China has taken, and continues to take, before passing judgment.
For instance, officials in Beijing halted exports of the toy at the producers themselves. In contrast, the pet food debacle involved a producer that supplied hundreds of American pet food brands, some of whom still refused to recall their potentially tainted products.
In addition, the Chinese government executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of their food and drug agency, in July after he was convicted for taking bribes while in office.
The bribes, totaling approximately $850,000, were given by factories to have their untested medicines approved, resulting in the deaths of Chinese civilians.
The unusual severity of the sentence sent the message that the government was taking its now tarnished reputation as a manufacturer very seriously.
So if not China, then who's to blame? How about the companies that increasingly outsource production to China and other Asian countries because of the associated profits?
Brands such as Mattel, and stores with unfathomable levels of power, like Wal-Mart, operate factories overseas because, in comparison, American labour is very expensive.
However, the costs of production continually increase as land, fuel and labour get more expensive, and the factories, under pressure to minimize costs, overlook basic safety procedures.
After Fisher Price recalled 1.5 million toys in August, Zhang Shuhong, the boss of the primary factory responsible for the recalls, hanged himself in his factory.
Unfortunately, most recalls are not widely reported, and although I couldn't tell you exactly who was responsible for it, I have a feeling that corporate America has something to do with it!
If so, you're not imagining it. The list of products is too ridiculously long to be explained in full here, but I'll do my best to give you a quick summary.
Lead easily dominates the list, found in toy jewelry and on clothes, reinforcing my long-held suspicion that overalls are so much more than a mere crime of fashion.
Another prevalent reason for other recalls throughout the year was due to high flammability and a tendency for electronics to overheat.
Chinese-manufactured products are now back in the headlines. And, like most of the more recent recalls, it involves toys. Sold in Canada as Aqua Beads, these plastic beads have been found to contain the chemical 1,4-butanediol, which, when metabolized after ingestion, can cause drowsiness and seizures, or in more extreme cases, induce a coma or death.
Thus far, seven children in the United States and four in Australia have been hospitalized.
It would be all too easy to blame China for the appearance of these defective and harmful products, but one must bear in mind the measures China has taken, and continues to take, before passing judgment.
For instance, officials in Beijing halted exports of the toy at the producers themselves. In contrast, the pet food debacle involved a producer that supplied hundreds of American pet food brands, some of whom still refused to recall their potentially tainted products.
In addition, the Chinese government executed Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of their food and drug agency, in July after he was convicted for taking bribes while in office.
The bribes, totaling approximately $850,000, were given by factories to have their untested medicines approved, resulting in the deaths of Chinese civilians.
The unusual severity of the sentence sent the message that the government was taking its now tarnished reputation as a manufacturer very seriously.
So if not China, then who's to blame? How about the companies that increasingly outsource production to China and other Asian countries because of the associated profits?
Brands such as Mattel, and stores with unfathomable levels of power, like Wal-Mart, operate factories overseas because, in comparison, American labour is very expensive.
However, the costs of production continually increase as land, fuel and labour get more expensive, and the factories, under pressure to minimize costs, overlook basic safety procedures.
After Fisher Price recalled 1.5 million toys in August, Zhang Shuhong, the boss of the primary factory responsible for the recalls, hanged himself in his factory.
Unfortunately, most recalls are not widely reported, and although I couldn't tell you exactly who was responsible for it, I have a feeling that corporate America has something to do with it!
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