Mattel recalls 1.5 million made in China toys
The Straits Times
3/8/2007
In an article in the Straits Times on the 3rd of August, toy-making giants Mattel issued a massive recall of its toys from shelves as a result of paint containing the highly-toxic lead was used by a large manufacturing company in China to paint the toys. The manufacturer, the largest export and producer of Mattel’s toys suffered losses of up to 30 million US dollars as almost 1.5 million toys it produced had to be taken off shelves.
This setback couldn’t have come at a worse time when the Chinese authorities are still struggling to contain the international fallout over earlier cases involving tainted food and harmful goods. China is the largest exporter of many consumer goods, and based on this recent report, my first impression is that the reputation of China and faith that consumers and importers have in it will be severely tarnished. Definitely massive, world-shaking implications will result
This incident means a lot as China is a rising country, poised to impact the world greatly in time to come. Such an incident will cause its lucrative manufacturing and export industries to lose much of their businesses and ties with countries around the world. A chain effect of events could happen which would shake the foundations of China and its government. Investors and consumers will cut ties with China, which will result in great economic loss. The millions of people in China would be out of jobs, and China’s target of using its large amounts of people to good in their industries would fail. A large percentage of blue collared workers work in this sector for China, and losing their jobs would result in poverty and much trouble for China. With the general reputation of China tarnished, many countries may pull out of promising investments with the country. Education of many young talents may stall, and economic progress will come to a standstill. If the above happens, it would be a very sorry decline for a country with so much promise and amount of talent.
A sales executive taking stocks of Mattel toys of the shelves
The fate of life is that once a costly mistake is made, the lasting impression is almost firmly rooted in the minds of consumers. Imagine how the chief executive of the manufacturer in China would feel about losing up to 30 million and their top partner cutting ties with his company? I for one, feel the immense weight on his shoulders. It could just be because of a bad quality of paint supply, but look at the massive implications of this. It definitely has shown me that in life, we should be mentally prepared and put in our best effort into everything, for the implications of slip-shod work are an insurmountable mountain of burden which is illustrated in the report. I understand that I know not of the technicalities behind such industries and that such errors in products are inevitable sometimes, but I from the point of view of parents, their children’s health is the most important, and will not hesitate to stop buying such products. In the business world, sympathy is lost once profit is concerned, and the affected company will suffer.
My hope, however, is that China will stand strong in this time of crisis and that their government would rally the support of the people, as they are the best and most valuable resource at the moment. The truth is that China is still relatively safe, as the ministers have proven. However, it is impression that matters and they have to take action immediately and secure the trust of the public and investors alike to reignite the flame in the ‘rising dragon’ in Asia and prevent it from breathing its last breath.
ARTICLE
Products reportedly coated in toxic paint; move another blow to China’sreputationBY TRACY QUEK CHINA CORRESPONDENT
In Beijing AMERICAN toy giant Mattel has issued a massive recall of its China-made toysbecause they are reportedly coated in toxic lead paint, dealing another blowto China’s embattled export reputation.The global recall, announced by Mattel in the United States on Wednesday,involves about 1.5 million toys sold in America and other countries, includingSingapore.The US toys are sold under Mattel’s subsidiary, Fisher-Price. They include the popular Big Bird and Elmo characters from the hit children’s television programme, Sesame Street.The toys were made by a contract manufacturer in China, which flouted Mattel’s production requirements by using a non-approved paint pigment containing lead, according to US media. Lead can cause brain damage in children.The toy recall is the latest in a flood of product safety scares to have hit China, battering its image to such an extent that leader’s worry the scandals could hurt its lucrative manufacturing and export industries. Officials are still struggling to contain the fallout from earlier cases involving tainted toothpaste, pet food and seafood, and have taken measures ranging from closing culpable factories to rolling out new safety rules.This latest scandal, however, could undermine attempts by Beijing to restore already eroded faith in the world’s biggest exporter of consumer goods to produce safe food, drugs or products.Should Mattel – the world’s largest toymaker and among the most reputable – cut down production or pull out of China, the move could prompt other firms to think twice about manufacturing or expanding production in China, say observers.“The company is currently investigating, and plans to review manufacturing procedures, said news reports.Five of the 10 factories Mattel owns and operates worldwide are based in China.These 10 make half of its toys.It also uses between 30 and 50 key vendors in China which produce the other half, said spokesman Julia Jensen. She said in an email: “Mattel has no immediate plans to abandon manufacturing in China...recall situations can happen regardless of where a product is produced.’’ While China did not respond immediately to the Mattel recall yesterday, at least three senior Chinese officials have defended China’s product safety record. Speaking at separate occasions over the last two days, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai, Deputy Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng and senior product safety official Wei Chuanzhong insisted that most Chinese exports are safe and of good quality. All three also warned importing countries against unfairly singling outChina-made products. The recall involves 967,000 toys from US consumers and sellers and another 533,000 from other countries, including Britain, Singapore, Canada and Mexico.
tracyq@sph.com.sg
