Mattel announces yet another recall

[Don Corleone]

So, I'm not calling for government intervention. It would be many days late and quite a few dollars short. The government has limited capability in matters such as these.

But there are feedback mechanisms that will make an impact. Frankly, I can't imagine anybody buying a Mattel toy at anything but rock-bottom prices, and their company isn't set up as a low-margin provider. They won't be able to stay in business long selling everything on fire sale. Ditto for Fisher Price, et. al.

I'm curious what you all think of this. Do you think Mattel and other toy manufacturers can survive this series of product recalls? Should they be having product recalls at all? Do you think Mattel et. al. are to blame for not doing a better job policing their overseas suppliers, or do you think the overseas suppliers bear most of the blame, even though they more than likely weren't violating any laws that they themselves are subject to.

Another wrinkle... I've heard a conspiracy theory that this was actually done intentionally by Chinese manufacturers. The reason? What do American brand names like Mattel provide in today's day and age? Innovative design... something Chinese manufacturers can copy, and a quality reputation. Many Chinese manufacturers wear two hats... supplier and competitor for American companies that provide consumer goods. By destroying Mattel and Fisher Price's reputation, it will be much easier for Chinese brand products to penetrate our markets.

I'm not hysterical, I'm just trying to consider all angles and I'm curious as to what the rest of you smarter than the average Orgahs have to think.

On a personal note, the Corleones instituted a policy in mid August. Any products for Jillian (toys, clothes, books, etcetera) that weren't manufactured in the USA, Mexico, Canada or Europe are banned from the house. Granted, most Americans don't have that luxury, but even if the price is higher, its worth it. I personally think its time to reshift the balance in favor of quality over quantity. I'll buy Chinese manufactured electronics and goods that Jillian doesn't have access to, until I see reason not to, but for the time being, its clear that for whatever reason, their quality standards do not meet my own with regards to my children.

[GeneralHankerchief]

I, for one, am glad that Mattel is admitting to the fact that they messed up - repeatedly. In this day and age we've seen it too many times where someone makes a colossal mistake (or mistakes) and then tries to cover it up, with the situation by that point a slimy, smelly mess.

Yeah, so the American toy companies are on life-support. But they're not dead, which is what they would be if they didn't recall and the bad news leaked. They'll survive; I don't think the public has much of a memory with this sort of thing.

[Xiahou]

I think if I were running one of these companies I'd be instituting a policy that requires random testing of all Chinese-made products by an independent 3rd party- something along the lines of the UL. They definitely need to take some proactive steps to restore consumer confidence.

[Blodrast]

Interesting stuff.
I don't know if the chinese manufacturers are to be blamed or not, because I don't know how Quality Control works over there. Yes, I realize that the American company can set some standards and some rules they have to meet, but it's not clear to me how that overlaps (if at all) with whatever local laws about safety exist, and with whatever internal house rules (again, regarding safety and QA) the Chinese manufacturer has.

However, regardless of what happens at the Chinese end, the American company has a clear (to me) duty to inspect the products according to their (and American) standards for safety and such.
The thing is, the way it works is that any corporation (and individuals, too) will try to get away with as much as possible while maximizing their profits, and they will tread the line between legal/not legal and quite often cross it if the benefits outweigh the potential losses.

In other words, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if the local QA (if it exists at all) occasionally closed an eye to some batches that didn't quite meet the standards. After all, you're not a criminal unless you're caught, right ?

The "conspiracy theory" is an interesting angle, but again I don't know enough to be able to tell if their taking over is realistic enough. Usually, a brand establishes itself over many, many years, and it doesn't go down _that_ fast. Granted, maybe the Chinese companies are thinking long-term (quite possible), but it's not obvious to me that this might be an avenue they wish to pursue: after all, just being _the_ manufacturer, pretty much tying up the American company to their services, may well be good enough for them, and they may not have the expertise/creativity/experience to actually take its place and realisticall fill the gap.

Well, my mostly uninformed two cents, I guess.

[CrossLOPER]

It's funny because all of you think that your stuff was and is now going to be safe.

[Don Corleone]

Well, CrossLOPER, you're correct in that there's no way I could know that a toy is safe. It's all a game of probabilities. But if Lego manufactures their toys domestically in Denmark, the odds of getting a toy that violates safety standards drop dramatically then if I buy a toy they had manufactured in Vietnam, which has no local safety standards. Sure, it costs more to buy products manufactured in Western countries, but the odds of overall product safety increase when the goods are produced in a country that actually has product quality standards, as opposed to being manufactured in a country that has none and the products are then exported to one that does.

[lars573]

Well, CrossLOPER, you're correct in that there's no way I could know that a toy is safe. It's all a game of probabilities. But if Lego manufactures their toys domestically in Denmark, the odds of getting a toy that violates safety standards drop dramatically then if I buy a toy they had manufactured in Vietnam, which has no local safety standards. Sure, it costs more to buy products manufactured in Western countries, but the odds of overall product safety increase when the goods are produced in a country that actually has product quality standards, as opposed to being manufactured in a country that has none and the products are then exported to one that does.

Actually the lego group has factories in many nations. According to Wiki Lego is manufactured in Denmark, the US, Mexico, and the Czech republic.


Oh and Don Fisher-Price is Mattel. Just like Playskool is Hasbro. In the US there are really only a few toy companies that sell toys for children. The biggest two are Hasbro and Mattel and their subsidaries. Mattel is the parent company of Fisher-Price, Tyco R/C, Matchbox, and Hotwheels. Hasbro has about 20 different names it realses products under. They bought up just about every US toy company in the 90's. The only ones they didn't were the ones Mattel got.

Hasbro's brands are;

• Avalon Hill
  Claster Television
  Coleco
  Galoob
  Kenner
  Maisto
  Milton Bradley
  Parker Brothers
  Playskool
  Selchow and Righter
  Tiger Electronics
  Tonka
  Wizards of the Coast
  Wrebbit

The only other toy companies are McFarlane toys and Bandai's US division.

[HoreTore]

Bah, they outsourced without regard to their loyal workers just to stuff more money into their own pockets. I say let them burn. Horribly.

[Don Corleone]

Actually the lego group has factories in many nations. According to Wiki Lego is manufactured in Denmark, the US, Mexico, and the Czech republic.


Oh and Don Fisher-Price is Mattel. Just like Playskool is Hasbro. In the US there are really only a few toy companies that sell toys for children. The biggest two are Hasbro and Mattel and their subsidaries. Mattel is the parent company of Fisher-Price, Tyco R/C, Matchbox, and Hotwheels. Hasbro has about 20 different names it realses products under. They bought up just about every US toy company in the 90's. The only ones they didn't were the ones Mattel got.

Hasbro's brands are;

• Avalon Hill
  Claster Television
  Coleco
  Galoob
  Kenner
  Maisto
  Milton Bradley
  Parker Brothers
  Playskool
  Selchow and Righter
  Tiger Electronics
  Tonka
  Wizards of the Coast
  Wrebbit

The only other toy companies are McFarlane toys and Bandai's US division.

Thank you Lars. I had no idea the toy industry had achieved such horizontal integration.

Pape, I didn't say I believed the conspiracy theory, I said I had heard it proposed (by an economist on McNeil Lehrer, actually). I believe the individual who comitted suicide did so in response to pressure from local party officials. There's nothing to say that they weren't leaning on him publicly, and privately continuing to encourage such behavior. I've never seen 'manufactured in Australia or New Zealand' stamped on any product for sale anywhere, but should I find one, given your own stringent consumer safety standards, I believe I'd be confident in purchasing them.

Personally, my best guess is that in China, they're scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about (much like Ronin, Beirut and Rory). They don't have these sorts of standards on products manufactured for domestic sale and philosophically, probably aren't even on the same page. To them, quality means the toy works or it doesn't, and even then, so long as the failure rate meets some internal ppm rating, they're happy and don't care. Don't forget, they're offering a huge discount on the manufacturing. I don't 'blame' Chinese manufacturers, because I don't think this is their issue. I blame importers that ought to know better. The value they provide is the quality inspection of their products and they've fallen down on the job.

As for Rory's suggestion that we force feed a few test groups of children varying dosages of lead paint and compare them to a control group, all I have to say is your reasoning is right in line with what I have come to expect from medical professionals and is why I avoid the doctor and the shylock with equal fear and dread.

I am all but certain extensive studies have been performed on the detrimental affects of ingested lead on the physiological development of humans. Give me some time at lunch and I'll see what I can come up with. As far as that goes, I don't have any hard studies available that cadmium is really all that bad for us either, but I'm not about to start sprinkling it in my garden.

[Papewaio]

Another wrinkle... I've heard a conspiracy theory that this was actually done intentionally by Chinese manufacturers. The reason? What do American brand names like Mattel provide in today's day and age? Innovative design... something Chinese manufacturers can copy, and a quality reputation. Many Chinese manufacturers wear two hats... supplier and competitor for American companies that provide consumer goods. By destroying Mattel and Fisher Price's reputation, it will be much easier for Chinese brand products to penetrate our markets.

I'm not hysterical, I'm just trying to consider all angles and I'm curious as to what the rest of you smarter than the average Orgahs have to think.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapc...rss_topstories

A very cunning plan indeed... I can see the CEO making a huge gain out of this one, as long as his eldest burns the paper money...

On a personal note, the Corleones instituted a policy in mid August. Any products for Jillian (toys, clothes, books, etcetera) that weren't manufactured in the USA, Mexico, Canada or Europe are banned from the house.

What no Aussie or Kiwi goods?

[Adrian II]

The Chinese poison train rides again. So far in The Netherlands, I believe we have had recalls of pesticide-ridden mattresses, poisonous baby napkins, accident-prone Landwind SUV's and lead-ridden paint jobs on car toys. Our emerging overlords have issues that go right back to the Great Helmsman's time when quality was bourgeois and security meant protection of the top echelon from foul-smelling ordinary citizens.

Still, the Ronin is right that we should not go into protective overdrive regarding our kids. I judge every case on its merits. My kids eat lead for breakfast and take a puff from my car's exhaust before they are off to school. Didn't hurt me none when we was young.

[Papewaio]

Problem with lead isn't that it isn't just either fatal or not.

There are direct links between an increased childhood ingestion of lead and a decrease in IQ.

So I do think it is dumb not to protect kids from something that is going to make them retarded.

[Ronin]

I believe we have had recalls of pesticide-ridden mattresses, poisonous baby napkins, accident-prone Landwind SUV's and lead-ridden paint jobs on car toys.

I think the LandWind was never actually sold in europe....it didn´t pass the basic safety tests.