More recalls of China made toys

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)in the US has announced more recalls of products made in China, that violated lead paint standards. The products range from Halloween pails with Witch decorations from the Family Dollar Stores to toy gardening tools from Jo-Ann Stores Inc. of Hudson, Ohio, according to this listing on the CPSC website. Fisher-Price is also recalling 38,000 of its “Go Diego Go Animal Rescue Boats” on account of excessive lead in the paint.

The companies have variously offered to replace the faulty products or give customers a refund. Jo-Ann, for example, promises a full refund for the gardening tools at their stores.

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, companies are acting very irresponsibly. Instead of ensuring without doubt that there isn’t lead above permissible levels in their products, they seem to believe that a product recall and free refund or replacement is a good enough measure.

The fact is that these lead contaminated products were in the hands of children, and there could have been irreversible damage to the children.

Recalls don’t make good corporate citizens. Prevention does, and in this regard companies were caught napping. Consumer patience may be running out.

Products from some of the companies like RC2 Corp. and Mattel Inc., who have announced product recalls because of excessive lead in their products, are also sold in countries outside the US, either directly by vendors or by independent importing companies.

These countries may not have a monitoring agency like the CPSC or the standards prescribed in the US. This does not however absolve vendors from the responsibility to ship non-hazardous products worldwide.

Related article:

RC2 Corp. recalls toys again, patience runs thin

Toxic Chinese toys in India too

India’s health ministry has said that several Chinese toys being sold in the local market are highly toxic as they contain high levels of heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, and were, therefore, harmful to children, according to a report in Indian daily, The Times of India.

The country’s toy market is dominated by branded products by Mattel and other international vendors, and a large number of toys made by Chinese companies. The Indian middle class and lower middle class overwhelmingly patronize Chinese toys that are cheaper.

In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, the country’s upper house of Parliament, the minister said that "according to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), NGO Toxics Link had conducted a study in 2006 which examined toys from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, and reported high levels of cadmium and lead in PVC used in soft toys."

The minister said that most of the toys in Chennai and Mumbai were being imported from China. Lead is a known neuro and hamatological toxin which can lead to delayed development and lower IQ in children, the Times of India reported.

The Bureau of Indian Standards has published three standards regarding safety of toys, according to the minister. But these are only voluntary, according to TV channel IBN Live

India has been slow in introducing legislation relating to environment and toxicity issues such as e-waste management. Its gargantuan bureaucracy and corruption at all levels of government ensure that even if there is legislation, monitoring adherence will be lukewarm.

At traffic stops in some of the key cities in the country, hawkers flagrantly sell toys and other goods of Chinese origin. Toy shops in the country also sell a large number of toys said to be of Chinese origin.