With Christmas only six weeks away, parents of young children are in a bit of panic. So many toys have been recalled that it seems almost nothing is safe. The usual bounty under the tree on Christmas morning could be pretty sparse this year.
Almost all of the recalls involve toys made in China. There’s lead in the paint or even drugs in the beads. Children have fallen ill, and even died.
Just last week, the popular product “Aqua Dots” was ordered off toy store shelves because the beads can metabolize into a chemical compound similar to a “date rape drug” if ingested by children.
There’s plenty of blame to go around. Most of it can be chalked up to cost-cutting greed — a far cry from the spirit of the upcoming season.
Toy marketers are buying products abroad, where labor and other production costs are cheaper. Parents may be too concerned with getting the lowest price rather than the safest product.
The U.S. government has been lax, too. The Consumer Product Safety Commission needs more inspectors, better testing and a more professional, arm’s length relationship with toy industry executives.
This has been a great embarrassment to China, coming as it does in the wake of toxic pet food, tainted toothpaste and fake drug scandals. It’s especially painful now, as China is preparing to host the 2008 Olympics and wants to prove to the world how far it has advanced.
But then, “Made in Japan” used to be a pejorative decades ago, when many of the toys sold in the United States came from there. Now that label is regarded in just the opposite way, as a sign of quality.
There’s hope for China, too, if it works harder to ensure product safety. U.S. manufacturers can help by keeping up the pressure for improvements. It’s in everyone’s best interest.
