MADE IN CHINA, if that's what you want

[regfootball]

ny times

June 15, 2007

Thomas the Tank Engine Toys Recalled Because of Lead Paint

By ANGEL JENNINGS

The toy maker RC2 Corporation pulled a number of its Thomas & Friends trains and accessory parts off the shelves yesterday after learning that the red and yellow paint used to decorate more than 1.5 million of the toys contained lead.

Lead, if ingested by children, can cause long-term neurological problems that affect learning and behavior.

“Parents should not delay in getting these toys away from their kids,” Scott Wolfson, spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said yesterday.

An alert posted at a Web site devoted to the toy line, www.totallythomas.com, included a list of more than two dozen items affected by the recall. The company noted that toys that bear a code containing a “WJ” or “AZ” on the bottom of the toy or the inside of the battery door are not included in the recall.

The company at first urged consumers to mail in their Thomas toys, at their expense, in exchange for a replacement and a free train, an offer that angered some consumers.

Many Thomas the Tank Engine fans have collected dozens of trains, boxcars or railroad stations, and shipping several heavy pieces could quickly become expensive. Later yesterday, the company, which is based in Oak Brook, Ill., agreed to handle the shipping cost for all consumers who request it.

The affected Thomas toys were manufactured in China, which has come under fire recently for exporting a variety of goods, from pet food to toothpaste, that may pose safety or health hazards. “These are not cheap, plastic McDonald’s toys,” said Marian Goldstein of Maplewood, N.J., who spent more than $1,000 on her son’s Thomas collection, for toys that can cost $10 to $70 apiece. “But these are what is supposed to be a high-quality children’s toy.”

Ms. Goldstein’s 4-year-old son owns more than 40 pieces from the Thomas series, and seven of them were on the recall list, including the Sodor deluxe fire station, a footlong piece that is a little heavier than the average train.

Ms. Goldstein said she wondered who would pay for testing her son for lead poisoning if her insurance did not cover it.

Edited June 19, 2007 by regfootball

[regfootball]

you want cheap sh-t, you got it, America.

Edited June 19, 2007 by regfootball

[Drew Dowdell]

I blame walmart.

[regfootball]

this recall may be a blessing in disguise.....this may actually get people to start to question the integrity of imported products and their manufacturing processes enough to the point they say, 'is cheap always worth it'?

I mean, lead, in kids toys. How fricking low does it get? It cannot get worse than that.

Edited June 19, 2007 by regfootball

[FAPTurbo]

I mean, lead, in kids toys. How fricking low does it get? It cannot get worse than that.

That's nothing...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/11/asi...ood.1-72999.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/10/...ain616432.shtml

[regfootball]

point taken!

[daves87rs]

Since all we care about is cheap stuff....after a few cover ups, and a few months, and some extra goodwill-everyone will have forgot about it....

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

This is indeed scary and yet sad... I remember the toothpaste thing recently. No one is complaining about the Buicks from China.

[Z-06]

I blame walmart.

No, I will blame people, who blindly buy "Cheaper" stuff, without looking at long term consequences. They bitch, everything is made in china, but does anybody, take effort to find made in USA and buy them? If people will be more prudent, Walmart will not exist.

[Drew Dowdell]

No, I will blame people, who blindly buy "Cheaper" stuff, without looking at long term consequences. They bitch, everything is made in china, but does anybody, take effort to find made in USA and buy them? If people will be more prudent, Walmart will not exist.

I blame walmart because walmart has force manufacturers to China in an effort to bring you "Everyday low prices! "

This ended up effecting products at ALL stores. If a toy manufacturer was force to begin producing in China because of Walmarts imposed price cuts, that same manufacturer is going to sell that same product to Target.

[FAPTurbo]

No one is complaining about the Buicks from China.

Because the Buick's manufacturing process is overseen by an American corporation that values quality.

[mustang84]

That's nothing...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/06/11/asi...ood.1-72999.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/10/...ain616432.shtml

The raw sewage in lard was pretty bad too.

They used to make jokes about KFC and putting weird stuff in the chicken, which was actually just an urban legend. But Chinese chicken, on the other hand...deep-fried in medical waste vats for that extra delicious chicken flavor!

Edited June 20, 2007 by mustang84

[Z-06]

I blame walmart because walmart has force manufacturers to China in an effort to bring you "Everyday low prices! "

This ended up effecting products at ALL stores. If a toy manufacturer was force to begin producing in China because of Walmarts imposed price cuts, that same manufacturer is going to sell that same product to Target.

You are right, but if these people were not ignorant about the quality of products, and if these eco-weenies who are part of the sheeplings of our society would haeve concentrated in telling people about Lead contamination rather than Detroit, things would not have been bad.

I mean Walmart would not have survived if the politicians would have levied anti dumping taxes on them, but wait China was awarded the Most Favored Nation Status, and Walmart is in the books of from Good to Great.

[daves87rs]

I blame walmart because walmart has force manufacturers to China in an effort to bring you "Everyday low prices! "

This ended up effecting products at ALL stores. If a toy manufacturer was force to begin producing in China because of Walmarts imposed price cuts, that same manufacturer is going to sell that same product to Target.

Quoted for truth.

Sad, but very true...

[CARBIZ]

All products made in China should carry labels larger than the branding of the product itself, IMO. I am sick of buying stuff, having it break and then realizing it was made in China. For example, I am staring at a box of tissue paper that was on sale at my local grocery store. The brand I normally buy is .89. This stuff was .64. How bad can it be, right? Two-ply tissue paper is two ply, right? Wrong. This $h! just blows right through - literally. I checked the packaging: Made in China. It has gotten to the point that it is making me nuts when I buy stuff. I went to 5 or 6 places to buy a a/c unit last month and could not find one that was NOT made in China. That is f$#king sad!

MADE IN CHINA SHOULD BE A HAZARD WARNING, LIKE FLAMMABLE OR CORROSIVE CHEMICALS.

[I hope GMRULES again]

I always look at where the product was made before I buy it so I can buy American or Canadian if possible but its getting harder to find things made here. I recently needed a new toaster and I looked in 4-5 different stores and all of them were made in china.

[Sixty8panther]

Un-f***ing-Beleivable.

Sofia has more than a few Thomas Trains... Thanks for posting this.

[Derek77]

I blame walmart because walmart has force manufacturers to China in an effort to bring you "Everyday low prices! "

This ended up effecting products at ALL stores. If a toy manufacturer was force to begin producing in China because of Walmarts imposed price cuts, that same manufacturer is going to sell that same product to Target.

And why do they want "Everyday low prices"? It because of the consumer. The consumer wants low prices, that's what they give them.

It's like the chicken and the egg. It goes full circle. You can't point your finger at one thing.

[regfootball]

fisher price recalls more toys with lead paint from...........you guessed it

[AxelTheRed]

"Made in USA".

I actively seek out that badge whenever I shop. Its like the bleeding holy grail for me. Food, musical equipment...I won't settle for anything less if I don't absolutely have to...hell, I even like my books to be printed in the US.

About a mile away from my house is a small farmer's market that sells only Michigan produce and its the only place my family goes to get vegetables that we don't grow ourselves.

Some people might call me elitist or whatever. I just like to think I have high standards.

As for Wal Mart...I don't even enter the store.

[mustang84]

This is getting ridiculous. What the hell is wrong with Chinese manufacturers? I passed this info on to some of my family members with small kids...disgusting.

[regfootball]

http://wcco.com/health/health_story_214152859.html

"China has always conducted international trade in the spirit of being responsible to its trade partners and itself," Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said in a statement published Thursday on the ministry's Web site. "Ninety-nine percent of China's exports are good and safe."

[balthazar]

Rrrrrrriiiigggggghhhhhhtttttt..... sssuuuurrrreeeee !!!

If true, how come 67% of everything Chinese-made I've ever owned or come in contact with has been about as "good" as.... something made in China.

Ban everything, wait 3 years for the message to sink in, then let everything Chinese-sourced reapply thru U.S.-designed testing procedures, then charge a flat license fee for the priviledge to do business in the U.S. market.

[Sixty8panther]

I wish. Balthazar's solution sounds fair!

[daves87rs]

Rrrrrrriiiigggggghhhhhhtttttt..... sssuuuurrrreeeee !!!

If true, how come 67% of everything Chinese-made I've ever owned or come in contact with has been about as "good" as.... something made in China.

Ban everything, wait 3 years for the message to sink in, then let everything Chinese-sourced reapply thru U.S.-designed testing procedures, then charge a flat license fee for the priviledge to do business in the U.S. market.

[Robert Hall]

Rrrrrrriiiigggggghhhhhhtttttt..... sssuuuurrrreeeee !!!

If true, how come 67% of everything Chinese-made I've ever owned or come in contact with has been about as "good" as.... something made in China.

Ban everything, wait 3 years for the message to sink in, then let everything Chinese-sourced reapply thru U.S.-designed testing procedures, then charge a flat license fee for the priviledge to do business in the U.S. market.

Of course, if everything from China would be banned, shelves in the stores would be empty for a while...Americans would be unable to buy stuff... then suppliers to Wal Mart, etc would move production of everything to India, or Vietnam, or ...

[balthazar]

Fine- as long as every importer passes U.S. product testing and satisfies all business licensing....

Hopefully, the 'dry spell' would put WalMart out of busniess in the meantime.

[Robert Hall]

Fine- as long as every importer passes U.S. product testing and satisfies all business licensing....

Hopefully, the 'dry spell' would put WalMart out of busniess in the meantime.

And put millions of Americans out of work...not a smart move. Globalisation isn't easy...

[balthazar]

The millions (if it is millions) should readily be taken in by those American companies that will swoop in to fill the sucking void left by China's 3-yr absense.

[FAPTurbo]

You know the situation with China is getting a little insane when one of its former residents approaches me with a tin of fruit while I am working, and asks me in broken English to assure him it is NOT a product of China.

[mustang84]

It's kinda sad too, because China used to have some great culture and civilization before they fell to the Commies. When the Red Army took over, they destroyed a lot of ancient Chinese history...and the stuff that survives today have become tacky theme-park like attractions. And this is what my Chinese architecture history professor who was born in China and escaped to the US said.

[regfootball]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/1...r.ap/index.html

BEIJING, China (AP) -- The head of a Chinese manufacturer whose lead-tainted Sesame Street toys were the center of a massive U.S. recall has killed himself, a state-run newspaper said Monday.

Two toys of the same kind recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Cheung Shu-hung, who co-owned Lee Der Industrial Co., committed suicide at a warehouse over the weekend, apparently by hanging himself, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

"When I rushed there around 5 p.m., police had already sealed off the area," the newspaper quoted a manager surnamed Liu as saying. "I saw that our boss had two deep marks in his neck."

Though the report did not give a reason for Cheung's apparent suicide -- and the company declined to discuss the matter -- Lee Der was under pressure in a global controversy over the safety of Chinese made products. It is common for disgraced officials to commit suicide in China.

suicide = easy way out. stay alive and face up to your mistakes.

Edited August 21, 2007 by regfootball

[balthazar]

>>"It's kinda sad too, because China used to have some great culture and civilization before they fell to the Commies. "<<

Unfortunately, there is no correlation between history & culture, and manufacturing ability or common sense values.

[K.C.]

Agreed, its the customer who made Wal-mart what it is. I will NEVER ever shop there. They are everything wrong with the retail world.

[CARBIZ]

I still have not been able to find a blender that is NOT made in China. Everything at Wal-Mart is made in China. I was at Radio Shack (well, it used to be called Radio Shack - now it is The Source ) and found a KitchenAid blender. It looked solid. It was $80 (about $25 higher than the Black & Decker crap at Wal-Mart), but I could not find where it was made anywhere on it or the box. Of course, no clerks in sight. My BF got bored and wandered off. We'll go back again. I don't care if I have to pay DOUBLE, I will keep looking until I find a blender made anywhere else - since my Made in China POS stopped working after 3 years. What kind of a deal is that?

And we were looking at shoes in 3 shoe stores yesterday, too. All of them were made in China.

Would somebody please explain to me how the hell that benefits me? All of those damned jobs used to be here. Thousands upon thousands of them. Bata Shoes is a Canadian company. Where the hell are they now? Their headquarters (at Don Mills and Eglinton) is soon to be a mosque.

NOW THERE IS A SIGN OF THE TIMES.

Edited August 21, 2007 by CARBIZ

[CARBIZ]

Have you looked at KitchenAid blenders?

http://www.kitchenaid.com/catalog/category...?categoryId=171

The one I got for my mom a couple of years ago was about $130 US and made in America, but the KitchenAid one we had before that lasted over 30 years before burning out.

The one at The Source was a KitchenAid, but it did not have a stamp anywhere that I could see as to where it was manufactured. I know KitchenAid is an American company, but so many American and Canadian companies have outsourced their manufacturing base. An air conditioner I saw at Future Shop a few months ago was from some American company and said New York, New York, but when I looked closer, it said: Manufactured in POC. Very damned clever: POC (People's Republic of China.) I am not taking any chances after my Betty Crocker blender died after 3 years. My mother's blender before that was an Oster and she got it in '71 or '72 before giving it to me in '80 or '81. The only reason that one died is because of an idiot ex-roommate of mine putting the blades in the dishwasher and frying the bearings.

[balthazar]

I'd rather buy a 15- or 20-yr old appliance at a garage sale than waste my money on a new Chinese-slapped-together POS you KNOW won't last 4 years.

[AxelTheRed]

Ah...yeah, I'm now definitely going to do everything in my power to avoid Chinese-made products.

I go out and buy a lava lamp the other day. I take everything out of the box and put it all together. Well, most of it because it was missing that little cap that goes right on the top of the glass. Yep, I look at the box and see that it was made in China. I just took it back to the store. I didn't get a replacement, I just wanted my $15 back.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Since all we care about is cheap stuff....after a few cover ups, and a few months, and some extra goodwill-everyone will have forgot about it....

X2

[mustang84]

Now the Chinese are trying to turn the tables.

http://www.kgan.com/template/inews_wire/wi....kgan.com.shtml

[balthazar]

Latest example of apparent widespread Chinese business mindset (F everyone, take cash now):

WABC radio reported that a company in China that sells 100,000 chopsticks a day was selling recycled (ie: USED) chopsticks, without any sort of disenfecting whatsoever.

Bejing News: 'What will come out next?'

[mustang84]

I had to write a one-page commentary on a current event topic for my world cities & globalization class, so I chose the Chinese product recalls.

"Recently almost a million Fisher-Price toys from Mattel were recalled after U.S. safety inspectors discovered lead paint was used in 83 different toys. This was in addition to a multitude of safety recalls for products that were produced at Chinese manufacturing plants, including additional toys, tires, toothpaste, and pet food. Thousands of dogs and cats were reported to have died from eating food tainted with a chemical called melamine. China has been criticized by the United States and European Union for its lack of quality control inspections of products exported from the country.

However, part of the blame may also lie on America’s own companies who have been outsourcing manufacturing since the 1990s due to the cheaper cost of labor in many Asian countries. Companies like Wal-Mart, relying largely on product imported from overseas, strong-arm suppliers into lowering prices of the product they produce. Since the company is a global corporation with a large number of stores around the world, these suppliers cannot afford to lose Wal-Mart’s business. Therefore, corners are cut in order to meet price targets, resulting in sub-par product that may potentially be hazardous.

With more corporations outsourcing manufacturing, America may encounter continued increases in defective product being sold to consumers. Not only has outsourcing hurt the American middle class and damaged regional economies in places like the Rust Belt, but relying on overseas suppliers in countries with lax safety inspection lessens the chance of catching defects before the product hits the market. Even if defects are caught, it usually does not occur until after the product has shipped and results in costly and reputation-damaging recalls like those faced by the Mattel Corporation.

Hopefully with increased awareness of defective product reaching store shelves, consumers will begin to demand that companies not sacrifice product safety for lower cost. Better controls and guidelines need to be implemented by governments to ensure that the product they are exporting is safe for consumers."

[regfootball]

good writeup

[CARBIZ]

I hope all of this can be resolved in a timely and professional manner, but I am not optimistic. The Chinese treat each other badly and 'foreigners' worse. Gone are the days of the 'polite Chinaman.' Whether it was Communism, decades of intractible poverty, or just a general inferiority complex, the New Asia has fangs. The amount of bootlegged Cds, movies, books and other products in any city's Chinatown is shocking. In general, they have little or no respect for the rule of law - especially if it is someone else's law.

Ever try to drive in China? Road signs are mere SUGGESTIONS. In business, they are always looking for ways to cut corners and screw each other. A friend of mine sold his video store operation to a Chinese family for quite a sum of money. Part of the deal was that he would stick around for a month to 'advise' them. After the deal concluded (and he was damned lucky he held out for cash), the proud new owners wanted to see the 'real' books. My friend was confused at first, and insisted that they had seen the 'real' books. The new owners were angry and wanted out of the deal. They had paid a half million dollars for the business, expecting that there was an abundance of unreported sales. One of the first things they wanted to do was rip out the point of sale computer system so there would be no paper trail. I, too, was in the video business at the time, and witnessed my friend trying to explain to these people that it is extremely important to have a computer to track the customers and where they are with your movies!

Ever walk into these 'grey market' electronics shops? Toronto's Yonge St is polluted with them. Same idea. Good luck with any kind of warranty or return policy. We in the West are being hoodwinked. Part of the problem is that these countries we are dealing with are closed to foreigners, so we cannot truly understand them. We are getting our information second and third hand, either from transplanted nationals or by Westerners who live over there for a few years and think they understand the culture.

I am afraid, deeply afraid we are in for a rude awakening. The latest Sino-Russian military maneuvers on Russian soil are only just the beginning.

[regfootball]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20592481/

Barbie accessories part of latest Mattel recall

Lead paint may be on several hundred thousand Chinese-made goods

Robert Eckert, chairman and chief executive of El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel, warned at a press conference last month that there may be more recalls of tainted toys as the company steps up its investigations into its Chinese factories and retests products.

Still, Tuesday’s announcement is yet another blow to Mattel, which had cultivated an image of tightly controlling production in China. The CPSC is also considering a possible investigation of whether Mattel notified authorities as quickly as it should have in connection with the Aug. 14 recall.

With more than 80 percent of toys sold worldwide made in China, toy sellers are nervous that shoppers will shy away from their products in this year’s critical holiday season.

ok, my question is, should the toymakers suffer legally and financially for these breaches in public safety?

i truly believe that customers ought to stick it to these companies. the abuse of the system and lack of policing and quality control on the part of Mattel and others almost leads me to think they should go down with the kit and kaboodle.

this recall biz is completely ought of control and shows a complete lack of concern with public safety, quality control and complete and total underlying motive of simple monetary extraction from the US public and exploitation of cheap labor and manufacturing.

Has this gotten to the point where people will start rejecting CHinese goods?