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The Government's role and the Company's Role in Keeping Toys Safe
CEO Robert Eckert, of the giant toy company, Mattel told CBS News that "we are by no means perfect", concerning dealing with overseeing subcontractors in China, responsible for producing toys for the company. Federal regulators and toy manufacturers testified to Congress on Wednesday, September 12, that Chinese standards are loose and U.S. enforcement is weak, contributing to the increase in Chinese-made toys being recalled. Mattel has had to recall millions of toys so far this fall. Recalls, one might think would be more costly than implementing stricter safety standards.
There have been recent "congressional efforts to impose mandatory safety-testing standards", according to the September 12, CBS News article. You would wonder why safety-testing standards or at least better quality control measures have not already been a part of operating protocol? After all, when you are outsourcing work, and your name goes on the product would you not want to know that you are in control of the quality of the product? Seems like basic business common sense to control your product, when it is being outsourced to another country.
Mattel promised to strengthen their toy testing and if you go to their site:
www.mattel.com/safety/us/ you will see the following 3-stage safety check of paint used in their toys:
1. All paint must be tested before it is used on our toys. No exceptions.
2. We have significantly increased testing and unannounced inspections at every stage of production.
3. We are testing every production run of finished toys to ensure compliance before they reach you.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is responsible for protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products, including toys. Consumers can report incidents of dangerous products by calling the CPSC hotline at 800-638-2772 or by using the Website to contact them: www.cpsc.gov/talk.html
Consumer reports is one way that we can find ourselves taking some responsibility to protect others. When faced with a defective product, we have two choices: we can throw it away and forget about it, or we can contact the manufacturer or the CPSC to report the dangerous situation. Reporting, gives us the power to make changes for the better.
In the case of the Gymboree, Pirate Sword recall, there were 11 reported incidents that triggered the 6,000-product recall. It is up to the company to listen to those who make the reports and to issue voluntary recalls of the product to ensure public safety.
It takes a combination of governmental regulation and standard safety control, and companies who value public safety over company profits that are willing to enforce product quality testing before reaching the consumer; in order to reduce the number of hazardous products reaching the public.
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