Another Chinese Toy Recall
How many more of these before we can start getting really concerned:
NEW YORK - Less than two weeks after Mattel Inc. recalled 1.5 million Chinese-made toys because of lead paint, the toy industry is bracing for another blow that could give parents more reason to rethink their purchases just before the critical holiday shopping season.
Mattel is set to announce the recall of another toy involving a different Chinese supplier as early as Tuesday, according to three people close to the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.
Details of the latest recall were not immediately available, but one of the three people confirmed early Tuesday that Mattel plans to recall several hundred thousand die cast cars because their paint may contain excessive amounts of lead.
I have long avoided (as much as is possible given the sheer volume) Chinese-made toys because I didn't like the idea of my children playing with toys that may have been made by people enslaved for opposing the Communist regime. Now there's an even better reason...their safety.
The above looks like an indication that perhaps Hot Wheels or Matchbox cars are the target of the recall. Although I've been very careful to only purchase Hot Wheels made outside of China,
The list of recalls on Mattel's website has been updated to include the new recalls, which appear to include the Sarge car from the movie Cars. Although we don't have Sarge, given the number of Cars toys we do have in the house (my older son's favorite movie) I think it may be time to invest in a testing kit for lead to ensure that the toys we already have are safe.
It's sad that it takes a threat to the safety of our children to wake us up to the problems with Chinese manufacturing. Given that it's not uncommon for political prisoners to be put to work at extremely low (or no) wages as punishment, it should come as no surprise that other corners are cut, including ones around product safety.
Time to re-think our dependence on Chinese manufacturing. For our moral well-being...and our safety.
Mattel set to recall more China-made toys - Consumer News - MSNBC.com