Recalled Baby Toys
With the recent storm of recalled baby toys it’s difficult to know what is safe anymore. Fox News
just released information on baby bibs that have a lead content three times the amount allowed by law. This subject hit home with me because I currently have a nine-month old and with so many of our daily products coming from China, it’s almost impossible to know what’s safe these days.
So what’s going on?
Well it just so happens that I have a friend that travels over to China several times a year to manage the products he designs and recently he gave me the scoop on how that system works. In any capitalistic driven supply and demand system, companies are constantly looking for manufacturers to produce their products as cheaply as possible. Currently, China is a manufacturing paradise, mass production at minimal cost.
Sometimes it’s easy to wonder how the Chinese manufacturers make any money when they produce things so cheaply. The current Chinese business philosophy is profit through mass consumption…There are over 300 million Americans, if you can get a tenth of the population to give you 25 cents for each item you manufacture, then you’ve made $7.5 million dollars. When your labor force only makes up to $50 a week, the owner’s (and State’s) profitability is tremendous.
Many of the facilities over there can produce the products requested, but don’t have the capacity to meet the demand of a market. For example, let's look at Mattel; they request a product through the Chinese manufacturer with all approved materials plastics, paint, screws, etc. The manufacturer will begin producing the product on spec, but when consumer demand reaches a point where the current facility can no longer handle the production needs, that manufacturer will outsource the extra required capacity to another manufacturer.
Unfortunately, this can happen without the permission or knowledge of the main company (like Mattel). The original manufacturer still wants to make money on the deal so they end up splitting the original profit margin with the outsourced manufacturer. This opens the door for the outsourced manufacturer to cut corners (i.e. using cheaper unauthorized materials) to make up the difference on their profit margins.
By no means does this happen all the time, but I was told that the problem is knowing when it happens. A product that is safely produced and tested in one batch may not be safe in another batch that is not tested. So basically buying lead safe products can be crap shoot.
I’d be willing to bet that home-based lead test kits are going to sell like hotcakes in the next year if this safety problem continues. I found some here if you want to check them out. As for other resources you can always count on
Consumer Reports for the latest product safety information.
Shawn R Pearson
Web Marketing Manager
EBSCO Reception Room Subscription Services
http://www.ebscomags.com
Nylon magazine
