Comments on: Mattel: Kids, Ethics and Christmas Sales

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:45:10 +0000

Chuck,
In addition, I just read an article about how China is growing so fast and the provencial leaders ONLY incentive thus far has been to increase production (any way they can).
China has 100 employees are their equivalent of an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while we have something like 20,000 employees. The article also mentioned agricultural/food inspections and the like. They fall down hard on those areas, too. No mention was made of a food and drug administration (FDA). I doubt China has a working one.
The fact is they are not up to modern standards. Until they are rich enough (as a country) to support a large middle class that demands safe food, cleaner air, safe water, and safe products, this issue is not going away.
The other group that can demand it is us consumers of Chinese products. We have a say (by voting with our dollars) along with the growing Chinese middle class.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 01:01:56 +0000

B.L.,
I mentioned Artisan Toys because my neighborhood happens to have a shop that sells them. I don’t have any kids yet but I buy gifts there and the toys seem pretty cool to me but what do I know about cool.

By: B.L. Ochman

B.L. Ochman — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:22:26 +0000

Chuck:This discussion has to include a “phantom-crisis discussion of product origin. because:
Origin of:
Poison pet food – China
Poison children’s cough medicine – China
Lead paint on toys – China
Poison in toothpaste – China
This issue is not going to evaporate because of some PR campaign.
It’s much bigger than that.
And Mattel is just the tip of the iceberg.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:03:14 +0000

There seems to be a linkage behind the word “China” and “unsafe.” That’s a highly innacurate perception.
China is far too big a place, and manufactures far too much stuff to apply that negative connection broadly.
Although the American media loves big scare-mongering headlines, a consumer or media trend of “China is Bad” simply cannot get past the headline & rumor phase. As soon as stories appear remind Americans about the sheer scale of Chineese production, and the totality of the quality controll (both ridiculously good and bad), then the issue will evaporate.
It’s important from a corporate communication standpoint to concentrate on the safety of the toys themselves, and not get involved in any phantom-crisis discussion of product origin.

By: B.L. Ochman

B.L. Ochman — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 16:14:13 +0000

The problem is societal – ours and China’s.
We live in a land of total excess, beginning with buying a ton of expensive toys for children, even when we can’t afford them so we can keep up appearances.
In China, there is no value but growth and any means necessary is the means to that end. That is one reason there is no word for “quality” in Chinese.
Artisan toys? First you’d have to find a way to make a kid think they were cool.
Of course it’s about design also. THere could simply not be any reason to have small magnets that can fall off of toys.
What gauls me though, is Mattel saying that NOW they will institute new quality control measures.
Why weren’t those measures in effect to begin with?
Please see my first sentence for the answer.

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:28:30 +0000

To clarify my ill formed sentence above, the best law is one that requires that labels tell where something was manufactured. I believe that law is already on the books. Someone could correct me if I am wrong.
I think that law could be greatly improved. Who knew that ingredients in dog food were from China? That should be on the label.
When China has a working FDA, then consider their food (dog food or human food).

By: Neil Anuskiewicz

Neil Anuskiewicz — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 23:21:44 +0000

The market will have its say on this matter. When the Chinese government and companies start losing market share and money, as I suspect may start to happen because of these issues, THEY will change.
There is not a need for legislation in America. The consumer should vote with its dollar. The best law is one that says where something is made. Don’t buy *anything* made in China (if you can avoid it) UNTIL they clean up their act. Period.
Find a locally owned toy store and find some artisan toys.

By: gianandrea

gianandrea — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:40:09 +0000

In my opinion, Mattel is just one of the hundreds of companies across the world that have and will have to face these problems with products manufactured in China.
I would have add another question: is a low price more important than the health of all of us, kids and adults?

By: Radio Control

Radio Control — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 10:29:15 +0000

I’d like to know what the other importers and distributors are doing about ensuring their products from China are safe.

By: Heather Yaxley

Heather Yaxley — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 09:44:36 +0000

Let’s not forget the importance of product design here. Checking post-production is one thing, but better design could also improve the reputation of Mattel.
Why are toys made of so many small parts – especially magnets?
They also have to take some responsibility for the focus on cutting production costs in order to push toys at kids 365 days a year. This isn’t really about Christmas, but about pester power year round.

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 22:52:03 +0000

Well, Jeanne, I’m Canadian raised, so my answer would likely involve legislation to protect our children. But, that may be against American sensibilities.
Hopefully the other toy importers should worry that they are at risk for litigation if they don’t act responsibly. Unfortunately, who’s to say that will act as a deterrent for all these companies? Greed has a way of overshadowing ethics in some cases.
This example is but one of many that may come to light. The dog food recall was also because of lax rules in China. What’s next and what are we consuming from countries like China that aren’t good for us but we don’t know it yet?

By: Cam Beck

Cam Beck — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 21:55:04 +0000

This is a tough balancing act for Mattel. On one hand, of course they want (and need) their products to be safe, and on the other hand, if they are unable to meet demand, they are sunk.
Parents are in a quandary, because as you mentioned, they’re scared. Wait too long and the toys they want may not be available at Christmas. Buy too soon and run the risk of not giving the manufacturer enough time to fix the problem (and then unfortunately missing the news of the recall).
I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue of their putting dollars before ethics, as BL suggests; it’s just a tough situation. It is ethical to be good stewards of shareholder money, but implicit in that is the need to produce safe goods, since poor performance in this area will result in decreased sales and increased fines, inspection, investigation and recall costs.
In other words, doing it wrong results in harm to both the consumers and the shareholders. Nobody wins, whether or not they used wrongheaded logic in pursuit of shareholder interests over the consumers’.
That’s not to say that some executives on a short leash don’t have difficulty getting beyond short-term thinking, but I don’t think anyone here is suggesting that Mattel did this on purpose, or that any negligence on its part would result in an open-and-shut class action lawsuit against the company.
They admitted their error without trying to hide it and took full financial responsibility for the recall. What they do next (not what they say they’ll do) will be most telling about the character and ethics of the company.
I understand there are those who say that using Chinese manufacturing companies at all is unethical, but I’m purposefully leaving that debate off the table here (at least on my part) in order to focus on the other issues I wrote about above.

By: jeanne bliss

jeanne bliss — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:08:26 +0000

Elaine,
I agree! These companies are going to be tested greatly on this one. But you point out an important aspect of this – all the nameless faceless importers who make toys. Chinese imported toys of all kinds will now be under scrutiny.
As much as the idea of legislation or somee government ruling makes things more complicated, in this case, for the sake of our children, quick action in this regard may be required…
WHAT, exactly would motivate one of those mass importers you mention to change their practices?

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 16:57:32 +0000

If a credible brand like Mattel got hit with this paint/magnet fiasco, imagine how unsafe the lower-end toys are. You know – the ones in dollar stores, discount stores and the like? Mattel is the face of the issue, but I’d like to know what the other importers and distributors are doing about ensuring their products from China are safe. Surely parents will realize that any toy made in China is at risk until this is resolved.

By: B.L. Ochman

B.L. Ochman — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 14:26:45 +0000

In a Utopian society, Mattel would do the world a service by wiping all toys from China off the shelf until they are certain beyond doubt that the toys they sell are safe.
And they’d do the world a favor by devoting their Christmas advertising budget to warning parents of the dangers in the toys that other manufacturers have left on the shelves.
But the likelihood of that happening is slim to none.
Publicly traded companies can’t think long term. They believe they have to put dollars before ethics to succeed.
They have to please their shareholders in the next quarter, without fail.

By: Annie

Annie — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 11:49:41 +0000

As a parent, #2 is my preferred option and I would have a lot more respect for and confidence in Mattel if they followed this route.
Option 1 just smacks of ‘too little, too late’ to me.