You know, there's an easy way to fix this. Stop bringing these toys in from China until they get their act together. Test at the border. If they don't pass, then the shipment is sent back.
It's really not that hard people. Japan does it, why can't we?
“There’s a lot of doom and gloom about lead in the products — people only hear about the recalls,” said Jeff Gearhart, the Ecology Center’s campaign director. “Companies can make clean products. Our sampling shows that there’s no reason to put lead in a product.”
Exactly! Why does a Hannah Montana pop star card game even NEED lead?
And of course, there's a little bit of a conspiracy theorist in me that wonders if this is an attack against the US by the Chinese government. I know the odds of it being true are so low, it's almost impossible, but if you think about this: China wants to be the new "US". However, they don't want competition. What better way then to poison the children of your competitor?
The Hannah Montana game has 6 times the level considered safe of lead. Why does it even NEED the lead? China simply is cutting corners trying to make as much money as possible. Now, they are finding out the true cost of doing that is irreparable damage to their reputation as a manufacturer.
Sooner or later, these companies are going to see the problem with manufacturing things in China, and will move operations.
For example:
With the falling dollar, the cost savings of manufacturing in China is becoming smaller as the days go by.
If the cost isn't there, then all a company has to do is move operations to some remote part of the country, say Montana or Iowa, for lack of a better example.
Pay a wage that's above the medium in that area, and you'll get decent workers.
Then you can adhere to all safety standards, and put a "Made in the USA" label on every toy.
You employ American workers, you don't have to worry about foreign governments, tariffs, or any other international trade problems, you get a marketing coup, and you get to have the most rigorous controls over your product that you want.
It's win-win-win all the way around.
Trust me, you can hire a ton of small town folks at a decent wage and they'll be a lot more loyal to your company then the Chinese folks who are practically slaves working in squalid conditions.
Travis
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