Product Recall: Fisher-Price toys by the dozen!

"Buying American" - meaning buying toys made in America, which, theoretically anyway, won't contain lead - might be the way to go. It'll take a little research to find those products. Here's a good place to start: http://www.madeinamerica.com. You can search by keyword (toys) or by manufacturer name.

Good luck. And thanks for continuing to keep us up-to-date on this lead nonsense (and other recalls, too!)

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I'm a little concerned about the sudden avalanche of Chinese products that are recently coming into question. Is it because:

a) Someone in US politics is retaliating against China for something happening under the radar?

b) Someone is scheming to increase jobs or profits in a country other than China, by significantly reducing demand for Chinese products?

c) US importers have been turning a blind eye for a long time, and now realize they are about to get caught if they don't fix things fast?

What's the deal? I suspect a story will break on this in the future, but depending on who it implicates, it may not hit the mainstream news.

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Addendum to my prior post: it could always be that China is feeling the pinch of the cost of getting ready for the 2008 olympics, which is costing them a lot of money. I don't mean to say that it could only be a US problem.

I do take issue with the implication that US companies are going to the cheapest manufacturing source and ignoring safety concerns. I bet if you actually looked into what Fisher-Price has done to select and develop its foreign suppliers, you would be quite impressed.

Most of the manufacturers in China are partly or wholly government owned. I used to work with Chinese suppliers when I did product development for a toy company. It does take a while to get them up to speed on the US rules - years of testing to make sure they are doing what they promise and not getting us in trouble. Promises and even certifications don't mean the same thing in all countries. However, once you have a relationship and a history with a supplier, you have to switch from 100% testing to some level of trust.

But then if the Chinese government comes in when you aren't looking and orders its people to break the laws, the balance of trust may be compromised. Having been to China, worked with Chinese companies, and had close Chinese friends, I can say China is a totalitarian country where people don't disobey the government without dire consequences. We're talking people disappearing without a trace, people being killed, people being relocated and placed in the filthiest jobs.

I have also seen how much China is spending (in both money and manpower) to make Beijing beautiful and very impressive for the 2008 olympics. So there may be a connection there.

Either way, my ears are open to hear what's going on to cause all of these recalls to happen suddenly.

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