The issue ~ Mattel toy recall

Our opinion ~ Moving jobs out of country catching up with big business

If Americans are looking for real-life reasons to begin shopping for U.S.-made products, the problems of renowned toy maker Mattel Inc. are revealing.

The company issued recalls this past week for about 9 million Chinese-made toys that contain magnets children can swallow or which could have lead paint. The recall includes 7.3 million play sets, including Polly Pocket dolls and Batman action figures, and 253,000 die-cast cars that contain lead paint.

The action follows by two weeks an announcement by Mattel’s Fisher-Price division of a worldwide recall of 1.5 million Chinese-made preschool toys – featuring characters such as Dora the Explorer, Big Bird and Elmo – also over lead paint.

Mattel told customers the company is “one of the most trusted names with parents” and is “working extremely hard to address your concerns and continue creating safe, entertaining toys for you and your children.”

Respected, yes, but Mattel and other companies that are American icons have consistently moved jobs to China and other countries. Where once Americans manufactured most toys, today it seems they come from nearly everywhere but here.

Mattel said it has launched a full-scale investigation into all of its factories in China and discovered the latest problem during that investigation. Realistically, the problem may be the factories in China, period.

The realities of a global economy and capitalism have pushed companies to take jobs out of the United States, where wages and benefits are sharply higher. Even in fast-growing economies such as China, compensation for workers is minuscule by comparison.

But so are standards. As much as China has a vested interest in ensuring quality as it expands exports, ensuring it is another matter. Executing a person responsible for manufacturing woes won’t help world opinion, either.

In the United States, our government agencies are here to ensure everything from fair labor standards to product and food safety. To believe that Uncle Sam can guarantee such by monitoring products from all over the world is unrealistic.

It’s time Mattel and others take a look at returning home. The American consumer made them mega businesses – and that same consumer can break them. In the face of recalls such as Mattel’s and problems with food and other products from around the world, let us hope the economic tide will turn on taking jobs out of the United States and money out of the hands of the very people who account for the success of big business.

You must be logged in to comment.