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Recall question

Recall question

Posted by Rob Walker on August 15, 2007
Posted Under: Ethics,Industry and stuff,World News

Here’s what I don’t quite understand about the latest recall, of various Mattel toys. It’s being positioned as another example of the China/supply/manufacturing-chain problem. About 250,000 of the toys had lead paint on them, as I understand it, and this seems consistent with that positioning, since the paint is being blamed on murky subcontracting.

But most of the recall is about something like 9 million toys with small magnets that can (I gather) easily come out and be swallowed. That sounds more like a product-design issue, no? If the design included these little magnets, and did not include any way to prevent them from being removed or whatever, then what difference does it make where the design was executed?

Moreover, it appears that some of these 9 million toys being recalled were actually sold as many as four years ago. Mattel was already involved in an earlier, similar recall, and a different company that had a similar problem with small magnets has already paid out millions of dollars to settle lawsuits on this same issue.

I’m not saying the magnets aren’t a serious problem, because from what I read it sounds like they are. I just don’t understand the general suggestion that the problem is the fault of shady outsourced manufacturing firm(s). Maybe I’m missing something?

Further diversion may be found at MKTG Tumblr, and the Consumed Facebook page.

Reader Comments

Silly blogger, nativism is The Wave of The Future. American designers could NEVER be the cause of an outsourced problem.

#1 
Written By Helen on August 17th, 2007 @ 11:29 am

That was my hunch! Whew, feeling better now.

#2 
Written By murketing on August 18th, 2007 @ 7:41 am