Mattel Apologizes to China Over Recalls....

[KoKo]

Mattel Apologizes to China Over Recalls
Friday September 21, 11:59 am ET
By Alexa Olesen, Associated Press Writer

Mattel Says Its Design Flaws to Blame for Some Toy Recalls, Apologizes to China BEIJING (AP) -- U.S.-based toy giant Mattel Inc. issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.


The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel's executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.

"Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls," Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li's office at which reporters were allowed to be present.

"And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys," Debrowski said.

The carefully worded apology, delivered with company lawyers present, underscores China's central role in Mattel's business. The world's largest toy maker has been in China for 25 years and about 65 percent of its products are made in China.

More of article ........

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070921/china_tainted_products.html?.v=8

[Waya]

1. Oh, ferf*cksakes......

.........apologize to the Chinese? Have the Chinese apologized yet for poisoning our children with lead?

[Sequoia]

2. Can't distrupt the corporate gods you know!

So that toy maker killed himself in vain. Sorry, too late Mattel.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

3. Has America?

After all, it's America that ordered the lead toys from China.

[Vilis Veritas]

11. Oh right. Thanks.

China, I apologize for buying my son a Thomas Train and specifying that you put LEAD paint on it, because I want to dumb my kid down a bit.

Thanks for reminding me, it had slipped my mind, maybe it was the lead in our brand new SUPER LEADED CUTLERY SET, that is affecting my short term memory.

;-)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Mattel's an American company.

They're the ones who ordered the toys. They're admitting guilt with this apology. And you're blaming China why?

[Vilis Veritas]

16. A few points of clarification.

Mattel does not make the Thomas line of toys.

Mattel admits guilt for the design flaws. Not the Lead paint.

Lead paint issues were only a small fraction of the toys recalled. They point that out in their apology.

I obviously failed at my attempt to be sarcastic in my post. No apology just a fact.

I apologized to my son, while I was taking away his trains and he was balling his eyes out.

Peace.

[Deja Q]

18. I wish your response here could be nominated and kicked.

It took a moment for me to get over my knee-jerk reaction as well.

Mattel is responsible for some of this mess, no doubts about that. And it should apologize for its mistakes. As should everyone who had.

I too apologize for my knee-jerk reactions and not taking more time to read things properly as well.

I feel sorry for your son as well. (I may have problems with social skills, but I do have a form of empathy...)

[Vilis Veritas]

22. Thanks for the laugh...

I think your social skills online are great!

Peace.

[Horse with no Name]

9. Actually

The lead in the paint makes the toys bright and shiny.
Perhaps the unleaded toys weren't bright and shiny enough to satisfy Mattel?
It seems somewhat prophetic that Americans who are distracted by bright and shiny things would end up killing their kids in order to obtain bright and shiny things.
Personally? I hold Mattel 100% accountable for the tainted toys and wrote a letter to them stating the same.
I won't buy their products anymore UNLESS they bring their manufacturing back to THIS country where I assume we still have laws in effect to protect our children from this happening. Something has to give. The onus is on the corporation to assure their toys are safe.
They should at the very least have quality control of their OWN in place to test these toys before they are put on the shelf.

[Vilis Veritas]

13. Two sides to the issue...

The vast majority of toys recalled were due to DESIGN FLAWS and not LEAD PAINT.

Mattel is apologizing for the DESIGN FLAWS.

On Friday, Debrowski acknowledged that "vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel's design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China's manufacturers."

Lead-tainted toys accounted for only a small percentage of all toys recalled, he said, adding that: "We understand and appreciate deeply the issues that this has caused for the reputation of Chinese manufacturers."

...

In fact, new research from two business professors shows that recalls due to problems with the U.S. maker's design accounted for the vast majority -- about 76 percent -- of the 550 U.S.toy recalls since 1988.

Not sure where I am on this issue...

[Deja Q]

19. Pity they wouldn't give out more accurate numbers, but who'd believe them now?

Indeed, at what point were unleaded paints switched with leaded ones and left unchecked?

[Vilis Veritas]

21. It was probably when they switched from Thailand to China

It seems that Mattel created the first generation Cars toys in Thailand. Higher quality and better shop floor controls. Then they switched to China, because China has a huge knock off trade. If they do not move quickly and align themselves after the initial first generation, the market will get flooded with the knock-offs and Mattel loses out on a significant portion of profits.

This is my opinion.

Peace.

[Vilis Veritas]

23. 19.6 million toys recalled. 1.9 million for Lead Paint.

Lead paint: appx. 1.9 million

19.6 million - 1.9 million = 17.7 million design defects.

http://service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp

[alphafemale]

4. WTF? Why am I reminded of Battered Wife Syndrome?

Where the woman begs the jerks forgiveness for making him made enough to hit her?

Design flaws?

What?.... It wasn't specified to NOT USE LEAD in a toy A BABY is going to put IN THEIR MOUTH?

[Renew Deal]

5. This reminds me of Harry Whittington apologizing to Cheney

:wow:

[Lerkfish]

7. sorry, didn't see your post before I posted mine.

[Renew Deal]

20. That's OK

Mattel apologizing is that outrageous. Now we have American companies so desperate to stay in China that they bend over like Chinese nationals at Beijings request. It's disturbing.

[Lerkfish]

6. and Whittington apologized to Cheney for getting shot in the frickin face!

[FiveGoodMen]

8. The was just beyond belief, wasn't it?

That should have clued America into the fact that something was very, very wrong.

[soothsayer]

10. We're sorry our inferior, weak, capitalist dog children are sensitive to lead

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. BREAKING NEWS. The Jews apologize to the Nazi Party for

being in Germany and Poland 70 yrs ago.

I don't mind the bit about them apologizing to their customers, even though that seemed to be more of an aside than a heartfelt statement.

[mtnester]

15. I stand by hourly in disbelief and watch

this country go batshit insane.

My head will eventually explode from the enormous amount of disbelief that is filling it up.

[Deja Q]

17. So the (US?) designers told the Chinese factories to use lead paint?

How many toys were recalled, and how many were found to be greater than tolerable?

And how do they mean by "design flaws" - does that mean Mattel told the Chinese to use lead paint?!

Mattel damaged its reputation regardless, but China was probably not innocent either. Not with the long string of companies announcing recalls... Not all of those were phony, or spun like this -- but I don't disagree that the designers screwed up, regardless of country they worked in. But how many designers tell the factories to use lead paint? (the magnet issue is definitely more likely a designers' gaffe than manufacturing one, no argument from me on that. Maybe the quality of the pieces put together makes it easy for the magnets to fall out? I dunno.)