The Federal Trade Commission is getting quite involved in the recent toy crisis involving not only the famous toymaker, Mattel, but several others, as well. The incident involves China, the leading toymaker of U.S. toys, creating toys with lead paint, which is extremely harmful to children. Hundreds of thousands of Barbie dolls, GI Joes and other famous toys have been recalled to protect the U.S. consumer. Federal legislators are looking at the possibility of new regulations on the import of toys before they're sold to consumers.
A recent survey by eToys.com found that 59% of those surveyed believe toys made outside the U.S. are less safe than those made in America. In fact, 45% said they were willing to now pay more for toys that are made in the U.S.
Mattel has apologized to its consumers; Mattel has apologized to China stating that it isn't entirely their fault; Mattel may be facing its more serious issue ever...will the famous toymaker we all know and love be able to maintain its reputation as the world's greatest maker of...safe...toys? What should Mattel do to insure that its reputation stays intact?
Should the federal government get involved to insure toy safety, which may increase the price of toys? Should we expect the toy industry to regulate themselves? Should the toy industry stop doing business with China?
What kinds of toys will you be buying this Christmas?...or should I say, Santa?!
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36 comments:
Mattel should stand strong and leti it be known that they are the prominante toy supplier that they have been for years on end. I believ that the toy industy will regulate themselves as have the fast food industry and others to insure that they keep a profit rolling in from consumers. This issue is not entirely on mattel. but with china as well and i think it will start a national review of do we really want to trust other countries with the futures of our young children and maybe force our nation to start producing their own products in counrty.
I think that Mattel should keep doing what they do best which is make good toys for kids, even though i do believe the government should regulate toys to keep kids safe. China should not also be punished as well in my opinion to.
At the very least, from a PR point of view Mattel has a couple different options. Of these, the worse would to try to minimize the seriousness of this issue. I am not suggesting they draw extra attention to the matter, but they need to address it and treat it as the problem that it is. Their best plan would be to beging by acknowledging that thigns were overlooked, then bring the focus onto what they've done to fix this. They've begun more detailed inspections of their toy suppliers around the world (don't single out China, go beyond that and make everyone aware that this will NOT happen again from any country). Mattel as a company needs to make it clear that whether or not the Federal Government sets regulations, they are going to impose their own standards and adhere to them. In regards to whether or not the Federal Government should set restrictions I feel this is an unnecessary cost to the government and to the consumer. Requiring that clear warning be given if items are manufactored using lead is more than sufficient. If a consumer doesn't care enough to check a lable then that is their business.
Mattel has been one of the leading and most prominent toy making companies for years and years. Just because they have messed up does not mean that they can't bounce back. Mattel needs to own up to their problem and work on everything they can to fix it. There is nothing wrong with buying products distributed by other countries, in fact, some of the best things we own are made in other countries, as long as they are properly inspected. I do think that if people are willing to pay the extra amount of money in order to purchase a safer toy for their child then the Federal Government should start setting regulations. Like they always say, you get what you pay for and in this case, hopefully parents would think it was worth it to pay the extra amount rather than risk their child's safety.
I think it was definately smart of Mattel to apologize to its consumers and China, because they're upholding their part and recognizing that it was their fault.
I don't think people will have problems with Mattel in the future, as long as Mattel resolves the lead paint issue.
To keep their consumers' loyalty, I think it would be smart to do a commercial basically saying that Mattel is not the same anymore (in a good way), but even better and safer for kids,(making sure no lead paint is involved). Discounts would be an awesome idea as well, that for every Mattel toy bought, the consumer gets the next Mattel toy 50% or 75% off. I think it would definately keep consumers buying their products.
I don't think it would be wrong for the government to step in and make sure everything's going right from time to time, but for the majority,I think the toy industry should regulate themselves.
Mattel has, in my opinion, done a very good job in addressing the current issue. They have stepped aside and allowed their public relations people do the talking. They have taken the appropriate measures to gain their publics respect and trust back. Mattel needs to ensure its consumers that other measures are being taken into account to ensure the safety of their products. As far as if this toy industry will be hurting this christmas....i think so! Just the other day a new recall came out on a toy called AquaDots that has been found, that if ingested, acts as a form of the date rape drug! I don't think it's necessarily Mattel that should be worried but the government that essentially allows all these toys to enter our market. However word of advice for Mattel would be to make their own strict regualtions to ensure the safety of their toys.
I think Mattel has done the right thing by taking harmful toys off the shelves. I would be very worried if I were to be buying toys this holiday season. However, if I were buying toys this season I would be very hesitant to buy a Mattel product in general, no matter if they were produced domestically or overseas. With the amount of controversy around the company I think they have done a stand up job, by taking the initiative and addressing the problem, before thousands were injured. With any luck the kids won’t be the ones suffering this holiday season, but rather the CEO’s of these major companies.
I am proud of Mattel for appologizing to its consummers for the faulty toys. I also think they need to admit they were in the wrong and begin to fix the problems. Mattel should only have their toys made in the U.S. because of this, hopefully now they will learn their lesson.
You have to think maybe this happened because the workers in China are working in a sweat shop and this was their way of speaking out. Maybe if Mattel paid them better wages this wouldn't have happened. Hopefully now Mattel will spend more money on bette paint and equipment for the toys, rather than trying to save a couple dollars.
Mattel is too large to have their stance destroyed by a mistake that has obviously been made several times recently. To be honest, I think it's the public's fault for freaking out. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I recall, kids used to be able to play with toys painted with led paint all the time and nothing ever happened. Why is it such a big deal now? We might as well have everything we own go into recall.
Even so, as I said earlier, it's not like something like this hasn't happened before. I'm quite sure that it's just making the news because Mattel is such a large company. So many things have already been into recall because of this same problem. It definitely doesn't mean it's the end of Mattel. Mattel should have no worry.
I think that Mattel, first and foremost, needs to take full responsibility for their mistake. I also think that with the holidays coming up, they should try their best to handle the situation independently of the government, in order to keep prices down. If this means not doing business with China, then isn't safety more important?
It seems that it isn't just Mattel having problems this year in the toy business. It seems that every week we end up hearing that one more toy has been recalled. These toys are coming in all shapes and sizes. I think the bottom line here is that American companies really need to take a second look at who it is and where it is that the toys they make are being manufactured. This means keeping a closer eye on things and how they are being made.
I think that the federal government shouldn't have to get involved because this should be regulated by Mattel & China. They are responsible for the safety of their toys & if they want to continue to sell their toys, they are the ones that need to make sure their names are cleared and known as safe again.
I think it is Mattels social responsability to take matters into their own hands. It is their name and stake on the line and if they want to still be known as one of the best toy companies in the U.S. they should be responsible. By them taking care of the problem it will show to their consumers that they care about there health and safty. So it should be Mattels social responsability.
Alhtough I do not think it was a very good idea for Mattel to put lead in some of the toys. It seems like every company has some sort of scandal, and this will just be a bump in the road for Mattel. That being said, the government should regulate toys to check to make sure there is nothing suspicious about the toys so that nothing bad happens to the kids. Even though Mattel is a strong company it would not be a bad idea however to have a big time toy maker to come up in the US to try to compete with Mattel and have some competition in the toy market.
There should be more regulations for toys that come to the U.S. from China. We would not have this problem if the federal govt. would have rules regardless of the cost. There are practily no industries that can regulate themselves honestly so toy laws are I believe are at the bottom of the barrel for protecting innocent children from harm. It is all about profit and forget the safety of the kids. Mattel has been around long enough to realize that to stay in business this long they have to focus on their consumers regardless of the profits! The U.S. does not want to hurt their relationship with China so they have bent the rules to keep the profits rolling in for both sides at the expense of the children. The federal govt. must wake up and do what ever it takes to fix this mess and still continue to trade with China so long as they follow the laws and rules.
I agree with Mary Wendorf. It is time the US government stepped up and took some responsibility. This is true of regulating the toy industry as well as getting the FDA to ensure our food supply is safe. Doing business with other countries requires diligence. If the US cant ensure our safety what are we to do? One way to send a message is simply to stop buying products that are in question. Profit speaks.
To maintain their reputation, Mattel did the right thing. If they confessed that what happened wasnt entirely their fault, then they are not 100% the victim, and shouldnt be completly blamed. The lead in the toys was known to be there by Mattel, which is their fault. Whether or not they knew it was deadly to us?, We dont know. Because they are a prominate toy supplier, I dont believe we should burn our bridges, especially around a time where toy making is at its highest. China is also another major maker of most of the necessities that we here in the US use, and what they put out to us, thats not toys, is most of the time quality. This just makes it harder to know who we can trust here in the US.
Mattel is doing the right thing by taking some of the blame and apologizing. But they need to actually fix the problem and let it be known that they are fixing it. If they started creating their own products in the U.S. they might even gain more business compared to what they had before all the re-calls; not saying it's all China's fault, but the American people would be more trusworthy if they knew the toys were being made in their own country. As for Mattel's Christmas business, I think Mattel is a brand too well-known and trusted to lose much business this Christmas. Mattel makes some of the most popular toys, and if some little good boy or girl wants a Mattel toy, I'm pretty sure Santa would give them that toy.
I think that everyone should just give Mattel a break this is the one time that they have messed up. The way I look at it everyone will make mistakes at one point. Mattel will learn from this mistake with the lead in the toys and fix it. So everyone should just give them a second chance.
I think Mattel did the right thing by apologizing and i also think that they shouldnt pull the plug on toys made in China. They said that some of the toys are not as safe as they could be and they want to move to the U.S. well if the toys are so dangerous thent they wouldnt produce them at all, so if they are still producing them then they are obviously safe enough, and our national debt is high enough as it is, so spending more money then we need to is no needed. I say continue to make toys in China
This incident with all the dangerous toys has been damaging to everyone involved, but in this case it is easy to identify where the problem started. Really, I think we should be taking a few hints lately on our dependency on China. Things we are importing are dangerous to children, and recently they have been dangerous to pets too. The statistics from eToys.com surprise me in that I think they should be much higher. Parents love their children, and would rather pay through the nose for something than see them get hurt, and China only really cares about our money.
America needs to get more self sufficient, and actually start supplying things for ourselves rather than depending on outsourcing. Prices may go up, yes, but there would be more jobs, and we wouldn't have to worry as much about tainted food and lead painted toys. Until then, government involvement seems like a perfectly decent idea to me.
I think that as a company Mattel is on the right track in trying to regulate themselves. But i think that there should a government, or a higher company that oversees Mattel and other toy making companies. If one company just regulates themselves that leaves them open to do anything they want. I'm not saying that they wont care about safety, but the bottom lame is that a company's job is to make money. And sometimes they will do anything to do it. This is why there is a need for a overseeing body.
I think it is again Mattel’s corporate responsibility to take actions into their own hand and make sure that the toys that are coming to the US are safe for our kids to be playing with. They said it wasn’t
China’s entire fault no probably not their laws may be a lot different than ours which allows them to use lead in their materials to make these toys. It is Mattel’s fault for even letting them use lead in the material. Is Mattel not paying attention to what their product are be make with or out of. So it is Mattel’s corporate responsibility to clean up this mess and do what right even if that means bringing more toy production to the US. In the article it said that parents would be willing to spend the money.
I read recently in the Pueblo Chieftain that a toy called "Aqua dots" was coated with a date rape drug. I was shocked that these drugs had made some children ill. Although I see how Americans could be weary of imported toys, I also feel that as Americans, we should demand that toys for our children are tested and approved of before reaching the shelves of our stores. It is socially irresponsible for our government to not have some kind of trade filter with toys. I hope that a filtering system could be implemented to stop attacks on children such as the "Aqua dots" occurence. The one good side to this, as it states in the article, the cost of toys could be lowered this shopping season. Cheaper toys is a good thing for Christmas, I suppose, but at what cost?
I think Mattel should remain in the front lines of this debate/issue, to show its customers that they are taking responsibility and action in this crisis. Mattel needs to keep apologizing and telling their publics that they are making changes and using more precaution to insure that this will not be a reoccurring problem. I'm not sure if the government should get involved yet, but they toy industries need to take initiative with strategic plans on how they are going to make sure that the toys that are being put on the shelf are safe for the children in this country. This might mean that these companies need to be more careful about toys they get from China and other countries.
I read recently in the Pueblo Chieftain that a toy called "Aqua dots" was coated with a date rape drug. I was shocked that these drugs had made some children ill. Although I see how Americans could be weary of imported toys, I also feel that as Americans, we should demand that toys for our children are tested and approved of before reaching the shelves of our stores. It is socially irresponsible for our government to not have some kind of trade filter with toys. I hope that a filtering system could be implemented to stop attacks on children such as the "Aqua dots" occurence. The one good side to this, as it states in the article, the cost of toys could be lowered this shopping season. Cheaper toys is a good thing for Christmas, I suppose, but at what cost? In terms of Mattel, though this controversial occurence drew a lot of media attention, I feel the American public will eventually forgive the thye popular company, they should however publicly apologize and take some course of action to wensure toy safety within their company. As for the end of trade with China, I think this would be a bad move, the price of our own toys would rise and it could sever ies with China in other ways.
This is what we get when we don't make our products in our country, cut corners and dishonesty. Why should we trade our childrens saftey for cheaper production costs. Oh, i know, to make more money. This is sick that we don't care about the consumers more than we care about money. Besides, it you really want to make more money by going overseas, why can't you make your own regulations or something? This is China's issue, and I think that if we are to do business with them, we need to set some standards.
I think that if Mattel cleans up their products and proves to America they are save, than they will be able to bounch back from this.
In the end the only thing that matters is children being safe. As a resul, if the Government has to get involved to insure this than it is worth it. For now the toy industry should stop doing bussiness with China. Until, they prove they can supply safe toys. For Christmas I will not be buying any toys.
The recent recall will definitely be a factor in toy shopping this Christmas for Mattel. I expect they will see a dramatic decrease in sales due partly to all the negative publicity they have been receiving. However, Mattel did make the right decision by coming forward and making a public apology, not only to consumers, but to China as well. This shows integrity and responsibility on the company’s part. While it would have been extremely easy for the brand to pass on blame to some one else, they have instead stepped up to the plate and are dealing with the consequences first hand. That to me will be a big factor in the upcoming success or failure for the company. I do believe that from here on out, Mattel will be making their best efforts to provide safer toys. In fact, this incident may well lead to them becoming renowned for regulations and safe toy production. At the same time, I don’t believe that the government should be stepping into handle matters. This is a situation that toy companies can regulate and ensure the safety of their toys as has been done ever since the first toy was crafted. However, there is a distinct possibility that if such a situation arises again, the government would probably begin to take an active role in monitoring production, simply to ease the public mindset and concern.
The recall sounds upsetting especially if I were the parent or the child, but I think Mattel can maintain thier reputation. If the federal goverment was not involved in this situation to begin with than I believe that it was brave and honest on Mattel's part to do the american consumer good by checking the maintance on thier toys. I do not think China and Mattel have to jeopardize thier ties and they should still work together. They simply just need to find a solution to better the toys so that this situation never happens again. What I would like to know is how long have these toys been produced with lead? Or did Mattel know from begining and thier just coming clean before some one figured this out? I hope that my favorite toy company can figure it out. The federal agencies should only get involved if unhealthy malfuntions continue.
First of all, the government should step in a regulate whatever it is coming from outside of the states. Mattel should be a little more patriotic to the american society and open up a toy company(s)within the U.S. This will return help the U.S economy and build a trust once again with the american public, knowing thier toys are coming from the good ol U.S of A
Mattel should work hard to ensure the people that its toys are going to be in a better and safer condition for children. They should show their plans for improvement. They need to let us know that they are completely dedicated to making the toys better for young children in order to save their repuation as one the most major toy making companies. I dont believe that they should be much at fault because its obvious that toys have been made a certain way for a very long amount of time. However, not that it has been brought to attention I do feel that it is important for them to make the change and make the toys in a safer condition.
I am certainly concerned about the safety of children and that is top priority. Yes I believe we should expect for toy companies regulated themselves but if the only way to ensure safety is through the government intervention, then I say yes. I am not concerned with the increase of price because I don’t buy many toys. If I were a parent I would especially advocate safety at any price because children are priceless. I strongly believe the toy industry should stop doing business with China; they are trying to poison our kids. I hope toy companies in America or China wouldn’t endanger children’s lives on purpose for the sake of money but we live in a scary world.
The federal government should get involved because children are the ones getting punished here. Toy prices should just be raised and the federal government can place regulations on the import of toys.
Joann Babbitt
Lead is very poisonous to the body. Mattel did the right thing by apologizing, but they need to find a different way to make toys. Children ages 1 to 5 might put toys in their mouths. No. 2 pencils contain graphite instead of the lead they used to have. The toys need to be altered just like the pencils so children do not become sick due to a poisonous substance. China and other countries should recognize their mistakes and fix them before it is too late.
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Jessica Brown
I feel that Mattel has had more than enough chances to stop producing toys with lead based paints. How hard is it to get lead free paint. The companies are just being extremly cheap and costing themselves not only their reputation, but tons of money in recalls. Not to mention their public relations personel is raking in the dough. You would think they would get a clue, and if they claim it is not their fault for the production of these hazardous toys then they should get rid of the public relations people and hire some product testers and maybe even a paint chemist,, if there is such a position. Man I don't know a thing about the toy industry, but I could save them a lot of money.
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