MOMania

By One

August 15, 2007 9:16 AM | Link to this

Not only will I not buy toys made in China, I will not buy food that was packaged/handled/shipped from China!!!!!!!!!! Why does most of our food (seafood esp.) have to come from China, Ecuador and all of these places that have God only knows what as health standards?!!!! Can we not have local (at least national) seafood and meats!?

By Jeff

August 15, 2007 9:29 AM | Link to this

I actually think I’ll do my part and do likewise. With a coordinated American effort, we CAN destroy China’s economy and lower our trade deficit at the same time. We are their biggest importers. If we cut our consumption of chinese imports even by HALF, we will have them capitulating to virtually any terms we set - INCLUDING better safety standards, recognition of both Tibetan and Taiwanese independence, and more free speech for their citizens.

There is more than one way to win a war. President Bush thought that Reagan defeated the Soviets by spending a ton on our military. Not exactly. He defeated them by waging ECONOMIC war. His tool just happened to be military spending. Ours is consumer spending.

By Stacey

August 15, 2007 9:41 AM | Link to this

Thank you for posting the link with pictures. I will check when I get home to compare my son’s toys. He has several figures from the Batman gang and dozens of Hot Wheels cars. He’s outgrown Sesame Street characters although we did pass an arsenal of SS toys down to my nephew when my son outgrew them. I don’t have any packaging or reciepts so I have no idea where they were manufactured, when they were purchased nor where they were purchased. He’s six now so I don’t worry about him putting things in his mouth but I wonder if there is a danger of the lead seeping through his skin over time from playing with the toys. He had a lead test done as a part of his physical before he started school and it was fine then at least.

By nurse&mother

August 15, 2007 10:06 AM | Link to this

I read a story yesterday on the AJC online. I’m not sure when it was written though. It was really sad. One of the co-owners of the company that is responsible for the recent recall with the lead based paint, hanged himself. His best friend sold him the paint. He apparantly didn’t know the paint was lead based. The article stated that he felt betrayed and commited suicide. I think it is custom for humiliated officials to commit suicide. I think that is so sad.

The article also pointed out that there is an agency that is in charge of quality control. If I am not mistaken, it was this particular watch dog group in China that made the discovery. Apparantly, they were doing their job well.

I don’t think that we should look at just a few bad companies and judge a whole country. How fair is that? We as Americans would not appreciate other countries judging us based on things that are brought up in the media (raping innocent Iraqi girls etc. )

By Nickie

August 15, 2007 10:12 AM | Link to this

My kids are grown so are past the toy stage but I have been trying for the past year to avoid as many Chinese made foods and other goods as possible. At times there are no alternatives but when there are I choose American made whenever possible or an import from any country but China as a second choice. If we each try to make some choices in this way we can help lower our trade deficit overall and with China in a major way and have healthier, safer products.

By BBT

August 15, 2007 10:20 AM | Link to this

This toy issue may lead to a “world government”. In the future, a proposed solution will be that we need some sort of global trade regulation agency to make sure there’s no lead in toys and no garbage in food. Then, if a country has higher standards for lead, etc., they will have a “trade barrier”, and will be sanctioned in the WTO’s world Court. There’s already issues with food in the global Codex regulations because we wanted Europe to take our genetically modified food. Basically, say goodbye to the US’ Constitution and say hello to an unelected bureacratic world government in Brussels! Make your own toys and food.

By Sarah

August 15, 2007 10:21 AM | Link to this

I have been a ” I don’t buy anything from that cheap country..”, all my adult life. I have always associated anything being made in China as inferior and something I wouldn’t bring into my home, so this is not news to me, it’s more like the rest of the world playing catch up. I mean, come on…made in China? People, do the math. The sad thing is that we gave China Favored Nation status, what a blunder! Look at Japan, the leader of the world in many ways in their production of goods, they’ve always adopted a condesending attitude towards Chineese manufactored goods, in hindsight we now see this was not just a political move from Japan but a healthy one too.

By Don

August 15, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

For childrens toys not to adhere to the most strict standards is an abomination and I hold the toy companies and our government responsible. The Chinese are well known to care little about the quality and standards of their products, famously allowing the production and sale of infant formula that had no nutritional value that lead to thousands of deaths in China. Who in their right mind would do business with these people. Oh yeah, us. Our children are paying the price for our greed and China is the one profiting. I for one think that China is partly responsbile for the epidemic of autism in this country as the explosion in number of cases happened to co-incide with China’s approval to most favored nation trading status. If you are into conspiracies it doesn’t take a hug e lea of faith to think this is one way to take down the United States by poisoning its children. Try finding a toy that isn’t made in China, its impossible. Think of the longterm affects of our children being exposed to these toxins not only for them but for our health care system. We could be looking at an ernormous financial catastrophe.

I think we all should boycott chinese products until they can prove that there production standards are brought up to ours so we assure that we keep our children safe.d We will pay far more for our products but isn’t it worth it not to have contaminated products all over our homes? If this doesn’t happen I only blame our politicians because you can’t expect the corporations to eschew the profit to do it themselves. Make sure you contact your state representatives and let them know how serious you consider this situation to be.

By One

August 15, 2007 10:22 AM | Link to this

This is not about judging a country! This is about protecting and preserving our resources, families and country. I think it is sad that the leader of that company committed suicide………that is their custom! However, I find it ridiculously appalling that our government has resorted to outsourcing so many of our products and services………we are clearly at a disadvantage here!!! And as for our country being judged……….too late!!!! No matter what the reason (mostly our governments fault!), we are hated all around the world. We as a nation, need to bring the manufacturing of our products BACK to our land, and limit imports to a minimum!

By Jeff

August 15, 2007 10:30 AM | Link to this

One:

I’ve got TWO… WORDS… FOR YA!!!

(pregnant pause)

RON PAUL!!

By abc

August 15, 2007 10:42 AM | Link to this

Yall need a dose of reality.

Our national debt didn’t reach $1 trillion until 1980. Over the next 12 years (Reagan/Bush) it quadrupled to over $4 billion. During Clinton’s 8 years, it tapered off a lot and even stopped growing for a few years, to less than $5 trillion. Since then, the debt has been growing at an unprecedented pace, now up to $9 trillion. The bulk of that debt is held by China.

Do you think that there may be some political motivation for favorable trade agreements with the country that holds more of our national debt than anyone else?

By One

August 15, 2007 10:57 AM | Link to this

Well duh!!!! The fact that China owns (if you look at it from a debt standpoint) more of the US, than the US does, is no big secret!!! Is that why we’re making these agreements with them? Well, duh, heck yeah!!!! That is no big news………now what do we do about it from a consumer standpoint? Stop buying their goods is a start……..any more suggestions?

By One

August 15, 2007 11:04 AM | Link to this

Jeff, no thanks!!!! He has some “good” points, but he’s still a Republican!

By Rob

August 15, 2007 11:08 AM | Link to this

They were designed and speced here in the US. Mattell knew about the problem for months and did nothing.

By abc

August 15, 2007 11:21 AM | Link to this

Americans are about as likely to boycott Chinese goods as they are to reject Reality T.V. Ain’t gonna happen. Get real!

By Jeff

August 15, 2007 11:22 AM | Link to this

One:

Ah, but he is not a CURRENT Republican. By that, I mean this:

He is the closest thing to a Jeffersonian Republican that you are going to find. He is NOT a Bush Republican by ANY stretch of the imagination.

By One

August 15, 2007 12:23 PM | Link to this

Jeff, I picked up on that too! I will keep my eye on him…….we’ll see what happens……..

abc, why not? I’ll admit that I don’t see everyone caring enough to take a stand, but enough people could to make a difference. I can’t say what others will do, but for me and my household (and any others I can influence), we will not buy anything from China!! And I mean it! What about you?

By Grace

August 15, 2007 12:25 PM | Link to this

WHY STOP AT TOYS? EVERYTHING FROM CHINA SHOULD BE BANNED ESPECIALLY FOOD! DID Y’ALL READ THE STORY AJC HAD UP A FEW WEEKS AGO ABOUT 2 BILLION MICE INVADING CHINA. DON’T BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU OPEN YOUR PACKAGE & FIND A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA.

By Peggy

August 15, 2007 12:31 PM | Link to this

Why stop at toys? Everything should be banned especially food. Did y’all read the story AJC had up a few weeks ago about 2 billion mice invading China. The video was even more disturbing. Don’t be surprise when you open you package and find a little something extra.

By blurb-o-mat

August 15, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this

Another consideration is that Chinese-made ingredients go into many products and, because they are only one of the many ingredients used, are not labeled as such. In other words, even if you read every single label you will not know whether you’re consuming a China-free product.

By Jeff

August 15, 2007 12:38 PM | Link to this

blurb:

While that is certainly true, if I buy a part labeled “Made in Estonia” that contains a PART made in China, at least China isn’t getting ALL of that money.

By One

August 15, 2007 12:56 PM | Link to this

Grace & Peggy, I agree! See my post @ 9:16…….

There is a brand of fish that I used to like a lot at Kroger (notice I said used to!), and I never noticed until recently that it is a “product of China”. Guess what? I have not and will not buy it ever again! And neither will my mother, brother, sister, and any one else I can convince (didn’t have to convince the family, they all stopped eating beef 10 yrs ago when I did because of my bad experience). So you see, we can make a difference!!!

By MrLiberty

August 15, 2007 1:09 PM | Link to this

You as a consumer have a responsiblity to act in your own best interest. If that means boycotting China-made products, then do it. Stop whining and demanding that the government steps in. That kind of mentality only hurts everyone else who is willing to bear the risk for the cheaper prices.

Good luck. But be prepared to pay for your decision.

Many ask why all these products come from China. Part of the reason is the free market. They deliver products at lower cost. Good for them, good for us. But our government is doing even more to make the situation worse at home. High taxes, monetary devaluation courtesy of the FEDERAL RESERVE, excessive regulation, poor quality schools, Sarbane-Oxley, Tarriff codes, minimum wage laws, and a whole host of other oppressions that make setting up shop somewhere else more profitable and affordable.

Good luck to you all that want your packaged, shiny trinkets at a low cost. America can’t do that anymore. This is the cost of empire. Now you see why so many of us have been fighting it for so long.

Elect Ron Paul and maybe we will have a real chance to restore our republic, our economy, and our standing in the world. Or you can just elect one of the unconstitutionalists that is running.

By Lynette

August 15, 2007 1:45 PM | Link to this

Perhaps an embargo on Chinese imports is the ticket. Let’s see if the can get it together after the sit on all that junk for a while.

By Jesse's Girl

August 15, 2007 2:14 PM | Link to this

Holy crap on a stick y’all!!! I just went through ALL my son’s Thomas stuff….filled up 3 Walmart bags. I am very diligent about where our food and clothing comes from…I am ashamed to say I never thought to check the toys. I have been anti-China for years in regards to consumer/food stuffs. I do not like their politics and I depsise our governments bed-buddy relationship with them. It is all about money. If we stop throwing money at the situation like blind fools….perhaps our point will be taken more seriously.

By abc

August 15, 2007 2:39 PM | Link to this

One, I already don’t buy anything from China. Seafood is best when procured fresh at the seashore, I never buy any from the store. I never did buy my kids the crappy toys at Target or Toys-r-Us. Clothing gets a little harder to tell. But then, I don’t watch TV at all, much less reality TV. I doubt that enough people would care enough to participate in a boycott; an embargo by the government ain’t gonna happen for reasons previously stated.

By nurse&mother

August 15, 2007 2:55 PM | Link to this

If/when the US stops trading with China, expect for the price of goods/toys to go up tremendously.

By Tina

August 15, 2007 3:09 PM | Link to this

In China, there is an industrial province where most of the children test positive for high levels of lead. I think they simply don’t care about their own children; they seem to be expendable when there are over a billion people in the country. So, when you buy trinkets by the boatload from the Oriental Trading Company for your kid’s birthday party goody-bags, think about what you’re doing and who you’re really hurting.

By ron

August 15, 2007 3:14 PM | Link to this

By tlc

August 15, 2007 3:42 PM | Link to this

Rob, according to cnn, matel has known about it since 2005 when a little girl swallowed a magnet from her polly pocket toys and they became lodged in her intestines. She nearly died and they still didn’t do anything.

By JustMe

August 15, 2007 3:43 PM | Link to this

Toys made in Germany are still vastly superior. However, they are also vastly expensive. I visited Frankfurt and bought a number of wonderful hand-carved wooden toys with motion.

I agree with others that we should first shop US. I do realize that many have to watch their pennys and Chinese products are the cheapest. However, saving a few pennys won’t matter if your child is dead from lead poisoning.

By Stacey

August 15, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this

Ron…Just because you stopped buying Chinese after the pet recall (just a few months ago) doesn’t mean that you missed the toothpaste and toy recalls. These recalls include products made prior to the pet food recall and could be in your child’s toy box already. The scary thing is, everytime you turn around, additional brands and products are added to recall list. I never thought to worry about lead paint on toys so I threw away the packaging as soon as his toys were opened. Mattel, Fisher Price and Hot Wheels were all reputable brands as far as I’m concerned and I never worried about them before now.

By Charisma

August 15, 2007 4:14 PM | Link to this

i aint been on here none in a while on acount of the tv part of my somputer broke and my least boy had to go at the wal mart to get another one and he was a workin so he just aint had time until now to get it so i am ok now and i think we should not buy stuff from the chinese people them china men will take over if you let them we had a trouble with a china man once and my daddy shot him back in 1948 i beleve it was and aint no good nothing come from china so i reckon their toys is bad so dont buy them i bet them toys will make a boy lite on account of what they got in them and then your boy will be lite like my sisters boy who is lite on acount of she did not woop him as a boy when he was in to something and she give him what he would want to have and let him wear the clothes he wanted and did not ever make him wear like my boys wear so he is lite and he goes with a boy if you give your kids china man toys i bet it will make them lite on acount of what is in them like my sister boy is lite and goes with a boy and that is not good and if you are lite then god will help you if you ask for it and if you are not lite then dont get lite on acouint of god loves you and i tell my sisters boy to go to church and get the devil out of him on acont untill he does he will be lite but he doent care none on acount of he is lite and goes with a boy

By jess.me

August 15, 2007 4:19 PM | Link to this

If parents ban China toys they may as well give their children a stick and a pocket knife so they can whittle their own playthings.

Of course the pocket knife will probably come from China as well. The stick may break while being whittled but the child can always call customer support in India for a repair part.

U.S. manufacturers outsource without conscience.

What ever happened to our ‘Made in America’ pride?

By Fulton County Mom

August 15, 2007 4:42 PM | Link to this

OK I admit I love my cheapo stuff made overseas….however I would LOVE for America to start mass producing stuff here we could buy inexpensively here. Along with the rest of the jobs we seem to be losing to the overseas market

By Charisma

August 15, 2007 4:50 PM | Link to this

it aint right that they give the china man the job that a real american man should have i dont like it and it just aint right i think we should stop doing it on acount of we are americans and it aint right to give our boys jobs away when they need them to raise a family and you cant bring up a fmaily with out no job and i aint seen not one china man give us his job but we give them to them and them mexicans and why aint we at war with them aint they part of the teorsists i think they are them mexicans and them china men they iant fit for no kind of job and thwats what i think

By Ricardo

August 15, 2007 5:15 PM | Link to this

Our companies are doing the engineering work here in the United States and having our stuff made and processed overseas. The problem is not necesseraly that the Chinese are horrible people, but instead, it is a matter of quality control at the corporate level and government level.

By the way, we would like things to be made here in the US, but are we truly willing to put up with high prices of goods and do we really want to see more factories go up? People are very hipocritical here in the US.

By Tony

August 15, 2007 5:32 PM | Link to this

To those who have figured out that there is a link between things like this (the toy industry) and the world economy it is time for all of us to take a stand. When people speak of the global economy they are really speaking of the the means to make the richest of the rich even richer. When American companies farm out manufacturing jobs overseas - regardless of which country the plant is located - the fact is that the increased profits go to them and their stock holders.

In this case, Mattel is the company. The products are produced by supposedly independent companies from China. Does this remove Mattel’s culbability? The designers are from Mattel. The companies make what they are told and try to keep costs down. Even more dismal than the bad products is the working conditions of those employed in those factories. All this so we can buy more stuff and help the rich get richer.

The best weapon in wars like this is economics. STOP BUYING SO MUCH STUFF! We have become so materialistic in this country that we think we have to have everything. In our efforts to buy more stuff at lower prices, we are sending our jobs overseas. We are guilty with every purchase we make!

By Allison

August 15, 2007 6:00 PM | Link to this

Personally, I think this is stupid. The people in third world nations are only doing their best. I may be slightly biased, because I’m Chinese myself, but the health food standards argument, I think, isn’t entirely valid. There is an excellent book, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, that gives lots of insight into the meatpacking industry in the United States. If you want to learn about low health standards, look home before you blame others. I just read that book for a school report, and I will never set foot in another fast food restaurant unless I absolutely have to.

Also, in the article’s link about the Mattel recall, the last paragraph mentioned a child that died and four others that were made ill when they swallowed magnets from Magnetix toys. I don’t believe that that’s the toy company’s fault. That’s the parents fault for not teaching their children that swallowing magnets and other nonedible things is not right and can make you seriously sick. In my opinion, blaming that case on the toy manufacturers is not justified.

By Azabache

August 15, 2007 6:04 PM | Link to this

One of the interesting things I saw about China in the Chicago Tribune was a picture of the “factory” that was smelting the metals to make some toys. The factory looked like a garage and the woman working with the metal looked liked she was in her backyard.

Americans should revolt againt Mattel and all the other companies that saved a few pennies and moved their productions to China. Let Barbie sit on the shelf. Let Sesame Street toys sit on the shelf.

Most Americans if they only bought their kids one toy could finally have money in the bank! Plus give most kids a pot and a spoon and they’ll bang for hours. Go to EBAY and recycle and buy vintage toys that were MADE IN AMERICA!

I am at the point of believing that this is China’s war on us. Contaminate million of American children with Lead Poisoning and in 2o years, they can invade and our army-age children will be too brain damaged to do a thing.

Plus just because China said the man killed himself, we have no real way of knowing.

Let’s return jobs to America!

By Lisa B.

August 15, 2007 7:44 PM | Link to this

I would never purchase anything unsafe for my children, nieces, nephews, etc. We all know foreign products don’t have to adhere to the same safety guidelines as American products. Plus, I’m Patriotic, support this country, and try hard to buy products made in America whenever possible. Hey, I know my Ford Expedition wasn’t totally made in America. I’m not naive, but I do try to support American companies that keep jobs in America.

By Liz

August 16, 2007 10:19 AM | Link to this

Oh boy, I don’t know where this discussion gonna lead us to. I trust everyone is PATRIOTIC! But I suspect we are just choosing China to let out our angry and frustration. But be smart, not angry, jealous, and uncivilized. Think really hard on how to compete, not spend all your talent on complaining. We are obviously loosing competitiveness, but is it because of China, or because of ourselves. I think we are doing better than we deserves, exactly because of China and some other low cost countries. Without China, we will be beaten by UK, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada, Russia in any regards.

We need to find a way to improve ourselves, because that’s the only way to ensure our long-term well-being in globalized world. Otherwise, … you probably know the consequence. At least I don’t want my kids to sew toys when they grow up because they will make less than minimum wage. I want them to be Investment Bankers!

By Jesse's Girl

August 16, 2007 1:59 PM | Link to this

Thanks Liz….now folks are going to sink their claws into an ESOL argument! (exasperated sigh)

By DB

August 16, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this

Well, I guess there’s an upside to being at a point in our lives where the “toys” are primarily electronic in nature :-) No lead paint on iPods, for sure … now, as long as they aren’t licking street signs, we’re in good shape! (see below).

It’s hard to get too p.o.’d at China — this IS a global economy, for all our “Buy American!” chest thumping, and companies like Mattel have an obligation to their shareholders to produce a product that maximizes profit. It’s hard to explain to a shareholder that a product that COULD cost $3.99 instead costs $9.99 (and, as a result, can’t be sold at that price). And, with all the recalls that occur with American products anyway, “buying American” is no guarantee of quality. Heck, just go to www.recalls.gov — the number of recalls and the variety of reasons is staggering.

In the case of the latest recall, regarding magnets, I think that is DEFINITELY the responsibility of the parent to examine a toy and decide if it is age-appropriate for their child. Any semi-aware parent should be able to evaluate a toy for small parts like magnets, and THINK — “oh, gee, little Timmy is so oral-fixated, this is NOT a good toy for him!” But many parents either ignore the suggested age ranges on products (Polly Pocket is 3+) because either they don’t read or think that their child is “more advanced” and the suggestions don’t apply to them. Use a little common sense, for heaven’s sake. DON’T GIVE A SMALL CHILD SMALL MAGNETS TO PLAY WITH. Duh! Yes, there are enough freakin’ guidelines governing toy safety to fill a warehouse, but nothing substitutes good ol’ fashioned common sense.

Now, as to the lead — well, that’s a different story. Mattel has always been a model of how to do it right with regards to toy safety, and I commend Mattel for taking an aggressive stance in testing and self-reporting to the CPSC when the lead was discovered. They HAD guidelines in place, and a sub-supplier made a substitute. Lead is still commonly used in China — heck, they didn’t ban leaded gas until 2000! This is why things are monitored.

I don’t mean to belittle concerns. But, frankly, lead paint has been around a loong, loong time, and wasn’t even banned for residential and hospital structure and children’s products until 1978. So, if you’re over 30 — you were exposed. Even today, lead paint is everywhere — bridges, towers, road signs, the traffic lines on road, etc. all contain lead because of its durability and ability to retain pigmentation. It’s not as though we’ve done away with lead paint, folks. I agree the image of thousands of kiddies gnawing on leaded toys is a rather compelling one. The recall refers to the total number manufactured — not to the total sold. Roughly 2/3 of them hadn’t even made it to the shelves, yet. But the media makes it sound as if millions of kids are gonna keel over tomorrow from handling a Fisher Price toy, and it just isn’t so. I haven’t seen any info on just how much over the lead paint was, so we don’t even know just how much we’re talking — was it .07 instead of .06, for example?

Anyway, I do feel sorry for Mattel — the legal vultures are already circling, class-action lawsuits have been filed. sigh

By Mechele

August 28, 2007 6:53 PM | Link to this

I’m not buying anything made in China again. Only USA products. This is way out of control.