The recent wave of recalls and warnings from China has ignited worldwide concern about the safety of Chinese products in a wide swatch of industries. Surprisingly, safety experts in the U.S. believe that the world's largest toymaker, Mattel, may be the best role model for how to operate prudently in China.
From the NY Times comes the story of how Mattel has invested in a sprawling test lab in China, where scores of technicians are doing everything from setting Chicken Dance Elmo dolls on fire, wrecking Hot Wheels cars to yanking at the limbs of Dora the Explorer. The lab workers are paid to break toys, pick apart their innards, and analyze the raw materials that go into them. And in the interests of full disclosure, the company pays independent auditors to inspect factories and post reports on the Internet. These auditors also check to ensure that no child labor is being employed and that all workers are being treated fairly.
Interestingly enough, Mattel was one of only two major toy makers that agreed to allow a reporter for The Times to visit one of its factories in China — or even to put an executive on the phone to discuss the issue of Chinese product safety. Hasbro, LeapFrog and Zizzle — the maker of Pirates of the Caribbean toys, among others — all declined requests. Hmmm...wonder what they have to hide!
