Mattel is the world’s largest toy company. A couple of weeks ago, Mattel announced the recall of about a million Chinese made toys due to the use of dangerous lead paint in their manufacturing process in China. Mattel has now announced the recall of 19 million more toys due to dangerous product defects. Of those, 436, 000 are die case cars of “Sarge” from the movie, Cars. Those toys are likewise covered with lead paint. The other 18.2 million toys are being recalled due to the potential for ingestion by children of tiny powerful magnets. Accidental ingestion of these magnets can cause serious intestinal injury or death. These toys were NOT made in China but were designed defectively right here in America by Mattel. They include such popular toys at Polly Pocket figures, Doggie Day care, Batman, and Barbie.
There have been a series of product recalls this past several months, often involving Chinese distributed products, such as contaminated pet food, defective tires, and tainted toothpaste. Some say these recalls demonstrate that the Consumer Products Safety Commission needs greater funding and more authority to protect American families from dangerous and defective products often shipped to American wholesalers and retailers from other countries in the new global economy. CGWC says this is another reason all Americans should reject insist that the right to jury trial be preserved. Often, only the threat of being held to account in a court of law by a civil or criminal jury provides the incentive to multibillion dollar corporations to clean up their act. These companies are legally liable for these dangerous products under Florida law, as well as under the law of most states, even if the defects or flaws were the fault of their foreign suppliers. And rightly so. They should have rigorous testing and inspection of any foreign supplied products. And there is no excuse for millions of dangerous products to find their way to the playrooms of American children.
Be a smart consumer and understand these dangers. Just because a product is on a shelf in a store doesn’t guarantee it is safe and free from unsafe design flaws or product defects. This includes toys. You can check with government sources like the CPSC for product defects and recalls. You can also check with other nonprofit organizations such as World Against Toys Causing Harm (W.A.T.C.H.) which regularly lists the most dangerous toys on the market. You can also check with the Federation Of State Public Interest Research Groups which regularly lists stories on dangerous toys. They also have a separate Toy Safety website.
