China’s toymakers press for tighter controls

China’s toymakers press for tighter controls
By Robin Kwong and Tom Mitchell in Hong Kong
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: August 15 2007 14:15 | Last updated: August 15 2007 14:15


China’s toy industry group has urged manufacturers to sign a public pledge to improve product safety after Mattel issued its second worldwide recall of Chinese-made toys that might contain lead paint.

The recalls by the world’s largest toy company are adding to trade tensions be tween China and the US and hurting the reputation of a country that produces 80 per cent of the world’s toys. But there are signs both government and industry are responding to the pressure.

China’s top government quality watchdog on Wednesday said police had traced the cause of Mattel’s first recall to a batch of leaded yellow pigment sold by a supplier with fake certification that it was lead-free. This caused the paint company to provide contaminated paint to Lee Der Industrial, the manufacturer identified by Mattel during its recall of Fisher Price toys two weeks ago.

Local media in China’s south-eastern Guangdong province on Wednesday reported that police are seeking seven executives from the pigment company after they went on the run. Guangdong police declined to comment.

The call for manufacturers to sign a public pledge came in a bid to restore consumer confidence by the China Chamber of Commerce which encompasses toy companies. The chamber urged manufacturers to “exercise self-discipline” by not accepting overseas orders that pay little and have unclear quality demands. They should also employ full-time quality inspection staff and allow buyers to inspect their plants.

Recent scandals were a result of “the irresponsible behaviour of some individual companies”, the chamber said in its statement, which also warned that “some countries may take advantage of this issue to raise trade barriers”.

Many of China’s toy factories are concentrated in Guangdong province and owned by Hong Kong entrepreneurs. As a result the city’s industry groups have begun scrambling to contain the reputational fallout.

“These incidents have involved major [US] importers and caused significant damage to the image and reputation of the Hong Kong toy industry,” the Federation of Hong Kong Industries said in a statement on Wednesday. One Hong Kong-based toy executive, who asked not to be named, said: “Everyone is very scared and no one is taking any chances. “We are all very worried about quality now.”