*Mattel Recalls Barbie Accessories, GeoTrax, Bongo Band Sets for Lead

Mattel announced last night that it is recalling 848,000 toys, including eight Barbie accessories, contaminated with hazardous levels of lead paint, reports The New York Times. Of the recalled toys, 530,000 were sold in the United States. All of the contaminated toys were made in China.

Mattel is not recalling any of their Barbie Dolls, just these Accessory Sets:

• Barbie Dream Puppy House Playset
• Barbie Dream Kitty Condo Playset
• Barbie Table & Chairs Kitchen Playset
• Barbie Bathtub & Toilet Bathroom Playset
• Barbie Futon & Table Living Room Playset
• Barbie Desk & Chair Bedroom Playset
• Barbie Couch & Table Living Room Playset

Also being recalled are Fisher-Price GeoTrax Engines and It’s a Big World Bongo Band sets. Because of the way Mattel has organized its website, you have to drill down to find individual pictures of products under recall.

Amazingly, we don’t own any of these toys – neither my wife or I are big fans of Barbie toys. We were in greater danger with the Dora recall and the Cars recall.

Mattel claims it is nearly done testing recently-made toys and will begin testing older ones soon. “We’ve worked very hard on this issue,” says Bob Eckert, Mattel’s chief executive. “We’ve got teams working around the clock. We’ve literally spent tens of thousands of man-hours testing toys. We will continue to work as hard as we can because we want to get this issue behind us.”

Ye-ah, I bet!

You can listen to Eckert’s full statement, as well as find links to previous recalled Mattel products here. (Warning, the video starts playing automatically.)

If you are into black humor, watch for Mattel lab technicians dressed in protective gear scraping paint off our kids’ toys to test them for lead and other problems. Maybe we should dress our kids the same way before letting them play?

While I’m glad Mattel is methodically testing all of its toys, it’s of course criminal that they made it into the market in the first place.

Equally criminal is this: The Consumer Protection Safety Commission did not post the recall on their website until about 7:35 a.m. Central time. What, they didn’t know yet? I’m still waiting for my e-mail alert.

Why would this be? Because Mattel, not the CPSC, is in charge. The California-based toy company is being allowed to take the lead in this matter for one reason: damage control.

Can you believe this nonsense? The company has been recalling millions of toys for lead contamination, and the U.S. government agency supposedly in charge of recalls lets the Mattel run the show.

Mattel also announced the recall near or after the press deadlines of most major American newspapers. (Does anyone know exactly when the announcement was made?)

The recall will be old, old, old when most Americans watch TV news Wednesday night. By Thursday morning, the news will be older, older, moldier in major print media.

This is a common ploy businesses use to bury news, especially when they have poor earnings, are announcing a merger or something bad happened. Mattel is not trying to help Americans learn about the recall, it’s trying to game the news cycle.

Even worse is this: If Mattel has been completely hoodwinked by all these Chinese subcontractors, what does that say about all the toys NOT SOLD BY MATTEL? Are these other companies retesting their toys? Is the CPSC going back and testing toys from these other companies? I haven’t heard a word about it. And to me that’s the really, really scary part.

*UPDATE
Apparently, Mattel has a history of delaying recalls as long as possible, reports The Wall Street Journal. In fact, Mattel has been twice fined for recall delays and faces investigations into the more recent recalls. Worse, the Journal story accuses the company for doing a piss-poor job of fixing defective products.

Excerpt:

The issue of timely reporting, however, has cropped up anew in the latest round of recalls. Last November, Mattel recalled roughly two million figurines it marketed under the Polly Pocket brand because of high-power magnets in the figurines that could fall off and tear through a child’s stomach lining if swallowed. Over the next eight months, the company collected an additional 400 reports of problems with other toy lines studded with magnets before expanding its recall this summer to include an additional 18 million toys.

It isn’t clear how long Mattel spent analyzing the reports before advising the CPSC, and agency officials declined to comment because they are investigating the timing of Mattel’s disclosures. Last week, Mr. Eckert said he couldn’t remember when the company brought the complaints about the magnets to the attention of authorities.

So there you have it, folks – additional evidence that Mattel’s recall efforts are designed to minimze pain to themselves and let parents twist nervously in the wind.

**UPDATE II
I finall received my e-mail alert about this recall from the CPSC at 3:21 p.m.  Chicago time.

Additional

• China Steps Up Efforts to Cleanse Reputation – The New York Times
• Getting the Lead Out: If Only It Were as Easy as Recalling the Mattel Toys – Slate (Hat Tip to longtime reader Mark)

CPSC Mattel Recall Links

• Fisher-Price Recalls Bongo Band Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard
• Fisher-Price Recalls Geo Trax Locomotive Toys Due To Violation of Lead Paint Standard
• Mattel Recalls Various Barbie® Accessory Toys Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

CPSC Non-Mattel Recall Link

• NettoCollection Recalls Cribs Due to Entrapment and Strangulation Hazard

Comments

[Nadine]

A friend of mine who is a chemist has offer to free lead testing for us. I think that if lead is in all these toys from China, what about EVERYTHING else they make and sell here? The lead in the vinyl bibs was shocking to me, it made me think that lead could be in anything. Everything from China that is used in the kitchen is getting tested along with any items used in the bathroom.

I'm done with purchasing things which have been made in China.

[brettdl]

I've read several stories where American-made and European-made toys have become much more popular with all the lead contamination. Other countries to be wary of are India and Mexico, though I'm sure there are others.

What also worries me are non-toy products. Kids suck on keys, furniture, etc. and may also have lead in them. But who tests those things? Nobody.

[Sean]

When I was watching the international news last night, an announcement was made that a major recall was in the offing from Mattell and that details would be available the next morning on their network morning show. What the HELL!!!! That is not something you just put out there and then say "details later."

I have been really searching for good toys made in places other than China but the choices are thin [where I am]. And the advice about Mexico and India are spot on. We get toys from India here and there is no way they are getting into my house. And we have a large Indian community here so there are always "trade fairs" where the country allows goods in WITHOUT inspection to facilitate good relations and trade.

[brettdl]

Thanks for the details about the recall "tease."

I can't tell you how close I am to just tossing out all the toys in our apartment. Most were gifts and hand-me downs so they won't ever show up in a recall announcement.

Think my kids will ever forgive me?

[Anne]

I know ... we get a house in the suburbs and you set up a wood shop and MAKE toys -- with lead-free paints and finishes.

[Autumn]

As a interesting note to the first comment up there - China has some terrible disregard for food.

I custom blend teas, and I've started ordering things exclusively from India because some companies in China dry the tea with exhaust fumes. And most tea that comes in tea bags comes from low quality tea grown and processed in China.

I tossed out several pounds of tea that I had stocked. My customers deserve better then that, I refuse to risk their health, and I would never sell something I don't or won't use or drink myself.

Who knows what other atrocities are coming to our dinner tables?

[brettdl]

Anne: Cool.

Autumn: We banned a lot of Chinese food products from our house. When I was in California, I worked next to Little Tokyo and was able to buy wonderful Japanese food products.

I felt much safer with Japanese noodles and the like because Japan -- at least by reputation -- has strong rules regarding food quality and handling.

Maybe you can get tea from there?

Tea from Japan is... well, iffy. They grow some good greens, but they taste much earthier.

Tea quality and taste depends on the soil, altitude and longitude it's grown at. China and India are well situated in relation to the equator. There's a reason we only have one Tea Garden here in the US, and it's not highly regarded among the top tea connoisseurs. Unlike some products - say an apple which still sort of tastes like an apple no matter where it's grown - tea is delicate and depending on the growth region, the process and the grade you drink they can taste world apart.

So basically, Japan isn't really an option for my tea needs. China and India are it. The only way to know, really know is to use a supplier who's close to the Estate. But that requires real commitment to quality. Something that big businesses tend to lose along the way, I think.

[brettdl]

I didn't know that about Japanese tea. Do they import their tea from China and India then? What about South Korea?

[Anne]

Excellent info on Chinese and Indian teas. I'm a big tea drinker in terms of volume, but I know little about how to judge its quality (other than avoiding tea bags in favor of the loose stuff).

I know there must be some great tea blogs and sites out there for the unitiated. Any suggestions? (I hope you come back, whoever you are)

[Autumn]

Anne, Brett, I hit enter too soon and I lost my info...

Brett: You know, I haven't asked where the Japanese get their teas. I'll do some poking around and find out. That's probably a good place to start.

Anne: I'd be happy to talk about tea, and even coffee, all day long. I'll send you some of the tea blogs, links and info I have. My redesign on my website is almost done, and I'm going to have lots of good tea info up there - as well as a blog. Just drop me a line if you have any specific questions.

And in further news of interest, many of the tea gardens are shutting down in India. I imagine the price of tea is going to go up soon, but I am so happy for the reason. Seems Fair Trade has caught on as an idea - tea workers are insisting on higher wages. Fair wages. And when they aren't getting them, they're refusing to work.

It makes me so happy.

[brettdl]

Very interesting about the tea gardens. Maybe I can start my own tea growing business here in the states? Where's the best climate, California? I will sell to you at a big discount. ;--)

[Autumn]

Actually - it's the Carolina's.

And I'll sign that contract now, while the gettin' is good.

[brettdl]

Done.

[GeoTrax Fan]

Interesting info on the tea. I was horrified to read what you said about Mattel having a history of delaying recalls - ugh. My kids are dying for the new Fisher Price GeoTrax GeoAir line, I think I will get one of those Home Depot lead testing sets and test it out. Thanks for making me think.

[brettdl]

Well, the good news is that big toy companies are being more careful now.