The recent recall scare involving 83 different plastic toys sold by Mattel sent nary a chill through my spine. A month earlier, the recall of Thomas the Tank Engine toys did.
As an advocate of natural, open ended toys, that is those without electronics or pre-defined play, I barely glanced at the Mattel recall when I noted it involved plastic toys with licensed characters.
Though we do buy more plastic toys as my son gets a bit older (Playmobil and Lego), we very rarely buy licensed toys, that is toys that feature a character well known through television or movies. In general these toys tend to direct a child to a specific type of play. Elmo must always speak in his squeaky voice, must always be brightly cheerful and, of course, must always be male. On the other hand, my DS’s wide variety of stuffed animals vacillate between genders, are kind or mean and often do some creative “species shifting†if the story he’s building requires it.
We do, on occasion, though buy Thomas the Tank Engine toys. My first purchases were in the days when I was unaware that Thomas was a media sensation. I just thought the wooden train sets were cute and unbelievably expensive. At that time, Imaginarium was going out of business and I couldn’t help but snatch up a few discounted pieces for my DS. It was only later that I learned about Thomas movies, television shows and uber marketing.
Wooden train sets on high on the list of natural toys for crunchy parents. Rather than buying a set and nailing the pieces down in some prearranged pattern, we tend to keep the various pieces of track and multiple cars in big baskets to dump out and create a new scene each time the child plays. Since rc2, the manufacturer of Thomas toys does make some great, imaginative, accessories, drawbridges, quarries and specialized cars, I do find myself purchasing a these licensed products from time to time.
But licensed or not, natural or not, the issue is not, it seems, avoiding plastic, mass market toys. Judging by the news reports, it seems the issue is avoiding China. Since the Toy Industry Association estimates that 70-80% of ALL toys are made in China, avoiding toys made there is a Herculean task. But, I’m not sure that is the whole story.
Sure, China’s explosive growth in the highly competitive, cheap labor, toy manufacturing industry naturally has led to less than perfect oversight. The fact that the industry is highly seasonal surely has led to raw material substitutions during the critical Christmas build season. That is to be expected. On the other hand, it is to be expected anywhere toys are made. Even natural toys, wooden blocks and trains, dolls made of organic materials and wooden puzzles are made in China. And even if they are not, the manufacturers still operate under the pressure of manufacturing quickly in time to meet the Christmas rush. A toy delivered to a retailer on December 26th is worth less than half of what it was worth on October 26th.
So we consumers are stuck. Any toy manufactured anywhere, by any company can contain hazardous materials. However, those manufactured by large, toy companies are likely to benefit from more oversight of the process – leading to quicker response and faster notice to consumers of any defects.
While I often purchase from small toy companies, I’m always a little less sure about the quality I’m getting. This statement may sound heretical coming from a crunchy parent but, having worked in companies that make products for children, both large and small, I know that shoddy workmanship occurs no matter the company size – large companies just catch it faster.
So, I’ll continue to purchase toys from companies big and small but, be wary. I’ll carefully consider age appropriateness, including sharp edges, finger traps and “toy in mouth†hazards and hope for the best.
[tags]kids, children, parents, parenting, safety, toys, paint, lead, thomas the tank engine, concern, age appropriateness, hazards[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by LexnGer, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
2 responses so far ↓
Chris // Aug 6, 2007 at 2:08 pm
We buy wooden toys from Melissa & Doug, as well as other smaller companies. There toys are manufactured in China and even though the toys are made of who, they’re painted. And even though M&D say they frequently test their toys, audit the factories where they’re made, etc., so does Mattel. I’m buying a lead test kit, which is useful not only for toys, but dishware and, well, anything else that’s got paint or glaze on it.
Eden // Aug 6, 2007 at 2:54 pm
We buy a variety of toys, from handmade wooden ones to the mass-market ones. The ones we had that are in the Mattel recall were Diego playsets. My kids learned about animals, conservation and creative play from the toys, none of which required batteries, as I felt was implied here.
Unless you’re making toys yourself from materials you created, you never know what you’re getting (it could be a cardboard box, a sock and a plastic bottle and still contain some kind of hazard). This can happen to any consumer.
Leave a Comment