Grasshopper New Media Presents...

A recent MSN-Zogby poll showed that one in four U.S. shoppers plans to spend less on toys for the holidays this year.

Gee I wonder why?

Could it be the recalls for lead? How about the ones for choking hazards? What about the increased awareness of legal toxins like phthalates allowed in children’s toys and accessories?

The poll also found 83 percent of Americans associated unsafe toys with China, where millions of recalled items were made.

That’s really a pretty high percentage of the population and a potentially extremely damaging public relations nightmare. Our presidential candidates can only dream of getting that kind of exposure for their slur campaigns. Maybe they should accuse each other of being made in China?

The good…or at least better news for the toy industry is that China seems to be taking the fall for the whole mess.

Many Americans are just as wary of products made by large manufacturers, such as Mattel, Disney and Hasbro, with 43% saying they do not associate popular toy companies with safety, compared to 42% who say they do associate these companies with safe toys.

Almost half of the population believing that your company makes unsafe toys certainly is not good but, it’s certainly better than the 83% of shoppers avoiding China like the plague.

And many are:

34% (of shoppers polled) say they are planning on only buying U.S. made toys this year.

Interestingly enough, smaller companies are not immune to consumer scrutiny either, as only 40% said they do not think toys made by smaller manufacturers are any safer than those made by leading companies.

What’s your take on this? Are you buying fewer toys or avoiding made in China this year?

by MC Milker

[tags]kids, children, parents, parenting, holidays, gifts, made in China, lead, toxins, phthalates, poisons, danger, toys[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by mrbill, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved