Staying On Top of Product Safety

We’ve all read about children’s toy or product recalls from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Warnings and injury reports over toxic toy paints, chemical contamination in materials, and toy components that became choking or ingestion hazards almost scuttled toy sales in 2007. But those widely publicized episodes didn’t start just last year; there are records of personal injury lawsuits brought by distraught parents as far back as 2004. And CSPC or licensed manufacturer safety recalls continue to this day.

Bashing imports or blaming human error — “negligent parents” for poor supervision; young children themselves for “inappropriate product use” — just does not cut it. Dive into the muddy waters of Limited Product Liability disclaimers, such as Placing This Baby Seat On A High Shelf With the Baby In It Voids All Claims Against the Manufacturer. Such attempts to limit product liability from user stupidity never hold up in court if a basic design or manufacturing defect comes up.

Design defects did factor into recent retailer recalls of approximately 1,000,000 convertible baby bassinets because of strangulation hazards; as well as the death of a boy in a now-recalled soccer net that could have been avoided if the grid pattern on the netting had smaller openings that child athletes’ heads could not poke through. 

There lies the responsibility thread: The soccer nets are made in China, but the CPSC directed focus on the importer, a sports equipment manufacturer, for the design defect. As Beth Pinsker noted on consumer interest blog “Wallet Pop” … 

Most of the problems are due to design flaws and corruption in the supply chain. The Washington Post just detailed how some of these flaws come to light through the case of the bassinet recall. Some of this is China’s fault and some of it isn’t. But the fact that most of the children’s products that we buy are manufactured in China says something about the oversight corporations are giving to these items.

Pinsker advised parents to be “extremely cautious” and “vigilant” about products they buy for their kids using “awareness” as the first line of defense.

DIY Wholesaler Quality Control. Importers, licensed manufacturers and even retail chains need to hawk their own quality control, noted Forbes editor Robyn Meredith, who should know as Global Editor for India and China and works from Singapore. Meredith:

American companies who buy Chinese goods and put American brand names on them should be aware that the import market is still Buyer Beware. … Thirty percent of the world’s toys came from China in 2000; but by 2005, 75% of ALL toys were Made in China. And the reality is that wholesalers and resellers must do-it-yourself track import product safety.

That means product sourcing with established toy wholesalers and importers, and taking a self-protective interest in sales contract clauses detailing quality assurance, defective merchandise shipments and refusals.

Even big name licensed goods retailers have to do it themselves. Thousands of Walt Disney Company “Pirates of the Caribbean” sleeping bags and “Tinker Bell” magic wands were recalled from Disney Stores because of contamination and excessive levels of lead paint. Disney took back control and product safety testing from its 220 Disney Store outlets previously run by Children’s Place, after discovering the problem in random safety tests conducted in 2007.

Disney requires its manufacturers to test each product for lead before the items are shipped. Since September 2007, owners of the rights to Magic Kingdom and Minnie and Mickey Mouse have independently tested toys featuring its characters that are sold by retailers other than Disney. (That testing move was motivated by last year’s recall of millions of Mattel, Inc. toys from the Disney-Pixar movie “Cars” that were believed to contain lead paint.)

Toy Safety Clearinghouse. Check a major toy retailer’s clearinghouse for recall information and safety news at Toys R Us .

Hawk the CPSC Site. The Consumer Product Safety Commission can only operate “after-the-fact” … after receiving complaints and conducting tests. It does post safety information at the CPSC site and publicizes recalls widely, especially before major toy-buying holiday seasons. Alert: The CPSC names names, product brands, manufacturers and chain resellers in the entire distribution chain when enforcing recalls.

More Green Marketing Tips for Wholesalers and Retailers

Top Ten Wholesale posted Green Marketing Tips  last April. It draws from Nielsen Online’s study of blog buzz on sustainable business as well as other green information industry sources. It highlights production processes, fair labor standards, product sourcing, global shipping and “carbon footprints” from business and consumer points of view.