Posted on 11/06/2007 6:00:37 AM PST by driftdiver
A Chinese province is likely to join a planned libel suit against US giant Mattel, accusing the toy maker of harming the region's reputation, state press said Tuesday.
The government of Guangdong province is considering the suit after Mattel issued a safety recall on more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this summer, but later apologised saying 85 percent of the recall was due to its own design flaws, the China Daily said.
"The incident has stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money," it quoted Chen Lipeng, director of the province's fair trade bureau, as saying.
"A simple apology cannot compensate for the losses."
After the highly publicised recalls, Mattel made a surprise apology to the Chinese government, saying safety concerns over the toys were due to its own design flaws and not Chinese production processes.
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(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Why would a manufacturer design lead-based paint into a product for children??
“Golly, I guess we’re capitalists after all....”
WTH, why would Mattel apologize to the Chinese? Did they apologize to the American Customers? Maybe they will be sued by Americans also...
The Chinese will say that failure to fully specify what kind of paint allows them to use the most cost-effective paint(lead-based)
The manufacturer didn’t design it in. They just didn’t care enough to ensure they were getting paint from a solid supplier. Nor did they do any quality checking. Oh but its Mattel’s fault.
I’m sorry for Mattel but this is a good thing. I can see chinese manufacturing dropping as companies realize that they can’t control the quality and when something like this happens they will get sued by their customers and their suppliers.
I couldn’t believe what a dolt Mattel’s CEO was in saying it wasn’t China’s fault. I don’t buy that for a minute considering the number of other companies experiencing similar problems with China’s products. He was simply trying to appease the Chinese since half of Mattel is located in China, and blame it on American designers and engineers. Now Mattel is going to pay the price with all those dollars they thought they were saving shipping jobs overseas.
You’re sorry for matel because they moved all their manufactuing to China, and obviously did no QA testing of the product they were getting from China for YEARS now.
Sorry, but Matel is as much to blame in this affair as China is. China knew their role, make stuff as cheap as possible. It’s matel’s job to make sure those cheap products were safe. Matel dropped the ball, and the US citizens were/are indangered.
Mattel's paint spec probably didn't prohibit the use of lead. That was the design flaw.
When you create a spec you must be very wary of what is termed "specmanship".
The manufacturer will meet the spec in the most cost effective way for them.
Mattel goofed.
I'm not the least bit sorry for Mattel or any other company that gets caught up in China's web. They're getting what they deserve. Ya get what ya pay for. Any politician who voted for MFN for China (and that's most of the candidates for pres!) deserves to be thrown under the bus as well.
>Now Mattel is going to pay the price with all those dollars they thought they were saving shipping jobs overseas.<
Now Mattel line employees are going to pay, not the Mattel execs.
There's their first mistake: Mattel isn't a "toy maker". They contract all their manfuacturing out to lead-contaminated factories in China. They should be suing themselves.
It may not be politically correct to say it, but I’ll say it:
Those Communist Red Chinks are going to be our adversary in the next World War. Pooty-Poot, for all of his renewed TU-95 Bear patrols, and chest-thumpin’ is a has-been.
It is Peking (screw that new-style ‘Beijing’ crapola) that ought to be the 4th city to be incinerated by a U.S. nuke, right after Tehran.
If Mattel tried to pass off the blame for their own problems onto any manufacturers, then they deserve to be sued by those manufacturers.
However, any manufacturers that used lead paint on toys shouldn't get a cent.
Isn't that the truth!!! They will probably take home record bonuses as the stockholders are stuck with sinking stocks.
The solution for Mattel would be to shift its production outside of China. I’m sure Vietnam, Cambodia or Indonesia would welcome the jobs. Cheap labor isn’t cheap any more when you factor in litigation costs and a Chinese legal environment (heads you lose, tails the Chinese win).
Wonder if the Chinese workers lick their brushes like the radium dail workers did. Doubt they’ll be able to sue anyone.
“I’m not the least bit sorry for Mattel or any other company that gets caught up in China’s web. They’re getting what they deserve. Ya get what ya pay for. Any politician who voted for MFN for China (and that’s most of the candidates for pres!) deserves to be thrown under the bus as well.”
Yep, they’re getting what they deserve for sleeping with the enemy!
Duncan Hunter voted AGAINST MFN with Red China.
Wake up America and support this man.
Great idea, Chink asshats, bite the hand that’s been feeding you. Maybe what the American government and the American people have not been able to accomplish (the re-walling of communist China) will be done by Chinese lawyers.
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