China defends toy industry with media tour

Chinese toy inspectors set fire to Elmo’s buggy white eyes, tugged on Dora the Explorer’s arms and scraped off paint from plastic pieces of a “Barbie hot tub party bus” kit in front of foreign journalists, in a bid to repair the damage caused by the worldwide toy recalls.

The toy testers in Guangzhou said the quality checks were a routine part of their efforts to make sure products were safe for children across the world.

The Chinese government had invited journalists to watch the inspections in factory tours after a series of embarrassing toy recalls sparked global fears about the “Made in China” label.

The one-day tour in southern Guangdong province – China’s biggest toy-making region – came just weeks after Mattel removed nearly 19 million Chinese-made items from shops.

The products included dolls, cars and action figures that were contaminated with lead paint or contained small, powerful magnets that could damage a child’s organs if swallowed.

Toys have not been China’s only problem products in recent months. Toxic chemicals have been found in exports ranging from toothpaste to pet food ingredients.

China has acknowledged that part of the blame should be shouldered by Chinese manufacturers that cut corners and used sub-standard materials. But officials have also accused the US of exaggerating the problem and unfairly sullying the reputation of the entire business.

“China’s toy-making industry is actually very good. It is not messed up like the Americans say it is,” said Zhong Dechang, a top inspector in Guangdong, which accounted for 70% of China’s toy exports last year.

Yesterday’s media tour included two massive factories, a small plant and a government inspection centre. At the centre – part of a network of 60 labs in Guangdong – workers in white lab coats and surgical masks scraped the paint off plastic pieces from boxes labelled “Barbie hot tub party bus”, a Mattel toy.

The paint flecks were collected on white sheets of paper before being sent to an in-house laboratory for chemical analysis.

“Some factories ask us to do these tests for them. With others, we force them to let us test their products,” said Zhong, who works in the provincial capital, Guangzhou.

The factory tour did not include any plants with a history of problems, and the toy makers would not discuss how common it was for other companies to ignore safety standards.

Industry expert Christopher Devereux, who was not involved with the tour, said there were still plenty of dubious manufacturers in China.

But the British businessman, based in Guangzhou for the past five years, also said numerous Chinese factories were making high-quality products at unbeatable prices. The trick was that foreign buyers must constantly monitor and inspect their Chinese suppliers – a lesson learned by Mattel, he said.

“I really don’t have any sympathy for Mattel,” said Devereux, managing director of ChinaSavvy, which helps foreign buyers find Chinese factories that make plastic parts, hardware and other products.

“There’s no excuse to let so much product go through with lead in its paint,” he said. “They should be testing. It’s not difficult. There are hundreds of quality control laboratories in China.”