Toy turmoil looms over holidays

With the crucial holiday shopping season approaching, toy executives sought Wednesday to reassure the buying public the merchandise on shelves is safe despite a litany of recent recalls involving Chinese-made products.

"There is simply nothing more important to Mattel than the safety of children. My goal is to make sure this holiday season's toys are the safest ever," said Mattel Inc. chief executive Robert Eckert during a Senate hearing.

But congressional critics poked at glaring holes in the nation's consumer product safety network and feared consumer confidence has been shaken too far for any quick fixes.

"It is unlikely that government will be able to do much to restore confidence," U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Springfield Democrat, said in opening Capitol Hill hearings on toy safety. "We will learn a bitter lesson from the holiday season of 2007."

Wednesday's hearing comes in response to the American marketplace being beset with tainted Chinese products that have killed pets and potentially poisoned children and adults with everything from lead in paint to antifreeze in toothpaste.

Mattel alone has recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys. The list includes Barbie, Polly Pocket and merchandise from the popular "Cars" movie.

"I want to again apologize sincerely to each and every parent," said Eckert, the company's chief executive. "We will not rest until we know you are confident Mattel's toys are safe."

Other toy makers have had to recall tainted products manufactured in China, including several Thomas and Friends train pieces containing lead paint and Easy Bake ovens after children were severely burned.

"Made in China has now become a warning label," said U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican and presidential hopeful.

Nearly 80 percent of the toys sold in the world are made in China. Chinese toy imports are a multibillion-dollar segment of the U.S. economy primed by holiday season sales.

Jerry Storch, CEO of Toys "R" Us, the nation's leading toy retailer, called for tougher federal consumer protections and said his company stepped up its own protections and product testing.

"We will not tolerate products that do not meet our rigorous safety standards," Storch said.

The federal Consumer Protection Safety Commission is the agency charged with ensuring that toys and other merchandise are safe. But agency officials and lawmakers painted the picture of an outdated, understaffed and under-funded agency unable to meet rising safety expectations of American consumers.

In 1974, the agency had 786 employees but now employs 401 with only one worker specifically assigned to test toys. Its budget has similarly slipped. Agency officials said they simply don't have the resources to keep up with acres of Chinese and other imports arriving on U.S. shores.

Lawmakers proposed not only boosting the consumer commission's budget and work force, but also increasing the amount of fines it could impose. Additional proposals would require independent testing of children's products.

Still others, however, urged a stiffer response aimed directly at China. Brownback said Chinese export practices have hit American consumers "over the head with a two-by-four" and it's time to hit back, recommending the U.S. marketplace be declared off limits to products from Chinese factories with repeat problems.

"Hit 'em where it hurts," he said. "Hit them in the markets."

2007: Year of the recall

Millions of toys and other products made in China have been recalled this year because of various health and safety concerns. Here are several of the high-profile instances.

Pet food: In March it was disclosed a toxin in several brands of pet food was likely causing illness and deaths in cats and dogs.

Toothpaste: An antifreeze ingredient was found in some brands of toothpaste sold at bargain stores and shipped to prisons in North Carolina and Georgia.

Thomas and Friends: Merchandise for the popular children's series was found to contain lead paint, prompting recalls in early June.

Tires: Hundreds of thousands of Chinese made tires were recalled because they lacked a safety feature.

Seafood: Imports of several varieties of fish farmed in China were ordered blocked by federal officials out of concerns they contained traces of drugs that could be harmful to humans.

Source: Daily Herald news services