Holy Magnets Batman -- you are supposed to fight evil not be it!

Ah Robin....how naive youth is. Why would anyone ever not think that toys from Mattel could be potential harbingers of injury & death? Oh wait a minute ....that's only happened recently right? Before that you could pretty much be guaranteed that toys from Mattel and Fischer Price would bring smiles to children, not choke them or cause brain damage....my mistake...I've just been focused on the last few weeks.

OK -- here I go again......in regards to China....recently a lot of my attention has been focused on the lack of standards in the manufacturing in China. I even gave China the benefit of the doubt -- and now I have to agree with a comment on my last entry -- that this was a mistake.

So yes, it seems that there is a depth of corruption and pursuit of the almighty profit in China, that transcends human decency. I mean, these are our children that are being put at risk! The following quote from cbc.ca says it all:

"The Chinese official, who asked not to be identified, said the issue with the magnetic toys was known back in March, but neither the U.S. company nor the manufacturers were notified."


Yet I still believe that the major responsibility is with the quality control from the Western corporations that are subcontracting out the work. Of course, Mattel's response is that a subcontractor violated the terms of the agreement by further subcontracting -- and as such somewhat trying to distance themselves from this scandal.

I feel like slapping Mattel upside the head and saying "hello -- anyone in there? "-- this is after all China -- a economy growing by leaps and bounds and not grounded with the same ethical standards that we in the West take for granted. A contractual commitment? Oh well -- who cares -- we'll do it this way instead. And by the way Mattel -- great -- now you are putting in a 3 point check system -- Yippee -- a) why wasn't that there before until this subcontractor had proven their worth; b) why don't you start looking for manufacturers closer to home -- because I'm sure that now with the costs incurred by the recalls and multiple quality checks (not to mention the damage in reputation) -- the profits garnered by offshoring have become a red mark in the income statement.

Let me get back to the contractual issue for a second, and in a future entry I'll delve into this in a little more detail.

In the West, there is an egotistic arrogance, that the rest of the world is just like us. Well, the issues regarding Intellectual Property, Subcontracting, Liability/Indemnification, etc, in the offshore world, quite clearly indicate that this is not the situation. Whether because of jealousy of the West's success that leads developing nations to the attitude "it's our turn now -- so who cares about the rules", or there is only consideration of the short term profit motive, as opposed to the long term relationship, who knows -- but it is there.

Then come to think of it -- isn't a lot of the offshoring of manufacturing by Western corporations based on a short term profit motive, as opposed to the long term relationship with their customer? It does seem so lately, doesn't it?

To get to the Mattel recall site click here.

Sesame Street teaches Science gone Bad!

Sesame Street has started teaching science to youngsters and their parents. Not by choice, mind you, but as a result of a massive recall of lead contaminated toys manufactured in -- where else -- China. Perhaps that's why Elmo still speaks like an infant -- it's all the lead that was used to make him that has caused irreversible brain damage!

I have written previously about China and the dangers in outsourcing manufacturing to this country. Again, not to say there aren't some honourable and viable manufacturers in China, but quite honestly, every week, we are being inundated with another story about lack of quality and ingredients being used in the production cycle that can either harm or kill.

I'm not going to blame China. They are trying to keep up with the unprecedented demand being placed on them by the Western conglomerates, eager to enhance their profit margins by engaging with cheap manufacturing costs in this country. But of course there is the old adage "you get what you pay for!" And in this case, it's substandard and dangerous products, once again.

In the July 30th issue of Business Week there is an article entitled Not Made In China, which talks about the success of companies who are now labeling and marketing products as being China-free. These items are flying off the shelves. And IBM is successfully exploiting the situation with a "cradle to grave" software program which provides insight into every step of the supply chain!

So why aren't more companies doing significant due diligence on quality and manufacturing standards before leaping off the cliff without a parachute? There are a plethora of answers to this question but the most compelling, I believe, rest in the almighty profit motive and of course the bandwagon effect.

The bandwagon effect is defined in Wikipedia as "the observation that people often do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. " Basically it means that it is the adolescent need to fit in and be like everyone else, because, of course, if they are doing it and are part of the "in" crowd, then it must be great.

The corporate titans must enjoy sitting around in the airport lounge talking about their latest exploits in China. If you aren't there you can't join in the conversation, and just like in high school, you slink away, sitting in the corner, watching the "cool kids" having fun.

Well, just like in high school, the "cool kids" often drop out or fail and end up bagging groceries for a living, while the "geek" becomes magnificently successful aka Bill Gates.

Maybe it's time for everyone to sit back and consider what benefit the additional profit is giving their corporation. One of the most respected toy manufacturers, Fischer Price, is not tainted because of the pursuit of the almighty dollar.

Perhaps Dora the Explorer should re-examine her destinations, and stay away from China -- for now.