Put Some More Lead on the Barbie

Mattel recalls another batch of lead-painted toys

Posted at 6:11 AM on 05 Sep 2007

Toy giant Mattel on Tuesday issued its third round of major recalls in recent weeks for a variety of its toys that contained "impermissible levels of lead," according to the company, including some Barbie play sets and Fisher-Price toys. In all, the most recent round of recalls covers some 840,000 items. "We've worked very hard on [testing toys]," said Robert A. Eckert, CEO of Mattel. "We've got teams working around the clock." But critics maintain that the time for testing is before products hit the shelves. "I really don't have any sympathy for Mattel," said Christopher Devereux of ChinaSavvy, a company that helps buyers locate Chinese factories to source parts. "There's no excuse to let so much product go through with lead in its paint. They should be testing. It's not difficult. There are hundreds of quality-control laboratories in China." Chinese-made toys make up about 80 percent of the U.S. toy market. For more information on the recalled products visit Mattel's recall website.

sources:  Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, BBC News