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Mattel

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toxic toys

Mattel Losing Money As Manufacturing Costs Rise

Mattel is losing money as manufacturing costs in China rise, according to Bloomberg:
Sales of Barbie fell 12 percent in the U.S. as the 49-year- old doll faced competition from Hannah Montana and Ganz's Webkinz. Mattel, which recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made products in 2007, expects Chinese manufacturing costs to rise further. The yuan has climbed 10 percent against the dollar over the past 12 months, and inflation in China is near an 11-year high.
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1:46 PM on Mon Apr 21 2008
By Meg Marco
1,501 views, 28 comments

worst company in america

Round 16: Mattel vs ATT

This is Round 16 in our Worst Company in America contest, Mattel vs AT&T.

Mattel profited off of selling millions of toys covered in lead paint, as well a toy with detachable, swallowable, magnet balls.

AT&T has managed to sully the beautiful iPhone with their customer service missteps, let the government set up shop atop internet backbones so American citizens privacies could be invaded, and seems to almost go out of its way to make it possible for customers to sign up for federally mandated dry loop/naked DSL, and otherwise experiences many of the same foibles and hijinx you would expect with any other national telephonic giant.

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12:00 PM on Thu Apr 3 2008
By Ben Popken
3,461 views, 55 comments

Latest by n/a: I wanted to vote for AT&T. I really did. Our first internet provider was AT&T DIALUP. Oh. My. Gawd. A slow connection that constantly/randomly dropped. However, since those depressing days, the entity known as SBC/Cingular/AT&T has been nothing but gold more »

lead contamination

Members Of Congress Implore Mattel To "Do The Right Thing," Recall Lead-Tainted Toy Blood-Pressure Cuff

56 Members of Congress want to know why Mattel CEO Robert Eckert refuses to issue a nationwide recall for a toy blood-pressure cuff that is contaminated with lead. The affected blood-pressure cuff, sold as part of the Fisher-Price Medical Kit, was recalled exclusively in Illinois after Mattel received a complaint from State Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Legislators want Eckert to stand by a pledge made to reassure a jittery public before the holiday buying season that Mattel would 'earn back our trust with deeds, not just with words.' More »

10:12 AM on Sat Feb 2 2008
By Carey
2,969 views, 18 comments

Latest by thatgirlinnewyork: Eckert's career was first made at Kraft/Philip Morris-- obfuscation comes naturally to those who peddle toxicity--whether that be chemically-laden packaged foods, tobacco, or toys. By golly, that man has touched just about every life stage--cradle to grave. Congrats, Bob!! more »

vidoes

Shank Found Inside Mattel Polly Pocket Toy

Here's a story that makes you wonder what sort of tools the workers at Mattel's factories use. A "shank" (a blade wrapped in electrical tape, to be exact) was found inside a sealed Polly Pocket toy purchased at Walmart.

Mattel apologized for the incident, saying:

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1:19 PM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Meg Marco
34,966 views, 57 comments

manufacturing

Poison: The High Cost Of Cheap Batteries

Cadmium batteries are cheap and safe to use, but hazardous to manufacture. They'll save you money—about $1.50 for the average cadmium-powered toy, says the Wall Street Journal. More »

1:19 PM on Tue Jan 15 2008
By Meg Marco
3,236 views, 24 comments

lead contamination

Fisher-Price Pulls Another Lead-Tainted Product In Illinois Only

Consumer Reports says that Fisher-Price has finished testing another toy blood pressure cuff and have found that it exceeds the Illinois lead limit for toys. More »

2:22 PM on Thu Dec 20 2007
By Meg Marco
824 views, 8 comments

toy safety

Hasbro Launches Ad Campaign Promoting Its Safety Record

Yesterday Hasbro launched a new ad campaign in certain newspapers to promote its comparatively stellar safety record with toys—it hasn't had any big ticket items show up in the lead-tainted parade this year (or to the date-rape afterparty) and it wants consumers to know. More »

6:00 PM on Thu Dec 6 2007
By Chris Walters
1,139 views, 9 comments

lead contamination

Fisher-Price Pulls Lead Tainted Toy In Illinois Only

Illinois has tough laws when it comes to dangerous toys, and now Fisher-Price has found itself on the wrong side of the Illinois Lead Poisoning Prevention Act, according to Consumer Reports. More »

5:12 PM on Tue Dec 4 2007
By Meg Marco
2,019 views, 11 comments

chinese poison train

Only 22% Of American Importers Of Chinese Goods Have Reviewed Their Supply Chain

A survey of global manufacturers found that only 22% have reviewed their supply chain in light of the Mattel lead toy recall situation. Of that number, 1/3 said they would change how they go about evaluating suppliers. 30% said they were sending quality inspectors to overseas plants. Most of the executives said their greatest fear in doing business with China wasn't defective products, but that the Chinese would make knockoffs of their wares.

Survey: Global Manufacturers Staying Put in China [the smart cube blog]

11:35 AM on Fri Nov 30 2007
By Ben Popken
344 views, 6 comments

reputation

Congresswoman Calls For Mattel To Resume Manufacturing In The US

Mattel used to manufacture toys in the U.S., specifically in Western New York, where it still has offices. Now Rep. Louise Slaughter is calling for Mattel to repair its reputation by opening a plant in her district.
Slaughter, D-Fairport, made the suggestion to Robert A. Eckert, chairman and chief executive officer of Mattel — Fisher-Price's parent company — in a Nov. 12 phone call.
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5:31 PM on Tue Nov 20 2007
By Meg Marco
1,261 views, 31 comments

shopping

Toys R Us Tries To Reassure You After Year Of Recalls

Toys R Us has written a reassuring letter to its customers outlining its toy safety policies and threatening to discontinue selling products from any company that ignores them. Since Toys R Us still sells Mattel toys and Thomas & Friends wooden train sets, it's hard to imagine a company that wouldn't make the cut. More »

9:59 AM on Fri Nov 16 2007
By Meg Marco
1,128 views, 8 comments

recalls

Mattel Announces Recall Of 155,000 Toys

Today Mattel announced a recall of 155,000 Mexican-made toys being sold in countries throughout Europe and the United States. There's no lead contamination this time around; the recall was announced "due to concerns that small pieces could detach from the toys and cause children to choke." The product is the Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen Toy, part of the Fisher-Price range. More »

3:49 PM on Tue Nov 6 2007
By Chris Walters
1,367 views, 15 comments

lead contamination

Amazon Pulls Fisher-Price Medical Kit After CR Lead Report

Mike Antonucci from the Mercury News tells us that Amazon.com has pulled the lead-tainted Fisher-Price Medical Kit from its website after fielding questions about a Consumer Reports investigation that found "troubling" levels of lead in the blood pressure cuff. More »

12:15 PM on Tue Nov 6 2007
By Meg Marco
2,830 views, 10 comments

awards

Sleeping Pills For Kids? The 2007 International Bad Product Awards

The Consumer's International 2007 International Bad Product Awards are here, folks. Let's have a big round of applause for: More »

9:15 PM on Tue Oct 30 2007
By Meg Marco
6,215 views, 38 comments

lead contamination

Consumer Reports Finds "Troubling" Levels Of Lead In Unrecalled Fisher-Price Toy

Consumer Reports is busy testing lead levels in children's toys that are not on any recall list just to see if they are safe. They're nice like that. More »

3:07 PM on Mon Oct 29 2007
By Meg Marco
3,079 views, 18 comments

news from the swamp

Liveblogging The Senate Commerce Committee Hearing On Toys, Children's Products, And The Chinese Sweatshops In Which They're Made

Starting today at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will examine the lives of the young Chinese workers who assemble our Barbies and Tiggers without the workforce protections or social safety nets enjoyed by western workers.

Today's hearing will feature just one panel. Labor activists from the National Labor Committee and the International Labor Rights Forum will appear beside a past president of the Toy Industry Association - formerly called the Toy Manufacturers Association, before the widespread use of Chinese sweatshops.

Storytime kicks off at 9:30 a.m., complete with heart-wrenching testimonials, pictures of sweatshops, and maybe even a surprise appearance from Senator Stevens. Cookies and apple juice, optional.
(AP Photo/Lee Celano)

09:30: The Committee has provided 20 kpbs of video link goodness.
09:40: Subcommittee Chairman Dorgan will be leading the hearing; we always enjoy the when Chairman takes the reigns and doesn't punt to a junior Senator.
09:41: 80% of our toys are manufactured in China.

More »

Feature

9:20 AM on Thu Oct 25 2007
By Carey
2,978 views, 6 comments

Despite problems involving Chinese-made goods sold in the U.S., a Chinese spokesperson says that orders for Christmas toys are "up" and that factories can't keep up with demand. But he also says, "I urge the importers of Chinese toys to come to China and buy more Chinese toys and I wish children around the world a Merry Christmas," which makes the claim sound like PR spin. [Reuters]

4 comments

lawsuits

Shareholders File Lawsuit Against Mattel Over Toy Recalls

Mattel's shareholders are upset. A pension fund in Michigan has filed a shareholder lawsuit against the company, claiming that they mishandled product safety procedures and were therefor responsible for 3 toy recalls this summer. The lawsuit also alleges that executives with knowledge of the defects sold $33 million in stock before the recalls were announced. More »

7:37 PM on Wed Oct 10 2007
By Meg Marco
1,208 views, 11 comments

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