Toy company that created safety hysteria gets waiver on testing … again
posted at 11:00 am on April 24, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
The importation of toys with lead paint from China two years ago prompted Congress to pass the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), requiring extensive independent testing of all products sold — or resold — for children. The new regulations threatened to put small manufacturers and thrift shops out of business, thanks to the onerous burden of test costs. But what about the big manufacturer that actually put 2 million contaminated products on shelves? Mattel gets a waiver from testing requirements — again:
The nation’s biggest toy maker, Mattel Inc., is getting another exemption on federal safety rules even as smaller companies struggle with testing costs imposed after a rash of Mattel toy recalls in 2007.
Under the law passed after the recalls, the makers of children’s products must perform independent third-party tests for lead, lead paint and other potential dangers.
On Friday, however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission voted unanimously to approve Mattel’s request to use two more of its own company laboratories for the third-party checks on its toys. …
The third-party testing required under the 2008 law followed a slew of recalls of Chinese-made toys contaminated by lead, including six Mattel-related recalls.
But the legislation also has a provision that allows CPSC to consider requests — for so-called “firewalled laboratories” — from manufacturers who want to use their own testing facilities for the third-party checks. The firewalled labs are supposed to have safeguards in place to prevent any undue company pressure on an employee to clear a dangerous product.
So let’s get this straight. Mattel buys millions of items from China that violate American product-safety laws and standards. Congress reacts by punishing the entire industry, especially those small businesses that can’t afford independent testing, especially on products that don’t really need it. Thrift stores can’t resell merchandise without testing, making their business model impossible and threatening the charities that rely on those sales. Meanwhile, the economy of scale means that this law gives Mattel a competitive advantage from their own malfeasance — and they get the waiver on independent testing?
Yesterday, we discussed crony capitalism. This is exactly what is meant. This is a perfect example of government picking winners and losers in the marketplace through legislation written to be sympathetic to big businesses, and an enforcement mechanism that favors the big players even beyond the legislation Congress passed. Mattel can push its smaller competitors out of business, or force them into buyouts, because they broke the law in the first place.
Blowback
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This is squarely on Dear Liar’s shoulders. It is clear that He does not care for children.
rbj on April 24, 2010 at 11:04 AM
History repeats.
iurockhead on April 24, 2010 at 11:10 AM
Time to write Mattel (with copies to Congress) and let them know why my fam will no longer honor their products.
Patrick S on April 24, 2010 at 11:12 AM
The law is flawed if it requires 3rd party testing. Large companies like Mattel have their own labs which are probably better than any 3rd party lab. The law needs to be fixed.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Why, becuase they are going to use their own labs rather than some likely inferior 3rd party lab? That’s ridiculous.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Hey, Ed, what’s up with the website today? Really, really slow loading the pages. And it does not seem to be my connection, everything else is plenty zippy.
Is it just me?
iurockhead on April 24, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Hu Jintao to Obama: “You are going to keep buying crappy toy we make in China, yes?”
Obama to Hu: “But, of course…..*bowing*”
ted c on April 24, 2010 at 11:17 AM
Dec. 21, 2007:
Geraghty Axiom…check!
Noel on April 24, 2010 at 11:18 AM
Exactly. For all the talk about supporting small business, Progressives actually regulate in such a way as to put them out of business while they bail out the mega-corporations and give them free passes like this one.
Daggett on April 24, 2010 at 11:19 AM
The government should not be micromanaging who tests toys or how. That’s as communistic as it gets. They should simply require toys meet certain safety standards and require manufacturers to certify they meet those requirements. If they are found to not be in compliance they should be fined and consumers should have the right to sue. End of story.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 11:22 AM
In other words, the bribe check cleared.
thekingtut on April 24, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Ain’t corporatism grand?
Rae on April 24, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Why should a federal agency interrupt its important online work by doing unimportant work. (Know what I mean, nudge, nudge, wink, wink.)
Little Nell on April 24, 2010 at 11:24 AM
He must have meant Barbie’s Easy-Bake Budget Numbers Playhouse–Now with Lead-Based Frosting!
Noel on April 24, 2010 at 11:26 AM
No, because Mattel and the Feds are screwing the little guy.
I’ve dealt with Govt regs and 3rd party testing for years, and have also worked at companies that had their own labs. If you go out for indy testing you had better verify beforehand that the site has the capability to produce accurate results. Reputable labs are typically certified to industry standards such as ASTM. You are screwed if the Govt believes your indy testing is sub-standard.
Patrick S on April 24, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Now THAT I agree with whole-heartedly.
Patrick S on April 24, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Economic control by government is much easier when the most capital is in the hands of the fewest entities. Who would think about toys, of all things, being a major industry? Well, they are. Medical control is obvious but toys are a huge industry, too. Why not reduce that market to a handful of suppliers, to make the jobs of bureaucrats easier?
Liam on April 24, 2010 at 11:34 AM
FWIW, CPSIA was supported by every House Republican (except for Dr. No), nearly every Senate Republican (save three) and signed by Bush.
Go team!
Rae on April 24, 2010 at 11:35 AM
I’m so confused. I thought big business was the root of all evil according to liberals.
tru2tx on April 24, 2010 at 11:38 AM
Rasmussen:
Rae on April 24, 2010 at 11:39 AM
This sounds like the kid’s version of Too Big To Fail.
Noel on April 24, 2010 at 11:39 AM
Now, now…Stop confusing the issue with facts. Some liberal’s feelings might get hurt.
Liam on April 24, 2010 at 11:40 AM
Dudes
Before you start spewing partisan bile, please check the roll-call for the vote. Republicans voted overwhelmingly for this slimy piece of shit law. Can we at least pretend to care about individual liberty and limited government, and in doing so, check whether the Republicans are honoring such a commitment?
flawedskull on April 24, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Why do you presume all Conservatives are automatically Pubs?
I’m not Pub at all; that Party hasn’t represented me for 20 years.
Liam on April 24, 2010 at 11:47 AM
Apparently Mattel is to big to fail and Obama is just helping out.
Tommy_G on April 24, 2010 at 11:51 AM
Mattel didn’t write the stupid law or advocate it’s passing did they? I’m sure they have no problem with all manufacturers using their own labs and certifying compliance.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 11:57 AM
I wonder what the donation record of Mattel execs is. Something tells me they’ve given heavily to the party in power.
steveegg on April 24, 2010 at 12:00 PM
As a matter of fact, they did.
Rae on April 24, 2010 at 12:02 PM
If you are being sarcastic fine if not Matel had their labs when all of these toys were imported and it didn’t work out well for us.
chemman on April 24, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Republicans may have passed the bill, but it is the CPSC — whose leadership is appointed by Barack Obama himself — that issued the waiver.
Caiwyn on April 24, 2010 at 12:08 PM
Just wait until that food protection bill they are working on comes out. It will do the same for small farms and ranches that the toy protection did for garage sales and thrift shops.
I have a green house to grow my own and occasionally give some to friends who are in need. The food bill would regulate that and make it a crime. I am totally tee’d at McCain because he is a big supporter of it.
chemman on April 24, 2010 at 12:14 PM
So they have no problem with manufacturers doing their own testing. So what’s the problem?
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:23 PM
Not at all, and no the didn’t have their own labs and weren’t testing. Now they are based on the reaction of the market:
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:29 PM
No they didn’t, but they sure as hell caused it by purchasing cheap, low quality crap from sources that they did not exhibit any control over, all to maximize their profit. Now everyone has to suffer because of their total failure.
Patrick S on April 24, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Most of the comments aren’t directed at any particular party, but rather over-reaching government in general, so you’re “partisan bile” comment seems misplaced here.
holygoat on April 24, 2010 at 12:29 PM
Exactly but that\’s been happening in the toy industry since the end of WWII when Japan took over low-end toy production. That\’s how they got back on their feet. mattel is responsible for not managing their vendors closely and they paid for those mistakes both in the maketplace and in the courts as it should be. They started a corrective action plan and government being government had to stick its nose in and cripple the little guys in the process.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:35 PM
Either we trust corporations with backlash or not.
I don’t really get this critical post.
AnninCA on April 24, 2010 at 12:37 PM
This should clear up any question as to how effectively our government will handle healthcare too. Wake up boys and girls, whether you are an independent, repub, dem, etc matters not. Your current government is EVERYBODY’S fault, that’s not the problem, the problem is fixing it, and the only way to fix it is to elect people that WILL fix it.
Right now you can bet your arse there is not a Dem out there that is willing to fix anything or worthy of a vote and only a handful of Repubs…
We need new candidates, real conservative ones.
Tim Zank on April 24, 2010 at 12:42 PM
It is unless corporations work hand-in-hand with liberals and contribute to liberal causes and candidates.
bw222 on April 24, 2010 at 12:43 PM
Spot on! +100
Liam on April 24, 2010 at 12:43 PM
It this is applied to healthcare, big hospitals (that are too big to fail) will not have inspections, but smaller hospitals will.
bw222 on April 24, 2010 at 12:44 PM
I think it’s a pretty shallow analysis from a person who probably has no experience in a company that actually made and sold real products especially those that have government regulations assocaited with them.
Its also said to be a case of crony capitalism when I simply don’t see it that way. It’s more an example of a company who tried to limit the restrictiveness of a bad law by allowing an exemption for companies to do their own testing and an attempt to make sure the law applied equally to all producers so that the competitive balance would be maintained. If you’re going to have the law, you need to have flexibility built in and be sure it applies equally across the board or you risk being chocked to death.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:45 PM
And you know this because you stayed at a Holiday Inn and watched an episode of CSI?
ALL laboratories have guidelines more often than not established by ASTM and in some cases bolstered by ISO-9000 certification, or other laboratory certification. This includes Mattel. The only conclussion is that your knowledge of laboratories comes from watching CSI.
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 12:46 PM
Pretty shallow coming from someone who has never done any sort of analytical laboratory work.
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 12:49 PM
I’m no, because I am an Electrical Engineer who worked in A&D for many years…That’s how I know. I lived and breathed this stuff including managing major subcontractors for years.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:50 PM
Calling Gov. Palin, calling Gov. Palin.
Cindy Munford on April 24, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Pretty shallow coming from a person who has no idea who he’s talking to….
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Lame. . .
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Yes, you are…
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 12:56 PM
Wow – pathetic. You have no clue what goes on in an analytical laboratory. Had you known you would not have made such a moronic comment. Claiming you’re an electrical engineer does not change that. You did not live and breath this stuf so you can stop the self-righteous chest thumping.
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 12:57 PM
Right. . . Did you think that one up by yourself or did that come from the A&D department?
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 12:59 PM
What comment is that? That their labs could be far superior to external labs? You’re kidding right? You want to make the case to me that my internal testing labs at Raytheon were inferior to external labs that were generic in nature and not purposefully design to test the things we made despite them meeting the same certifications? You’re kidding right?
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 1:02 PM
A&D is an industry – aerospace and defense, not a department. You’re losing credibility really fast.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 1:04 PM
$10 says Mattel supported CPSIA when it was a bill.
uknowmorethanme on April 24, 2010 at 1:05 PM
What makes you think that any of them up there in Washington or in the business world care much about our children?
Dr. ZhivBlago on April 24, 2010 at 1:11 PM
Democrats hate kids in the womb or otherwise, this is no surprise.
Inanemergencydial on April 24, 2010 at 1:17 PM
The Wall Street “reforms” will work the same way: put all the smaller companies out of business and leave a manageable handful of megacorps, who are in bed with the feds.
logis on April 24, 2010 at 1:28 PM
Which makes you knowledgeable with regards to laboratories because????
You still know nothing regarding analytical laboratory operations and have yet to prove otherwise. I don’t care where you claim you work you made an absolutely moronic and false statement. You have no grounds to claim credibility on the matter period.
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 1:29 PM
Kind of like the Fox Watching The Hen House. Has anyone checked Mattel’s political contributions?
DL13 on April 24, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Other than claiming to be an idiot engineer, what specifically do you know about an analytical laboratory? I really don’t care that you “managed” contractors. Prove that you know what an analytical laboratory does and where they get the methods and standards they use. Otherwise you’re BS. Flying off into A&D territory does not make you credible or knowledgeable.
jdkchem on April 24, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Again, what is the “absolutely moronic and false statement”?
That their internal labs may be superior to external test labs when it comes to testing the products they make? You’ve got to be kidding if that’s what qualifies as a “absolutely moronic and false statement” and it shows you have little real world, high level experience dealing with such matters.
I challenge you to make the case that any large company’s internal labs are inherently inferior to external testing labs when it comes to testing the products they make.
I know of almost no case where an internal lab test results are not accepted by the Government (or other customers) once the lab is certified. Can you provide an example of a case where internal certified labs results are not accepted?
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 1:42 PM
In A&D they were layered.
Overall the manufacturing operations had to be ISO-9000 certified which governed every aspect of operations. Before ISO-9000 there were specific Mil standards that accomplished the same thing.
Then there were specific customer requirements as called for in the contracts (called “shalls” in A&D) for which a comprehensive testing plan had to be created and approved by the customer before being implemented.
Then there were individual lower level specification called Military Standards like MIL-STD-883 which governs these testing of semiconductors. There are similar standards that govern everything from soldering, wiring, PWBs, etc., etc.
And, when sourcing piece parts or major sub-assemblies, all these requirements get pushed onto your vendors and subcontractors. They must certify they are compliant. Their test data is fully accepted as valid. No external test results are required but I guess would be accepted in the external lab was itself certified.
In general, once initial certification is achieved, manufacturers are responsible for maintaining their certification. Except at the largest manufacturers where major integration takes place, there are no resident external (Government) inspectors. Your own certified inspectors are all that is required. Everybody is more or less on the honor system with non-compliance resulting in de-certification and hence prevent you from doing business in the industry until re-certified..
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 2:00 PM
Ed Morrissey wants children to get sick from toys! He cares more about capitalism than keeping kids safe!
/liberals
Kensington on April 24, 2010 at 2:20 PM
.
Yes it is. Companies like Mattel are the best able to comply with these requirements, and are the very ones excused.
But this is how the govt really works. They promise to soak the rich, but they always give them an out and go after the middle class instead.
tom on April 24, 2010 at 2:26 PM
Until that happens, Mattel should comply
tom on April 24, 2010 at 2:32 PM
To sum up this thread…“You’re dopey!” “Well you’re a bigger one!” Adieu.
Mason on April 24, 2010 at 2:34 PM
They are complying. As discussed in the story above from the Washington Examiner, there is a provision in the law that allows them to seek a waiver allowing them to test their products using their own “fire-walled” labs and the waiver was approved. The Government accepts test results from manufacturers in every other industry I know of including life & death ones like A&D. Why would toys be somehow different? Why they deviated from the way they normally regulate an industry is a mystery to me.
TheBigOldDog on April 24, 2010 at 2:39 PM
Simple solution, stop buying Mattel toys.
Stop buying when possible made in China.
China is NOT our friend.
Yet we let them into our homes every day with cheap dangerous products.
Anyone need any cheap Chinese drywall? Baby formula? Dog food? Lead laced toys? How many times do they need to attack us before we stop buying their crap?
SFTech on April 24, 2010 at 2:41 PM
When the Pali’s launch rockets into Israel and Israel fails to respond for years, we think Israel is weak.
Yet China is launching deadly toys into our homes and we do nothing. Just keep shopping at Walmat and Target.
Maybe we’re weak as well.
SFTech on April 24, 2010 at 2:43 PM
Everyday, in a myriad of ways, it is made clear that corporatism is alive and well in America.
Liberals who constantly blame the free market for our economic problems must be very foolish indeed, to not recognize that we don’t and have not had a free market economy in this nation for 3 generations and more. Without a doubt, they ARE very foolish, as they see collusion between corporations and government, and rather than thinking to reduce the size and power of government, to restrict the scope and reach of regulation, taxation, and subsidy to remove the incentive for massive lobbying and collusion, rather they seek to empower the government further. They somehow, against all evidence, view all politicians and bureaucrats as selfless public servants, immune to lobbying dollars, promises of future jobs, or even mere flattery. They somehow think that the greater the economic benefits for corporations to be in bed with government, the less they will do so.
It’s sad, really.
Inkblots on April 24, 2010 at 2:47 PM
I suppose I shouldn’t even try to compete with the self-proclaimed experts here, but y’all are ridiculous. I’ve worked with the CPSIA for the past two years, so here’s my informed-for-my-area input:
Yes, the law requires 3rd party testing, yes it is completely ridiculous, and yes it needs to be fixed. A lot of Republicans screwed up big time and ought to have to acknowledge they will try to fix it or suffer some consequences.
Yes, they did. This is where politics comes in, and it is exactly what Palin was talking about. The public was outraged over lead in toys and the Dems were whipping up the sentiment as a political tactic. People were angry at big business (Mattel) for importing unsafe toys from China and at government for failing to prevent it. The GOP yet again found it necessary to do Something to fix the problem, and the statist GOP at the time predictably went with a regulatory Something. (Temporarily banning imports of Chinese toys would have been a lot more effective and would have hurt Mattel a lot more than the little guy, btw.)
But the statist, establishment GOP didn’t want to hurt their buddies at Mattel and figured Mattel would know best anyway what regulations were needed. So they let them write the legislation. Happens all the time. No one consulted the little guys, or at least they never actually read the comments those little guys made in the notice-and-comment period. (I have.)
The legislation is ridiculously onerous for small and medium sized businesses. It hurts Mattel much less because they are big enough to absorb the cost and spread it out over many many more products. Even though I think the in-house labs are fine from a toy-safety standpoint, it gives them a competitive advantage because little guys don’t have in-house labs. The whole law is one big barrier to entry in the name of “safety”, and Mattel gamed the process under the circumstances. Mattel is neither completely innocent nor completely guilty.
The GOP needs to clean out its statist Establishment element. Let them all go be democrats, who cares. Let the Dems be the party of Big Government and Big Business and the GOP be the party of the people, and see which party wins in 2010 and 2012.
alwaysfiredup on April 24, 2010 at 3:07 PM
Mattel lobbied for a law regulating their industry, with a provision excluding themselves from the onerous requirement of 3rd party certification.
Still seems like a perfect case of crony capitalism. Corporations asking for laws on others that exempt themselves.
tom on April 24, 2010 at 3:16 PM
Agreed.
But – Not everyone knows how to correctly do business with China, few people are aware of the practice of testing “sample quality” samples, and chain of custody is typical the weakest link in validating tests.
If Mattel had to endure the rigors of testing similar to Underwriters Laboratories then they would not be able to ever blame accidental lead on the Chinese.
ericdijon on April 24, 2010 at 3:21 PM
Very apt summary. Big corporations are becoming adept at using the govt to finagle a competitve advantage. Republicans, in avoiding the obvious evils of socialism, can wind up promoting big businesses at the expense of their smaller competitors. [You see this, for example, in the almost knee-jerk defense of Microsoft.] Meanwhile, Democrats, in spite of rhetoric, will exempt big corporations for whatever reason. [Because that's where the money is?] Which, ironically, leaves the care and sheltering of big corporations one thing that always has bipartisan support.
tom on April 24, 2010 at 3:37 PM
Can I be responsible for auditing my own taxes if I’m a CPA? I promise to be impartial……
Joy on April 24, 2010 at 7:12 PM
Soetoro has kids – why doesn’t he want to protect all children? So shameful. So typical.
BHO Jonestown on April 24, 2010 at 8:59 PM
Focusing on whether Mattell should be allowed to do its own testing obscures the real horror of this bill. The standards for lead are absurdly strict.
The go-to site for the CPSIA is overlawyered.com.
For example it mandates destroying any children’s book printed before 1985, because some toddler might lick the book enough to get lead poisoning. There is not by a wide margin enough lead in printing ink to poison anybody even if they eat the book. No child has ever been lead-poisoned by a book. Yet irreplaceable books are to be destroyed. Most books are not reprinted, so these are gone. You cannot sell them, or even keep them in your home, even if you have no children! You must destroy them. Libraries and used-book stores and thrift stores have been throwing children’s books in the trash for the past year. If this doesn’t give you chills, read Farenheit 451 again.
Many used toys and children’s clothes which might have lead in them cannot be sold now. This includes yard sales, eBay, church charity bazaars, thrift stores. It includes items like dirtbikes. As for new items: women sewing onesies with cute designs on their kitchen tables or guys making wooden toys in their basements, and selling them on esty.com or eBay, are now mandated to jump through ridiculous hoops to ensure their products are not only lead-free, but don’t contain all sort of materials which never harmed anyone. (link has lots of other links in one place)
Will it be enforced? Who knows? Is it written clearly and easy to understand? No. Does the CPSC continue to change its mind on what the law means? Yes. IOW It’s one more law which makes most of us criminals for doing something innocuous, and which wrecks thousands of small businesses.
(I am not in any othese industries, but I read about the book-burning aspect and got enraged, and found out more.)
Yes, most of the GOPers voted for this monstrosity. When politicians say “You mean you favor lead in children’s toys?” other politicians fall in line.
YehuditTX on April 24, 2010 at 9:22 PM
Another great site for keeping track of all the details of this bill. It is very like Obamacare in that as you read it you find more and more horrifying stuff hidden in it.
YehuditTX on April 24, 2010 at 10:02 PM
Something funny going on with the internet. All around the 570 area code the internet has been acting funny all week long. I kept calling Verizon and they kept saying everything was fine. Many people in my area were having problems off and on, but not everybody, that is what was weird. Even mentioned it on my facebook and at work and so forth. Could get on the internet for 10 minutes, then get kicked off for an hour or more. This has been going on all week. Many friends are having gthe same problems, yet lots of others are not yet we are all in the same area. It’s strange to say the least. Verizon only today admitted there was a problem but it’s still not fixed. Usually if there is a problem they have it fixed in a few hours.
JellyToast on April 24, 2010 at 10:08 PM
Speaking of lead paint, we can thank the EPA because it’s about to become very very expensive to renovate old houses. Inquiring minds want to know if this will put the kibosh on some of Obama’s gazillion dollar window caulking projects performed by his army of paid “volunteers”.
Buy Danish on April 25, 2010 at 8:21 AM
Bang on Ed! Crony capitalism at its finest.
Speaking of crap out of China… Check this article out:
New report stresses safety risks to Americans from Chinese-made pharmaceutical ingredients.
U.S. is number one destination for Chinese raw pharmaceutical products. Safety risks are due to the fact that China doesn’t really regulate the industry much (what do you expect from a totalitarian regime? care and concern for the regular folks??) and the FDA can’t keep up on our side.
Geofizz on April 25, 2010 at 2:33 PM
How hard is it to just not buy anything that comes from China? My family makes a habit of that. Who really needs any of the cheap plastic crap that is made there with no regard for safety? That’s why the label says where the thing is made.
tcn on April 25, 2010 at 4:41 PM
It’s not about safety, it’s about control.
- The Cat
Actually that’s true of most things now; toys, health care, emissions, what light bulb you buy.
It’s not about X, it’s about control.
MirCat on April 25, 2010 at 7:38 PM