Mattel Toy Recall

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Case #3 Mattel Toy Recall FACTS AND SUMMARY In August of 2007, Mattel – the largest toy producer in the US – recalled 4.4 million toy models, 2.5 million of which were sold in the US. The cause of the recall was attributed to high levels of lead-based paint used on the surface of the models. The discovery was made in early July by one of Mattel’s European retailers, but it wasn’t until a month later that Mattel was able to identify the vendor responsible for the dangerous toys. According to a statement issued by Mattel’s CEO, Robert Eckert, the vendor in question was “a plant with whom we’ve worked for 15 years; this isn’t somebody that just started making toys for us”. In an interview, Eckert further stated that the vendor “understood our regulations, our program and something went wrong. That hurts.” After the global recall was announced, the Chinese vendor’s lead executive, Zhang Shuhong, committed suicide. The outrage to Mattel’s recall stemmed from two issues: the actual instance of a poison being used in the manufacture of toddlers’ and children’s toys and that it took officials an entire month to make the announcement to the public. The Consumer Product Safety Commission requires all claims of potentially hazardous product defects to be submitted within 24 hours. In regard to this delayed notification, Mattel had actually been fined twice for what was described as withholding information regarding problems that “created an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death”. This has resulted in the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s investigating Mattel’s reporting practices. Eckert has responded by stating that Mattel discloses problems on its own timetable due to a belief that the regulatory requirements are “unreasonable”. Additionally, Mattel noted that the lead paint recall was caused by the vendors, who did not follow the requirements as specified by the

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