When Robert Baden-Powell, founder of the Boy Scout movement, adopted the motto "Be prepared", it is unlikely he had in mind the threat posed to the outward bound movement by lax Chinese manufacturing standards.
But scouts in the US were on Friday asked to make ready to send back as many as 1.5m Chinese-made badges tainted with potentially dangerous levels of lead paint.
The badges, known as "totems", are typically given to seven- or eight-year-olds in their second year of scouting for tasks such as learning the scouts' oath.
After reading this it just fits in with every thing that we have talked about on this forum for the last year about the Chinese and there
cheap goods
makeing barcelona chairs for American Companies is one thing but when you start fooling with the safety of the young child , that is when we all need to stand up a take a look,
The Chinese have a different standard of thinking than we do
they treat their works crappy they
cut corners, but when you slay the golden goose, you might just have to eat cold duck. and that is what they deserve.
It's a shame when manufacture...
It's a shame when manufacturers sacrifice safety for profits -- especially the safety of young people. But I think we need to be careful about making a blanket statement that the Chinese are to blame.
Let's point fingers to the handful of deceptive business people, who turn a blind eye to safety (not unlike the American cigarette or automotive industries).
But let's not blame the 1.3 billion men, women, and children in China.
But let's not blame the 1.3 b...
But let's not blame the 1.3 billion men, women, and children in China.
o.k.
I think the people who read this forum on a regular bases know what I am saying
.I don't think anyone here is blaming 1.3 billion people for the actions of a few greedy people.
Just like you can not blame every German person and the nation for what Hitler did .....
The only thing I want to make perfectly clear is you can not turn a deaf ear or close one eye for what the Chineses are doing and that government, administration, dictatorship,warlords,Prime Minister, Premeriers,or Chairman are doing that and it is hurting not just children it is hurting all of us.
I'm with LRF!
Check this out, poor Thomas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/business/15recall.html?_r=1&em&ex=1183...
every society gets the China...
every society gets the China it deserves 🙂
If it wasn't for our millions wallowing in cheap shite and wanting more more MORE this wouldn't be happening, I'm afraid all those boy scout mums and dads are gonna have to cough up a bit extra, you get what you pay for afterall.
THE CREED OF A WISE...
THE CREED OF A WISE BUYER
"It?s unwise to pay too much,
But it?s worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much, you
lose a little money - that?s all.
When you pay too little, you
sometimes lose everything,
Because the thing you bought
was incapable of doing the job
you bought it to do.
The common law of business
balance prohibits paying a
little and getting a lot;
it can?t be done.
If you deal with the lowest
bidder, it?s well to add
something for the risk you run,
and if you do that you will have
enough to pay for something
better."
John Ruskin, (1819-1900 )
To Play Devil's Advocate..
Just for a moment ..
A Chinese factory owner took his own life because of the actions of Mattel..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7006599.stm
Dear robert1960
It is hardly playing the devil's advocate to draw attention to the so called Mattel apology. On the contrary, it shows how powerful the Chinese manufacturing industry. There is, I think, no doubt about the fact that Mattel did not specify that the paints used in their toys should hold a significant quantity of lead. At worst they expected that the exclusion of lead was a given.
It is rather easy for the Chinese gouvernment to force Mattel on their knees and apologize just by telling them that otherwise they risk to loose the 75% of Mattel's products that are made in China. Mattel is in no position to do that. Of course they could turn to other countries to supply them, but it would not give them access to tooling that is already paid for and it would not stop the Chinese supplier to sell directly to the toy market. Toys"R"us would certainly welcome that kind of opportunity...So, the report on Mattel's apology is just another argument in a long series of reasons not to become too dependant on cheap products from China. I am not pleading for a boycot of chinese goods, on the contrary, but the low cost comes at a price. The low costs are the result of turning large parts of the chinese labor force into prisoner or slave-like conditions. They are also the result of a almost undescribable pollution and a hunger for energy that is going to put nuclear facilities in every corner of China. ("Artificial Landscapes" is a documentary movie worth every minut of it)...and all in the name of giving us access to too many products...
That said
That said, surely it is the responsibility of the companies using Chinese manufacturing to test the rpoducts coming out of there before they reach the market ?
It seems unbelieveable to me that toys reach children before anyone in the US (or anywhere else) has tested the lead content of said toys!
Everyone must take responsibility, not just the Chinese manufacturers (not the Chinese race!)
quality control
I thought it was interesting that China has a thriving "quality control" business. These third parties are apparantly widely used to ensure that products made in China for export meet the standards of the country exported to. Mattell did not use a service like this, no doubt for cost.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6979151.stm
I agree...
That quality control is a shared responsability, but having worked for a long time with chinese suppliers, I know how difficult it is not to get entangled in the web of corruption and bribes. The spokesperson in the quoted article might speak for a reliable quality lab. but there are many that are either not capable or willing to resist bribes from manufacturers or pressure from local gouvernments.
Yes,, but
But let's not blame the 1.3 billion men, women, and children in China.
================
America's currently being judge worldwide by the stupid stuff our President's doing (War, etc.), so making a statement about China based on the "powers that be" is not ridiculous, really.
The bottom line is that while China remains a communist country without personal freedom, they've become the manufacturing capitol of the planet. Enough of these factories have no concern about safe products, that I think it's OK for them to "take their lumps".
...and that brings up a very valid issue; if we buy China made knockoffs, no matter how good the quality might be, how can we be sure that the the item is safe to use and be around? How do we know if the paint is not lead-laden?
It's a cinch that Knoll or Herman Miller make their products with materials that are carefully pre-tested for end-user safety.
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