Critically analyse the reasons discussed in the case for recall of Chinese toys and other products.

In Dec 2006, warning issued by CPSC in USA regarding some Chinese toys. Reasons include: High lead content Battery leakage Inflammable parts Some products could be easily separated, and held the risk of choking among children Several retail outlets in US issued warnings and recalled Chinese products In Feb 2007, CPSC and Hasbro recalled 985,000 China-made Easy bake ovens. The reasons were: Door of the toy oven could trap childrens fingers and cause burns In June 2007, 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden toys were recalled. The reasons were: Surface paint contained high content of lead Under US regulations, childrens products containing more than .06% of lead were subject to recalls In July 2007, CPSC and Hasbro again recalled about 1 million ovens citing the same reasons Along with it, more instances of burn were cited. They were: 249 fresh cases of children getting their hands caught in ovens and getting burnt 77 cases of burn Out of these, 16 cases of second and third degree burns One report of a 5 year old girl suffering from a serious burn that required amputating her fingers In Aug 2007, Mattel twice recalled toys (1 million) owing to higher than permissible levels of lead IN Sept 2007, again recalled 844,000 toys for the same reason. What effects these had on exports of China in general? The successive recalls seemed to have seriously eroded the confidence of US companies in Chinabased manufacturers. The possible long-term impact on its reputation, however, was only one of the many issues confronting the toy industry in China. In 2007, the EU, the second largest export market for the Chinese toy industry, introduced new environmental safety rules including those that banned the sale of toys containing over 1% of phthalate and five other chemicals. As phthalates were widely used in the manufacture of plastic toys in China, the new rules were expected to significantly impact the Chinese toy industry. The Chinese government operates an extensive inspection and export control regime for toys, including export licensing, manufacturer auditing and classification, first item registration, video

surveillance, batch testing and training. In response to the recalls, towards the end of 2007 it strengthened the controls for toys, with the auditing of a large number of manufacturers and revoking the export license of 764 companies. Considering the recall of Chinese toys, suggest some safety measures that exporters should adopt while selling their products in global markets. One of the most important conclusions that can be drawn from the research is that product safety cannot be guaranteed only by final product testing, but that it has to be embedded in the entire product development and production process. Adopting and maintaining a strong quality and safety culture was found to be a critical element in ensuring continuous attention to product safety issues. OEMs should engage in education and training of all relevant stakeholders such as market surveillance and customs authorities, Chinese government and industry representatives, and other, especially smaller, economic operators, to share their expertise and best practices. Retailers should engage in education and training of internal buyers and external suppliers of toys regarding the applicable rules in the EU (i.e. legislation, standards and guidance) and adopt measures to require suppliers to have adequate safety systems in place as a condition of business. Traders should ensure knowledge of the applicable rules (i.e. legislation, standards and guidance) in the EU and guarantee that the products they place on the market respect the applicable safety requirements. Manufacturers should ensure the existence of a strong quality attitude and management system, including knowledge of the applicable rules in the EU, and guarantee adherence to relevant procedures. Chinese enforcement authorities should continue to strengthen the supervision efforts vis--vis the Chinese toy industry, especially focusing on the weaker manufacturers, and engage actively in the exchange of information about the applicable EU product safety framework and the specific toy legislation, standards and guidelines. Testing organisations should improve their coordination (both internal and external) regarding standardisation developments and interpretation issues and engage in training activities towards relevant stakeholders. Notified bodies should ensure they are qualified to undertake the specific tasks for which they are assigned. All economic operators should ensure the traceability of products and components in the supply chain, for example through better inventory and supplier management, and improved product identification. All stakeholders should ensure correct and easily-accessible safety information is widely available, in particular for consumers, for example by developing guidelines on how to inform them about safety aspects of the toys they buy at point of sale, including through the internet.

 EU enforcement authorities should undertake regular, risk-based surveillance projects focused on toys and target the surveillance activities more effectively towards the identified problem areas in the supply chain (i.e. smaller traders). EU enforcement authorities should improve and harmonise the assignment and monitoring processes of notified bodies among the Member States and undertake regular audits of such organisations (including of their overseas branches) to ensure necessary expertise and quality is maintained. Policymakers should investigate the options for further harmonisation of toys standards at international level, taking into account the different underlying legislative frameworks.