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Blame Game: China Suggests That Mattel Is 85% At Fault
By Paul Midler | November 6, 2007
Chinese toy manufacturers are now looking to sue Mattel for damage done to the industry’s reputation. Should be loads of fun, but what struck me most was the perceived justification and emphasis on “percentages”:
Mattel recalled more than 21 million China-made toys from the market…but an investigation later showed 85% of the products were recalled because of design flaws.
Toy suppliers were only 15% at fault, you see. The balance of the blame is Mattel’s - and, therefore, Mattel owes something. Has no one thought to point out the difference between “on purpose” and “accident”. Design flaws are unintentional by nature. The use of lead-based paint, though, was a decision made by someone looking to widen profit margins on the China side.
Another percentage keeps coming up - this idea that 99% of China products are safe. The food industry had made the claim regarding its products for export, and just a couple of days ago Guangdong Province’s safety director also said that 99% of the province’s exports are safe. It is not a comforting statistic.
How many would get into a car knowing that they stood a one out of 100 chance of getting into a into a wreck? Or what if one out of 100 restaurant meals were contaminated? How much safety is enough - and when will China assure us of those higher levels? We hope officials won’t be so distracted by lawsuits that they can’t address the issue of improved safety.
Topics: China |
November 6th, 2007 at 3:30 am
[…] Paul Midler comments on the absurdity of the claim that the manufacturers are only 15% at fault and that Mattel should provide compensation since it was responsible for 85% of the fault. […]
November 6th, 2007 at 5:44 am
China Hearsay: “The question is whether the design flaws should have been caught by Mattel.”
Design flaws introduced by the company in the United States could have been caught by the supplier. I have often worked with a factory that says upon receiving specs “sorry, there’s a problem here”.
November 6th, 2007 at 6:11 am
Lida Plastic (at center of big Mattel recall) is supporting the lawsuit. Its boss reportedly committed suicide. Would that have been Mattel’s fault?