Re: Toy Recalls

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that the California Attorney General and Los Angeles city attorney have filed a lawsuit today against 20 toy makers, accusing them of selling products that contain "unlawful quantities of lead." The Attorney General said that he expects the companies to settle the suit by agreeing to "conditions such as testing or putting independent monitors in foreign countries."

See: http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-lead19nov19,1,789054....

Way to go California! This is long overdue. The federal government should have stepped up and done something like this a long time ago. Hopefully whatever settlement is reached in the suit will be strong enough to truly ensure that our kids' toys will be safe and not just give us a false sense of security.

So, this is a good start, but let's hope that the pressure on industry doesn't stop with toys and lead. All products should be made in an environmentally sustainably way, made in an ethical way (i.e., under safe working conditions, outside of sweatshops, etc.), and be thoroughly tested for safety.

Much of U.S. manufacturing has been sent overseas, and it isn't just because labor is cheaper there. Companies can make things in other countries without having to follow U.S. environmental and labor laws. Goods imported into the States must (in theory) meet certain safety standards, but there is no general requirement for U.S. manufacturers doing business, e.g., in China to make sure that their Chinese factories are complying with U.S. laws. Naturally, you're going to be able to make goods for less if you can use sweatshop labor, buy cheap electricity from coal plants with no emissions control equipment, and dump toxic waste pretty much anywhere you want. If everything sold in the U.S. had to be made in accordance with U.S. laws, the cost advantage of producing things in third world countries and shipping them thousands of miles would quickly disappear, and more things would be manufactured close to home.