As China’s share of the U.S. toy market has grown, so have the number of “made-in-China” toys that have had to have been recalled for safety hazards.
From the New York Times:
China manufactured every one of the 24 kinds of toys recalled for safety reasons in the United States so far this year, including the enormously popular Thomas & Friends wooden train sets, a record that is causing alarm among consumer advocates, parents and regulators.The latest recall, announced last week, involves 1.5 million Thomas & Friends trains and rail components ” about 4 percent of all those sold in the United States over the last two years by RC2 Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill. The toys were coated at a factory in China with lead paint, which can damage brain cells, especially in children. [Full Text]
