Chinese Toy Recall- the PR Push Begins!

We have all heard the horrific stories concerning the safety of the toy products sold that were imported from China. From dangerous levels of lead paint to date rape drug coated toys, the news has not been good.

It appears, however, that both the toy manufacturers and the government of China are hitting back hard to dispel any fears about product safety. ABC News published a 'news' story yesterday entitled The Myths and Misconceptions of Chinese Toys, which sought to dispel any fears about the products coming from China.

It has been a long, hot summer and a difficult autumn for the toy industry, with an incredible amount of media coverage and political interest -- on both sides of the Pacific -- in the product design and quality issues that have become apparent. As we enter into the 2007 holiday season, I thought this would be a good opportunity to provide some perspective on all this from the standpoint of someone who cares deeply about the toy industry and who has been a part of it all his life.

There have been a number of product recalls, for a variety of reasons, and because of them, both the U.S. toy industry and our Chinese suppliers have taken it on the chin. Some of this is deserved, but a lot is not. As inevitably happens with issues involving our children and their health and safety, a lot of mistaken information has been passed around and blown up beyond all recognition.

The piece, incidentally, was written by Alan Hassenfeld. And who is he? According to his bio on Forbes:

Alan Hassenfeld has served as a Director since December 2003. Mr. Hassenfeld has been Chairman of Hasbro since May 2003 and from 1989 until May 2003 was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hasbro, Inc., a provider of children's and family entertainment products. Mr. Hassenfeld is a trustee of the Hasbro Charitable Trust and Hasbro Children's Foundation. Mr. Hassenfeld also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the salesforce.com/foundation and other not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Hassenfeld received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.

You see, according to this ABC 'News' piece, written by the Hasbro Chairman, it was all just an unfortunate misunderstanding that was fueled by misinformation. The real victims? The toy manufacturers and, of course, China. Uh-Huh!

Not to be outdone, this PR video has popped up on YouTube. The video, produced in China, purports to show how vigilant the Chinese are when it comes to product safety. Take a look...