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Mattel Recalls More Chinese-Made Toys

'Go Diego Go' toy contains too much lead paint

October 25, 2007
Toy maker Mattel, Inc. is recalling another batch of Chinese-made toys. In conjunction with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the company said it is recalling 38,000 Fisher-Price Go Diego Go toys because they – like millions of other previously recalled toys – contain too much lead paint.

The company says the problem areas on the toys are two painted logos. The toys were sold at retail after June 2007 in the U.S., the U.K., the Republic of Ireland and Canada. Toys sold before this date are not affected, the company said.

There are 38,000 affected toys in the U.S., 12,000 in the U.K and the Republic of Ireland and 5,500 in Canada. No other countries are affected. Mattel says the excessive lead was detected by its own, independent testing, put in place after earlier recalls.

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"Mattel has now tested samples of the vast majority of products expected to ship for the holiday season, including those produced before the implementation of our three-point check testing system," said Geoff Massingberd, senior vice president of the company's newly-created Corporate Responsibility organization.

"This testing program continues and all toys manufactured since the adoption of the new system have been, and continue to be, sampled and tested prior to leaving the manufacturing facility."

Mattel said it sourced a piece of the product for molding and painting to Man Shing, a facility which then subcontracted the painting to Hua Yi, which used unauthorized paint. The toys were produced between May 17, 2007, and August 11, 2007.

Although recalls of relatively expensive toys made by Mattel and other major American companies have lately received wide press coverage, there are hundreds of toy recalls every year, many of them involving less expensive toys sold at discount and dollar stores. These recalls are largely ignored by the mainstream media.

Other recalls announced today included:

• Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats
• Dollar Tree Children's Jewelry
• WeGlow Shrek, Spiderman Metal Jewelry
• Family Dollar Stores Halloween Pails
• Football Bobble Head Cake Decorations
• Jo-Ann Stores 'Robbie Ducky' Toy Garden Tools

A comprehensive list of product recalls beginning with 1999 can be found in the ConsumerAffairs.com recall section.

What to do

Mattel issued this advice to parents:

The first step is for consumers to determine if they have the recalled toy. To do so, they can visit www.service.mattel.com where they will find a complete description of the toy recalled, including a color photo, toy model number and affected date codes.

Consumers can locate model number and date code on the bottom of the toy. For consumers without a computer, or for those who prefer phone support, they may call 888-299-0579.

Once consumers determine that they think they own the Mattel toy affected by the recall, they are prompted to fill out a form (online) or provide their postal address (via phone), and Mattel will send to consumers (via email or to a postal address) a pre-paid mailing label for return of the affected boat.

After receiving consumers' returned, affected boat, Mattel will send consumers full replacement product for each affected boat.

Mattel recommends that consumers do not return toys to retailers. The company said it is best equipped to determine which toys are affected and can provide the proper replacement parts. Also, customers do not need the receipt or original packaging to return the product to Mattel.

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