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Re-activateThe Consumer Product Safety Commission has agreed to let toy giant Mattel oversee some of its own product-testing rather than depending on independent labs to screen the company's products for lead paint and dangerous small parts.
Mattel is the first company to take advantage of the CPSC's authority to accredit so-called "firewalled laboratories" under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, according to agency spokesman Scott Wolfson. And we hope "take advantage of" is not the operative phrase here.
Mattel doesn't exactly have a clean track record when it comes to recalls. Since 2007, the toymaker has recalled 12.7 million toys with dangerous small parts (mostly magnets) or tainted with lead. And in June the company agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for the importation of millions of lead-laden toys from China, the third largest fine ever imposed by the CPSC.
Still, the safety agency has agreed to accept results from seven of the company's testing labs including overseas facilities in Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China, where most of the recalled products were made. Under the agreement, Mattel must demonstrate that test results from its labs are protected from undue influence by the manufacturer, labeler, or other interested party. It must also allow on-site inspections by the CPSC.
Our take: We find this all a bit ironic. The CPSIA was signed into law a year ago in response to a wave of toy recalls—Mattel's included—due to high levels of lead and other hazards. Mattel pushed hard for the firewalled lab provision in the CPSIA. But we are concerned that this is just another example of the fox guarding the hen house.
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