Disney unveils its own testing system to examine toys' quality

The ongoing controversies over China-made poor quality products have apparently deepened as the toy manufacturers and even licensors are now planning to begin testing of all their toys and products.

In recent months, there have been overwhelming concerns globally regarding the presence of hazardous levels of lead in toys and other children-related items manufactured in China.

Concerns over safety of China-made products intensified all over the world after several other products from the country, including pet food contaminated with melamine and toothpaste contaminated with DEG as well as several other toys, including bracelets, charms and army toy sets, were found hazardous to health.

Chinese products have been under fire in the US and other parts of the world since April this year. Concerns reached their extreme heights when Cheung Shu-hung, the head of Hong Kong-based Lee Der Industrial Co. whose lead-tainted Sesame Street toys were the center of a massive U.S. recall earlier last month, killed himself on Aug. 11 at his factory's warehouse in China's southern Guangdong province.

Fisher-Price Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel Inc., in association with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission in July had issued a voluntary worldwide recall of several popular brands of China-made toys in the United States because the products' surfaces were covered in lead paint. The agency and the toy company believed these toys’ paint contained excessive amounts of lead, which could be harmful for children’s health if taken in by them.

Last month, Mattel announced a second big recall of Chinese-made toys. This time the toys were recalled for suspected problems with lead paint and magnets that could be harmful to children if swallowed.

In June, another toy company RC2 Corp announced recall of around 1.5 million China-made Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys due to same concerns.

Acting cautiously, the US entertainment giant, Walt Disney Co. announced Monday that it would soon launch its own testing system to handle the quality-control issues for toys featuring Disney characters.

Disney’s recent plan that includes random testing of products already on store shelves, symbolizes an unusual shift in the toy industry as it is coming from a company which is a licensor and not directly involved in toy manufacturing.

Companies, generally, license their characters to toy makers, deposit their royalty checks and leave quality control up to the manufacturers, who remain legally liable for harm caused by the toys they make.

The move not only reassures the public that companies are much concerned about the safety-issues related to the children’s products, even shows how often marketers are becoming concerned that their brands will be affected in the long run if they do not come to the fore to handle the issues.

According to an online edition of the New York Times report, Disney officials made the decision to institute the testing last week, and Mattel and other toy makers would be notified today about the plan by Disney.

"It sends the message that we are looking over their shoulders," the report quoted Andy Mooney, the chairman of Disney's consumer products division, as saying.

Also, Toys “R” Us Inc., the leading U.S. toy-store chain that late last month issued a voluntary worldwide recall of Imaginarium Wooden Coloring Cases made in China because ink on the wooden cases contains lead, has notified toy manufacturers about its plan to hold independent lab testing, apparently dissatisfied with their ongoing tests.

For the purpose, Toys "R" Us, one of the world's largest toy retailers, has hired engineers who will regularly visit random Toys 'R' Us stores and test branded toys at independent labs.

"I have to be able to put my head on the pillow and say 'I've done everything I can,' " media reports quoted Ron Boire, president of Toys "R" Us, as saying.