If you are interested in buying wholesale and drop shipping from China, you’ve undoubtedly felt some concern regarding the large number of recalls and advisories recently in the news. In that case, the following information may be of interest to you.
Mattel Apologizes to China Over Recalls
By ALEXA OLESEN, The Associated Press (21 September 2007)
BEIJING — U.S.-based toy giant Mattel Inc. issued an extraordinary apology to China on Friday over the recall of Chinese-made toys, taking the blame for design flaws and saying it had recalled more lead-tainted toys than justified.
The gesture by Thomas A. Debrowski, Mattel’s executive vice president for worldwide operations, came in a meeting with Chinese product safety chief Li Changjiang, at which Li upbraided the company for maintaining weak safety controls.”
Our reputation has been damaged lately by these recalls,” Debrowski told Li in a meeting at Li’s office at which reporters were allowed to be present.”
And Mattel takes full responsibility for these recalls and apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys,” Debrowski said.
Mattel ordered three high-profile recalls this summer involving more than 21 million Chinese-made toys, including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.
The recalls have prompted complaints from China that manufacturers were being blamed for design faults introduced by Mattel.
On Friday, Debrowski acknowledged that “vast majority of those products that were recalled were the result of a design flaw in Mattel’s design, not through a manufacturing flaw in China’s manufacturers.”
[Read more]
The Real Risks of Chinese Product Recalls
Peter J. Williamson, Harvard Business Online’s Conversation Starter (2 July 2007)
Peter J. Williamson is a professor of International Strategy and Asian Business at INSEAD and coauthor of Dragons at Your Door: How Chinese Cost Innovation Is Disrupting Global Competition
First is the call for a rethink of China sourcing strategies. It’s certainly true that in the “Wild East” capitalism of today’s China there are cowboys who are willing to cut corners and risk safety for a quick buck. But the outcry is disproportionate. It has more to do with growing concerns about China’s rise as an economic power and the massive US trade deficit than the reality on the ground. Thousands of companies reliably source products from China; they span the gamut from Apple’s iPod, through port equipment, to Nike athletic shoes. These companies have learned that separating the cowboys from reliable suppliers in China means developing an experienced team on the ground to monitor quality and adherence to standards. Those who sit back in New Jersey or Illinois and simply issue purchase orders are bound to attract the unscrupulous fringe of Chinese business.
Others are too quick to generalize from a few cases of Chinese product recalls to condemn hundreds of thousands of Chinese companies who deliver quality products reliably every day. No one suggested the Japanese electronics industry had abandoned their quality standards when laptop batteries manufactured by the venerable Sony caught fire and had to be recalled. Did the headlines write off France as a supplier when Michelin recalled its “Pilot” front motorcycle tires with the “Made in France” markings this June? Did we stop buying Ford vehicles when the company recalled a staggering 527,000 Escape SUVs made in Kansas City and Avon Lake, Ohio, because of concerns that faulty seals in the vehicles’ antilock braking systems? While it’s true that we may have already had built-in comfort levels with these companies — and with products from their home countries generally — we still need to resist the urge to damn all Chinese manufacturers for the faults of a few.
Thus, the first lesson here: Don’t panic over a few high-profile blunders by Chinese sourcing partners — as damaging as they may have been. With smart management, there remains enormous opportunity for profitable relationships.
The second danger in the reaction to the latest recalls of Chinese products is that managers will give in to the myth that all Chinese competitors are simply low quality, low price. The lesson here is simple: don’t allow such a delusion to cloud your thinking. If you do, you are likely to miss the fact that the best Chinese companies, such as Lenovo, Huawei, Haier, along with many others, are using cost innovation to rewrite the rules of the global competitive game. The very real risk to American business is that management will not see China’s emerging dragons coming with high technology at low cost, variety at low cost, and specialty products at mass market prices until it’s too late.
Related articles and references:
- Mattel apologises to China for toy recalls
Ben Blanchard, Reuters UK (21 Sep 2007)
- 1 million Chinese-made cribs recalled
Reuters (21 Sep 2007)
- Roots plants the flag in China
Geoffrey York, Globe and Mail (21 Sep 2007)
- “Made in China” still a sure bet at home
Joseph Chaney and Samuel Shen - Analysis, Reuters UK (6 Sep 2007)
- Recalls aside, U.S. parents will buy toys: analysts
Brad Dorfman, Reuters (5 Sep 2007)
- Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China - 2000
(Adopted by the 30th Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People’s Congress on February 22, 1993, and amended in accordance with the Decision of the 16th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People’s Congress on Revising the Product Quality Law of the People’s Republic of China on July 8, 2000)
Lehman, Lee & Xu LLP, China Knowledge, International Perspective
- Consumer Product Safety - Main Page
Health Canada. Health Canada helps protect the Canadian public by researching, assessing and collaborating in the management of the health risks and safety hazards associated with the many consumer products, including pest management products, that Canadians use everyday.
- CPSC Recall Announcements and Product Safety Alerts
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products. You can find information on over 4,000 product recalls and recall alerts using the various searches on this page.
BUYER PROTECTION
We promote three companies that act as middlemen between international buyers and suppliers in China. Each of these companies has measures in place (a) to ensure product quality and (b) to protect buyers against fraud. The links below will take you to our reviews.
- DHgate, in Beijing, is a comprehensive business-to-business trade solution that offers one-stop trade services to international buyers interested in purchasing directly from China. DHgate.com is neither a trading company nor a seller, but an online business platform where you can purchase directly from China. DHgate reduces the potential risk of fraud by acting as a third party that holds payment in escrow and disburses funds on the buyer’s behalf. Shipped merchandise is tracked and delivery is verified. Once the buyer receives the package, inspects and approves the content, the buyer authorizes DHgate to release payment to the seller. In the event of a dispute, DHgate mediates to resolve the issue.
- Chinavasion, located in the Nanshan District, Shenzhen, China, provides a 12-month warranty on all products. All factories that supply Chinavasion with products have been evaluated by Chinavasion for consistent high quality and sufficient stock to supply small, medium, and large order quantities. All orders are carefully inspected before shipping. Payment is accepted via Paypal or by Bank Transfer only, in U.S. dollars. All business is conducted in English. Orders are shipped directly by courier to any address, worldwide. Drop-shipping is available on all orders, and there is no minimum order quantity.
- Worldwide, Global Sources has 61 content management offices and 635,336 active members. The company provides sourcing information to volume buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for 36 years. In mainland China it has over 1,700 team members in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million registered online users and magazine readers for Chinese-language media. The company provides thoroughly researched China Sourcing - 156 comprehensive industry-specific reports which contain verified China manufacturing profiles, product and pricing forecasts for top selling products, supply centers and market trends (including capacity, output and R&D). Global Sources Direct is a service offered by Global Sources Ltd. (NASDAQ: GSOL) and Trade Sources Inc., enabling companies of all sizes buy products at low factory prices from original manufacturers in China. Products range from consumer electronics and general merchandise, to premiums and DIY products, and small lot orders are welcome. “We are careful to only sell products that are in compliance with general power, safety, and other standards. General certifications are always listed in our product profiles if available. We do not sell products that are counterfeits or have questionable trademark, copyright or design issues.”
Is this ad some kind of trick?
