Unleaded Toys
After discovering our son's painted wooden blocks were manufacturered in China, I sent an email to Melissa & Doug inquiring about their testing policies.
Their response was:
"It's quite possible to make great quality children's items in China, which meet all safety regulations, but the key point is that you have to test and inspect very frequently to be sure that your factories are always following your instructions explicitly. I assure you that's exactly what we do.From our experience, the key to doing this correctly is not simply to insist that your factories follow your instructions, but then to go one step further and to AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST very frequently. That is the most important part of the process, and it's something our company has always taken VERY seriously."
This was reassuring, assuming that the company was conducting the tests themselves, and not relying on the manufacturers saying things were tested.
A recent article in the WSJ, Prof. M. Eric Johnson of Dartmouth was quoted about inspections:
"You flip on the lights and the cockroaches disappear," he said. "And the factories often know that the lights are getting switched on beforehand."
