More than 15 million Mattel toys recalled in last seven
years
In light of the millions of products recalled by toy giant
Mattel, local Hollister Target employees carried out policies
enacted to ensure that consumers are protected, according to one
employee.
More than 15 million Mattel toys recalled in last seven years
In light of the millions of products recalled by toy giant Mattel, local Hollister Target employees carried out policies enacted to ensure that consumers are protected, according to one employee.
Chairman and CEO of Mattel Bob Eckert is trying hard to reassure consumers that their child’s safety is secure and the latest slogan on the recall Web site is “Because your children are our children, too.”
Hollister Target employees are doing whatever they can to make sure customers aren’t able to get the recalled items.
The Fisher-Price recall, a company that is a subsidiary of Mattel, issued the recall nearly three weeks ago, according to Yvett, a Target employee who did not want to give her last name. The typical procedure is that the store receives an e-mail that is read and looked over by the store supervisor, she said. They print out the list of items that need to be recalled and they distribute the list to the proper department. The people in the toy department went through the shelves to look for any of the recalled toys. After they were taken off the shelves, they were shipped back to the manufacturer.
For those worried about the chance of buying a recalled toy that was missed, Target has other safety features in place. If one of the toys that has been recalled is scanned at the checkout counter, they are flagged on Target’s system and if anyone tries to purchase the item they are prompted and directed towards customer service.
“There haven’t been a lot of people returning toys,” Yvett said.
Hollister K-mart employees declined to comment about the recall, per company policy.
The recent recalls started because of a growing concern about traces of lead-based paint used in more than 80 products from Mattel, including the widely popular Sarge truck, a character from the Pixar movie “Cars.” As noted on Mattel’s Web site the voluntary lead-based paint recall only pertains to toys sold after May 1, 2007. In addition, 50-plus toys that contained hazardous magnets were recalled.
“Mattel has recalled some toys for two different reasons. One is impermissible use of lead paints,” Eckert said. “The other is for risks associated with small high powered magnets.”
The company announced the first recall Aug. 1 because of lead-based paint used in a suspected 1.5 million of their toys and then two weeks later on Aug. 14, announced a larger recall to the tune of 9 million because of the presence of magnets that if ingested could cause bodily harm.
According to a CNN report, in the past seven years Mattel has had to recall 15 million toys. But as mentioned in the report, the figure is only a small fraction of what Mattel produces as a toy company. The company makes a half billion toys a year, according to the report.
A spokesman for Mattel said they have increased testing on their toys.
“We want to ensure that every parent is aware of these issues,” Eckert said, “Return affected products to us, and knows that we have already taken significant actions to further ensure the safety of our toys.”
For more information on the recalls visit Mattel’s Web site at www.mattel.com/safety/us/.
Ben Bannister is an intern at the Weekend Pinnacle. He is a Hollister native and is currently studying Communications and Journalism at Seattle Pacific University.
