Man bites dog: Mattel apologizes to China over recalls

Well, the degradation of both U.S. business and U.S. labor over the almighty cheap foreign worker is now complete. Mattel said it was taking the blame for design flaws and for recalling more toys than necessary.

Yes, one of its recalls was based on design flaws, the one over tiny, swallowable magnets potentially becoming detached from some toys. But, last time I checked, lead paint wasn’t a design flaw. As to that:

In a statement issued by the company, Mattel said its lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of the U.S. standards.

So, Mattel would rather NOT be safe than sorry, instead of kowtowing (how appropriate to use the word concerning the country of its origin) to Chinese government trade and industry officials.

Update, Sept. 26: Now we're getting 200,000 Thomas and Friends toys recalled for lead paint, too; so, definitely contrary to the one comment in posts, I'll repeat that Mattel was kowtowing.