Here’s what happened around the world when The New York Timesbegan
revealing that the Chinese manufactures to whom Mattel outsources much of
its work used lead paint in their toys:
June 15, 2007:1 million piece recall of the toy Thomas & Friends begins.
June 19, 2007:Eric S. Lipton and David Barboza begin a series of stories
on lead paint hazards in Chinese-made toys.
August 2, 2007:US Consumer Product Safety Commission begins recall
of Fisher-Price character toys for lead paint hazard.
August 14, 2007:Mattel’s total recall approaches 18.7 million toys.
The aluminum maker Alcoa was hurt so badly in a recent scandal that it is
close to selling both its packaging and consumer business, along with its auto-
motive castings business, and has plans to restructure its electrical and elec-
tronic solutions business in the Americas and Europe. Kahoot Products Inc.,
the maker of the plastic totem badges used by the Boy Scouts of America, had
to recall 1.6 million badges, which are made in China. Is it any wonder that
environmentally attributable childhood diseases, including asthma, lead poi-
soning, and cancer, cost the U.S. as a whole nearly $55 billion annually?
Obviously this problem is huge. The resulting flak has given all these compa-
nies — and Chinese manufacturers on the whole — a considerable black eye.
The problem, however, is not merely an environmental one. Employees are
involved because the materials they are handling are potentially toxic and
the consumers who purchased the faulty products stand to be victimized, as
well. This is to say nothing of the incredible fall that the brand owner takes,
which in turn can have possibly disastrous consequences on the world econ-
omy; if things go badly enough, ripples can be seen around the globe. And
even if no one is hurt, the entire toy industry is itself now poisoned by one of
the greatest bugaboos of all — bad faith. Ask Union Carbide about bad faith;
after killing 3,000 in Bhopal, India, they are one of the most abhorred compa-
nies in the world. Ask Exxon, too, a company that has scarcely been able to
clear its name nearly 20 years after the Valdez oil spill! No doubt many com-
panies bounce back from bad press, but is this a risk that you, your PR team,
and your stockholders want to take? It’s definitely something to consider.
A Final Word About Going Green ...............................................................
By now it should be abundantly clear that environmental health and safety is
here to stay. Your plans for going green, therefore, should be a line item on
your budget this month, not a few years down the road. Do not underestimate
Chapter 9: Making Your Company Environmentally Friendly 171
