Mattel and Fisher-Price to pay $2.3 million penalty for violating lead paint ban

Mattel and its subsidiary, Fisher-Price, have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty—the largest of its kind—for violating the federal lead paint ban. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the penalty "resolves CPSC staff allegations that Mattel and Fisher-Price knowingly (as defined in the Consumer Product Safety Act) imported and sold children’s toys with paints or other surface coatings that contained lead levels that violated a 30-year-old federal law."

The civil penalty, which is the highest for violations involving importation or distribution of a product regulated by the CPSC and is the third highest of any kind in CPSC history, settles the following allegations:

• Mattel imported up to 900,000 non-compliant toys between September 2006 and August 2007, including the “Sarge” toy car and numerous Barbie accessory toys, and distributed most of them to its retail customers for sale to U.S. consumers. The “Sarge” car was recalled in August 2007 and the Barbie toys were recalled in September 2007.  
• Fisher-Price imported up to 1.1 million non-compliant toys between July 2006 and August 2007, including certain licensed character toys and the Bongo Band, GEO TRAX locomotive, and Go Diego Go Rescue Boat toys. Most of these toys were distributed to retail stores for sale to consumers. The licensed character toys, including Sesame Street favorites and Dora the Explorer, were recalled in August 2007, the Bongo Band and GEO TRAX toys were recalled in September 2007, and the Go Diego Go Boat toys were recalled in October 2007.

The year 2007 became known as the "Year of the Recall" because of the multiple toy recalls. Of the 138 toys recalled that year, 97 were for lead paint violations. In a press conference announcing the penalty, CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said that the agency has more active cases involving lead paint violations but that it had no further cases pending against Mattel or Fisher-Price. "This is a settled case," he said.

We are pleased that the CPSC is exercising its authority to find companies that flout their laws. This should put other companies on notice that they need to ensure they are not bringing non-compliant and unsafe toys onto the market.

Comments

[Sam Keenon]

What is it going to take for the United States to shut down trade with China? They have shown absolute disdain for health, safety and quality for years, yet we continue to support their economy and our government continues to encourage the support.

AS for me, if it is made in China, I do not buy it.

[Mary]

This is a drop in the bucket to the life time of damage done to theres children.
My Daughter is a victim of lead and mercury poisoning. Government was no help when it was discovered our well was contaminated where we were renting, other than require the landlord provide us with bottled water, but he then raised the rent 500% to force us to move instead of doing what needed to be done. No one helped with the special education she needed and I was never told how bad her learning disability was by the public school she went to. It took a substitute student teacher guts to come and tell me. Every year she was passed to the next grade with average grades even though it turned out in truth she was failing. It takes money to sue these people. And lots of money.

So these companies are sued, I never saw effect of how it helped my daughter in the past and I don't think it will help now.
So just where the money goes is a very good question.
We need a revolution. The 1 percent the control the 90 percent of the money are ruining our lives. Those with the money have the power. Money talks.

[Ed]

On two million toys the fine amounts to $1.00 a toy for items made in China that would cost several dollars more each to build safely in the U.S. These companies will continue to risk the fines. It is similar to the pharmaceutical companies who can pay out many millions on harmful product litigation and still come out tens of millions of dollars ahead on any given product. If the penalty doesn't hurt, and these don't, it is pretty useless.

[eric]

Seriously - I've always wondered where the fines go for these things.

[hermitage]

Who will receive the 2.3 million dollar penalty fee? Will it, in any way, be used to benefit the children who have been harmed by the lead paint? Does the federal government line its proverbial pockets with the windfall instead?