It seems like China is continually manufacturing toys and trinkets that use toxic metals or paints. The products that they are making don’t pass many standards set by the U.S. Asian manufacturers are facing criticism and warnings not to substitute toxic substances and lead in children’s items, yet the crisis persists.

Many Chinese factories are attempting to cut corners where they can. The less they spend on the product and the greater the profits, the better off they’ll be. But to be fair, China has become one of the main manufacturers in the world and that’s because they sale low-priced products. And they are driven to continue making these cheap products in order to meet the demand and keep their exports soaring. If they tried to raise their prices along with the quality then people may stop purchasing their products and make their own or buy it cheaper from somewhere instead.

This dilemma really is a double edged sword. If factories persist in using hazardous materials then the U.S. could hypothetically stop buying their products or there could be a reaction against Chinese products by consumers in addition to the government. Alternatively, they may lose business if they have to buy more expensive and safe materials because it will drive the cost up.

So basically after so many scandals Americans are worried about how the Chinese are making these items but they continue to purchase them. For example, there are continuously reports coming out about dangerous toys American babies and children are playing with, or even chemicals in toothpaste and cardboard in dumplings.

And the U.S. consumer product regulators just came out and cautioned Asian manufacturers not to switch other toxic substances for lead in children’s items. In the end, we are all being affected by what is going into making these products and even though they’re cheap, they come with risks. And unless the Chinese government starts regulating their products better, things may continue to worsen.

Thus far, it seems that its one dangerous material after the other. Yet, Inez Tenenbaum the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission remarked that her agency would be “strenuously guarding against attempts to swap one health hazard for another, now that lead is barred under U.S. law” in children’s toys and jewelry. This sounds like the agency is doing something about it, but it’s still nerve racking especially for parents.

How can you tell which products are safe for your children to play with? It’s tricky especially since children are extremely vulnerable particularly as toddlers and babies because they suck on everything. The government holds the primary responsibility for making sure that childrens products and toys don’t have risky or toxic levels of heavy metals in them. But parents need to do as much research and inspect their childrens toys and hopefully the government and Chinese manufacturers are doing their job correctly.

This article was written and distributed by Diane Johnson. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Utah. She likes to write about the news, politics,Schools Online, Online College, and Distance Learning.

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Filed under: Childrens Toys

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