Rant - Made in China

So another toy recall from Mattel, are we surprised? I'm not, and let me tell you that I am changing the way I buy my child's toys from now on. Sure most of us can now afford to buy our children the latest Elmo toy but at what cost? My child's health is not for sale to the lowest bidder. So tomorrow I am taking back her Fisher Price Elmo Giggles Remote that she got for her birthday and her Busy Zoo by Parents. Both made in China.

I was talking to a friend who has 2 children older than mine. She told me about Melissa and Doug & Ryan's Room and that they make good quality wood toys. I knew at home our daughter had received a Melissa and Doug toy as a gift. I was anxious to get home to take a closer look at it but when I did disappointment set it. On the bottom MADE IN CHINA.

In doing research I saw a blog mention an email from Doug (of Melissa and Doug I assume) saying that “It’s quite possible to make great quality children’s items in China, which meet all safety regulations, but the key point is that you have to test and inspect very frequently to be sure that your factories are always following your instructions explicitly. I assure you that’s exactly what we do.

From our experience, the key to doing this correctly is not simply to insist that your factories follow your instructions, but then to go one step further and to AUDIT, INSPECT, AND TEST very frequently. That is the most important part of the process, and it’s something our company has always taken VERY seriously.”

I don't know about you but this statement does not put me at ease. It says to me that they have experienced problems and are trying to catch any others. But they can't test EVERY toy, right? The factory heads know this, who's to say someone doesn't slip in lower quality products to save themselves a few what ever their currency is. And that is the one that our dear friends bought, wrapped in the beautiful wrapping paper and given to my daughter on her first birthday.

In searching around for toys not made in China I came across these sites:
North Star Toys. Handmade by a husband and wife team in New Mexico.
Green Toys
Haba German Toys Some are made in China, check each item. You can download a PDF from Oompa Toys (see below) showing where each Haba toy is made.
Oompa Toys
Oompa Toys has also addressed parents fears over toxic toys by showing the toy brand name, where it was designed and where the toy is made

And if you want to test the toys (or anything else) you already have you can get lead test kits here.

If you know of other NOT made in China toy brands please let me know!