Mattel Eats... Crow

Mattel... must... make nice to the Chinese.

Here's the full apology. Of course, I missed the part with the correct apology, as it were: For being too cheap and lazy to, you know, bother to give a crap and have any actaul, like, supervision of the Chinese manufacturing sites to make sure that, you know, maybe things were actually manufactured to spec as opposed to Chinese corner-cutting standards. But what do I know; that probably would have cost a few hundred thousand dollars a year, maybe les -- enough to bankrupt a small company like Mattel.

Here's all of the dissembling crap:

Mattel is committed to working with the Chinese Government and manufacturers to promote and improve the safety of toys and other consumer products. Safety of toys is a matter of critical importance to Mattel, whether they are made in China or elsewhere around the world. Mattel has enjoyed a very successful partnership with manufacturers in China for 25 years.

Mattel produces approximately 800 million toys annually. Out of these, less than 0.3% were recalled because of impermissible levels of lead contained in the paint and approximately 0.5% of the toys produced from 2003 to 2006 were recalled as a result of magnets which could become loose. The toys recalled worldwide in relation to magnet issues were 17.4 million pieces, and the toys recalled in connection with impermissible levels of lead in paint were 2.2 million pieces. The magnet related recalls were due to emerging issues concerning design and this has nothing to do with whether the toys were manufactured in China. Mattel does not hold Chinese manufacturers responsible for the design in relation to the recalled magnet toys. Mattel has since changed the relevant design in January this year to effectively lock in the small magnets in the toys so that they cannot be easily detached.

Mattel is committed to applying the highest standards of safety for its products. Consistent with this, Mattel's lead-related recalls were overly inclusive, including toys that may not have had lead in paint in excess of the U.S. standards. Subsequent testing indicated that some of the recalled toys did not fail the U.S. standards. Mattel also applied the same high standards to recalls of its products in the EU and other countries despite the fact that some of these products may have met local safety standards.

(Photo credit.)