Made In China (With Risk)
The “Made In China” tag has been seeing a transformation of late, and has been increasingly associated with added-value, quality products (see here and here). However, a spate of news stories ranging from child labour making licensed Olympic products (not to mention slave conditions in local brick kilns) to tainted export products, have served as a reminder that there is more to production than cost, and that the label’s associations are still not all positive.
A recent post noted corruption in the pharmaceuticals sector, and related problems with unsafe drugs, as well as poisonous pet food exports. Since then headlines have been added for products as wide ranging as counterfeit Colgate toothpaste (containing the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol) and toy trains (too much lead paint in Thomas the Tank Engine products – the best friend of many a two-year-old boy).
While China is taking steps to punish errant officials and raise safety standards , companies sourcing from China can take steps of their own to manage risk. Due diligence, testing, inspections – and regular reviews – should be part of any sourcing plan. As should ongoing monitoring of piracy that could damage brands (or loyal consumers).
July 4th, 2007 at 11:40 am
[...] tes Reformed »
August 3rd, 2007 at 4:42 am
[...] chinasuppliers.com/author/” title=”Posts by “> Published in News No Tags 3Aug News of dangerous and bad-quality products coming out of China has come thick and fast recently. [...]
August 17th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
[...] Premier (“the iron lady”) Wu Yi is sent in to fix it (remember SARS?). So it is with product safety. According to the Wall Street Journal: “China’s decision to appoint the [...]
August 18th, 2007 at 1:59 am
[...] Premier (“the iron lady”) Wu Yi is sent in to fix it (remember SARS?). So it is with product safety. According to the Wall Street Journal: “China’s decision to appoint the [...]
August 19th, 2007 at 8:32 am
[...] Corporate News, Consumer Market While the news around the world is currently full of complaints about Chinese-made (but foreign-branded) toys with design faults and poisono [...]
August 25th, 2007 at 8:53 am
[...] ry for the “Made in China” label. I have recently reported on a range of poisonous and dangerous goods from China that have resulted in corporate recalls and consumer fears. In a da [...]
October 18th, 2007 at 8:24 am
[...] Law, Corporate Social Responsibility With the many column inches dedicated to dangerous / poisonous / badly designed / recalled toys that were “made in China”, one might [...]
November 1st, 2007 at 7:58 am
[...] rstanding of the Chinese manufacturing industry” in the context of recent recalls of made-in-China toys, and other issues. Keynote speakers Prof. Lin Yifu • Economic advisor to [...]
November 1st, 2007 at 9:47 am
[...] rstanding of the Chinese manufacturing industry” in the context of recent recalls of made-in-China toys, and other issues. Keynote speakers Prof. Lin Yifu • Economic advisor to t [...]