Los Angeles - Family entertainment giant Disney is testing
toy characters for lead paint following the recall of over 2 million
suspect toys by one of its main licensees, Mattel.
The testing, which will include random probes of products already
on store shelves, follows a similar decision made by toy retail giant
Toys 'R Us, reflecting the high level of concern within the US toy
sector.
While Disney did not mention China, 80 per cent of toys sold in
the US are made there, and the country's standards for production are
increasingly under fire. In August, Mattel recalled more than 18
million Chinese-made toys worldwide, largely because of problems with
the magnets but also because of lead paint problems.
US and Chinese trade officials are to discuss China product safety
issues at the White House on Tuesday.
Disney licenses its characters to hundreds of toy manufacturers
and its new policy represents a sharp divergence from its usual modus
operandi in which it collects a licensing fee and leaves
manufacturing and retail issues to the outside companies.
'It sends the message that we are looking over their shoulders,'
said Andy Mooney, the chairman of Disney's consumer products
division.
Other marketers like Sesame Workshop and Nickelodeon, which
licenses popular characters like Dora the Explorer and Diego, also
say they intend to test products independently.
Retailers and toymakers fear that the recalls could put a cloud of
suspicion over the entire toy business just before the critical
holiday shopping season.
On August 14, Mattel had to recall 436,000 small toy cars based on
the character Sarge from the movie Cars, because they contained lead
paint. Mattel recalled more than a half million more toys last week.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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