By April MacIntyre Aug 15, 2007, 22:10 GMT
Roughly 80 percent of the toys sold in America are manufactured in China, according to the Toy Industry Association, a trade group for toymakers and importers.
Mattel, the world's largest toy company, today announced its second major recall in a month of Chinese-made toys contaminated with lead paint. At the same time, it recalled millions of other toys whose small, powerful magnets could come loose and be swallowed by children. EPA/SHAWN THEW
Not included in this statistic is the ongoing tidal wave of cheap and expensive clothing knock offs, furniture, home décor, food items, toiletries and hundreds of other products flooding your nearby Wal-Mart, Pottery Barn, Bombay shop, Target and Costco.
The old proud Union rally cry for “buying in America” has long been washed over, ignored by consumers looking to buy on the cheap.
Some of us retail party poopers are hold outs, refusing to buy in Wal-Mart, shopping carefully, buying less and checking labels. It’s hard to do, but you can.
In light of the heartbreaking poisoned pet food recalls, tainted toothpaste, inferior tires, toxic fish, lead filled bibs and children’s toys making the headline news, perhaps you might rethink your buying habits, especially before the Christmas crush of purchasing.
My own avoidance of the box store retail experience was born out of anxiety and a bad case of hives from temporarily losing a kid in a sea of overstuffed clothing rounders, not based on high falutin' snobbery.
The visual stimulus and environment of big box retail is just too much for me. I’m easily disoriented by the juxtaposition of giant rolling racks filled with Pee Wee Herman sized “Giant underwear,” and made for Viking Brunhilda-physique brassieres that are so big you can fit a human head into one cup, next to aisles with Fleet enemas stacked on endcap displays, flanked by Milk Duds, lawnmowers, pesticides, Scrapbookin’ supplies in a perimeter surrounded by organic dairy products and vegetables.
The combined odors of popcorn and plastic along with harsh lighting to me is always repulsive, and the nagging fear of whether I will find my car in the lot weighs on my mind the entire trip.
American products are flat out fantastic, even our autos, maligned for many disastrous decades rightfully as horrid clunkers, have risen in quality in recent years.
We have the most incredible artisan farms and foodie entrepreneurs that provide a dazzling array of gourmet items, top micro breweries and distillers and cutting edge clothing companies and quality furniture designers and manufacturers.
Along with that, there are still many great American toy manufacturers out there, and the products they sell are durable, fun and non toxic, you won’t be selling them in a common garage sale anytime soon. Keepers for the grandchildren.
For 25 years, Channel Craft has been manufacturing classic American games such as marbles, jacks, pick-up sticks, whistles and spinning tops. Not only made in the USA, but the raw products used to manufacture also from the States.
They sell to small toy retailers such as Puzzles USA, Stuff Kids Like, Banana Junction, Silly Goose, Jack's-Country-Store and so many more hip, online and bricks and mortar American establishments.
In my search for American toys and alternatives for parents to shop and consider, I met up with Tim Cooke, the owner of U.S. Made Toys whose website is a cornucopia of useful age appropriate toy suggestions and ideas for gifts that don’t include toxic plastic, lead or the use of slave labor.
I asked Tim in light of the recall for the toxic Chinese toys, along with tainted food, pet food, and substandard tires sold in the United States, if he had noticed an increase in consumers willing to pay more for American made toys, instead of the kind not normally sold in the Wal-Marts of the world.
“People are concerned, and are asking a lot of questions. However, www.usmadetoys.com was started ‘on a lark’ and is really a hobby. It remains as such and although there has been a recent spike in business, I cannot quit my day job, yet”
Tim talked about the shift in consumers purchasing habits, and I asked him if the "you get what you pay for syndrome" is reversing, and if parents are giving their children less "stuff" but higher quality and more durable items to learn and play with.
“I think that sentiment comes into play when the purchase is for a gift. If the purchase is driven by a child, no because kids don’t think about durability, they think about ‘now’.
Beyond the question of the ‘you get what you pay for syndrome’ should be the sentiment of where the money goes if you buy outside of your community, or in this case, country.
I like to do business with local companies. They pay taxes into the same community I do. The same consideration should go into a decision of whether to buy something made domestically or something imported.” Cooke continued, “Unfortunately I think most often, people don’t look at the labels of where things are made much less think about the implications.
Remembering my own attachment to the wily finger twister Etch-a-Sketch, Chinese checkers set and Lincoln Logs, I asked Tim to give me an American “greatest hits” of classic toys for consumers to discover prior to the busy Christmas season, and what he would recommend to parents looking for specific age ranges, toddler, young child, to elementary aged.
“For the youngest kids, I carry blocks other toys such as the 'Scoots™' made by 'Maple Landmark'. There are also the 'Rocky Color Cone' and 'Bingo Bed' (wooden pegs with a hammer) made by 'Holgate'," said Tim.
"For ages 5 and up, The Aerobie® AeroSpin™ Yo-Yo is new and is the coolest yo-yo I’ve ever seen. It has an adjustable sleep (or dwell) time.”
Cooke continued, “For ages 5 and up classic toys, there is the "Slinky"….no one should grow up without having had one of those. And for ages 3-8, the “Mighty Wheels” tricycle is back in both a boys and girls version.
Beyond that, I have a wide variety. Everything from flying discs to wiffle ball games to boomerangs. There is even a very beautiful Chinese checker set made in the U.S. …how ironic,” quipped Cooke.
Cooke’s vision for his customers is simple. He doesn’t wish to offend toymakers in other countries. “Plenty of good stuff is made in lots of different places for some really good reasons,” says Cooke.
He poses the question to consumers visiting and purchasing at his site, “Who takes their fun more seriously than the good people of the United States?!”
With that spirit, Cooke encourages the curious to contact him directly at his site, and also has compiled a list of many companies and craftspeople in the U.S. who take great pride in making toys for children of all ages. Happy shopping!
All American Toy Co. www.allamericantoyco.com Vintage Toy TrucksAmerican Playscapes www.americanplayscapes.com Playground setsBimini www.biminiringgame.com Unique skill game for all ages www.buydirectusa.com A new directory of U.S. made products. Includes, but not limited to toys.Chickory Wood Prods. www.chickorywoodproducts.com Wooden airplanes, Trucks, TrainsCubbyhole Toys www.cubbyholetoys.com Toys chests and banksDifferent Drummer Workshop www.mainetoys.com Wooden ToysDirt Road Company www.vermontstore.com Check out the Dory in the "Children's Room"!Don Edward's Toy www.donedwardstoyworks.com Wood toys by retired craftspeopleElm's Puzzles www.elmspuzzles.com Elaborate puzzlesElves & Angels www.elvesandangels.com Kitchens to Castles!Fractiles www.fractiles.com Exciting magnetic tiling toyFrost Hollow Puzzles www.frosthollowpuzzles.com Personalized plaquesFingaZinga http://www.fingazinga.com A cool glow-in-the dark skill toy. You need to check out the this web site to see it in action!Green Mnt. Blocks www.greenmountainblocks.com Natural wood blocks, buildingHAE www.skateluge.com Skateboard type stuff
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