Does MADE IN CHINA mean "standards be damned"?

Yet another huge toy recall was announced yesterday.

Once again, it was a product that was made in China. Once again, according to a Wall Street Journal article published today, this recall is the result of cutting corners by substituting safe ingredients or materials with cheaper ones in the manufacturing process. It wasn't lead paint this time, but it is only be a matter of time before another announcement of seventeen million toys contaminated with lead paint being pulled off the shelves will come along.

What's the latest "error" or "flaw" coming out of the Chinese factories? A cheap glue that has properties that mimic GHB, the date rape drug, when swallowed. The kicker? This toy, Aqua Dots, was on Wal-Mart's "Top 12 Toys of Christmas" list and consequently was expected to be one of the most requested toys this holiday season... and we know how TMX Elmo and other "top toys" of years past have sold. That is lots and lots of presents under lots of trees. Or was, anyway.

The North American distributor of Aqua Dots has recalled three other products made in China in the past and any Google search will yield dozens (if not hundreds) of hits when one searches for recalls of hazardous Chinese products of all kinds. When will these companies learn? In the case of Aqua Dots distributor Spin Master Ltd., how many more recalls will it have to issue before it reconsiders using Chinese plants to manufacture its products?

What's it going to everybody to take notice? Earlier this year, countless families lost their pets due to poisonous food that came from a Chinese company. Contaminated wheat gluten was the culprit. Aqua Dots are being pulled from the shelves because, among other reasons, a 20 month old child went into a coma after ingesting several dozen Aqua Dot beads. Fortunately, the toddler lived - but what if he hadn't? Who would end up being accountable for that death? It seems that nobody has suffered any significant setbacks stemming from the pet food deaths as yet, so what kind of recourse do we as consumers have?

Far be it for me to be anti-capitalism, and just like everybody else, I do love a bargain, but where do we draw the line? If it's not poisonous dog food, children's toys containing lead or chemicals that can have the same effect on a human as an illegal substance currently used to mentally incapacitate victims in bars and pubs... where exactly is it? Sure, China is becoming an economic super power, but in the quest for the almighty buck, accountability and safety must always be in the back of company executives' minds. Is Fisher Price making a few bucks more on a given toy or a mom saving those same dollars buying the toy worth the risk?

Why is it that some US toy company executive can be tarred and feathered (and jailed!) for stealing a few dollars from the company or overstating revenues in fiscal reports, but other company officials continue to get "get out of jail free cards" while watching their companies outsource the manufacturing of products and use banned materials in the process?

I have a new nephew of sorts now and I will some day have children of my own. Before heading out shopping for Christmas, I will to go check a US government website I read about earlier this week. The Americans have put a recall database online for consumers to check and it has lots of valuable information. I'd love to go to a Canadian site, but as of yet, there is no centralized source of Canadian information on the subject of safety recalls.

This business of killer toys and other consumer products coming out of China has to stop. This Christmas season, try to find something "Made in Canada" or even "Made in the USA". It will be tough and might cost more, but at least you'll be supporting North American workers and their families. You'll know that North American standards will be met or exceeded and that toy or gadget won't potentially make you sick or kill your child.

We need to take a stand - and now is as good a time as any.