by Tonya Barton

Created on: December 28, 2007

On November 8th, 2007, yet another China-produced toy was recalled. Aqua Dots, a toy bead that can easily be mistaken for candy by small children, was pulled from store shelves. This time however, it was not due to lead.

As if lead isn't bad enough, China has now compromised the health and lives of our children by using butanediol. A chemical that if ingested, converts into GHB - the date rape drug. Sadly, two children in the U.S. did ingest Aqua Dots, ending up in a coma. I can't help but wonder how and why this keeps happening?

The how is simple I suppose. Large corporations such as Mattel, are outsourcing to factories in countries where regulations on labor and the manufacturing of products are lax. China being one. They have been cutting what they perceive as cost-effective corners, with a blatant disregard of the bigger picture. That picture being the health risks our children are exposed to.

China is cutting corners using everything from child labor to the cheaper, more so-called cost effective chemicals. Any chemical, whether it is dangerously high levels of lead or butanediol (the date rape drug), found in our children's toys is unacceptable. What's worse is China is well aware of the dangers these chemicals present.

Another "how"? How long has this been going on really? How many toys are your children and grandchildren currently playing with that have come from China? Toys that may be "infected" as well, but have slipped through the cracks so-to-speak? One can only wonder.

We've all heard the saying "you get what you pay for". So that leads me to the why? Why does America continue to outsource to factories in countries like China, where their practices have proved to be both substandard and dangerous? What are we really gaining?

I mean you'd think the overall cost to both China and America in the grand scheme of things, cannot ultimately be cost effective at all when you take into account recalls, illness and even death.

As America continues to outsource to China we should ask ourselves, why then does China continue to make the same "mistakes" over and over again? Leading to the question, is China TRYING to poison America? It is a questions that must be asked since China has also exported toothpaste containing a poisonous solvent, ginger containing dangerous amounts of pesticide and even Pajama's poisoned with formaldehyde. Some might conclude, this whole thing "smacks of conspiracy".

I however, am not prepared to draw that conclusion. Though it does weigh heavily on my mind. Some consumers conclude that China's motive is profit. They claim that China is attempting to finagle the value of their Yuan (Chinese currency) by attacking our economy as we halt our purchases all-together from American companies who continue to outsource to China.

Whatever the reasons are behind all these recalls, I must say as a consumer I pay closer attention to the "made in" labels on the products I purchase. If the label says "made in China", I simply place it back on the store shelf.

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