The final price tag for Mattel’s 2007 recalls of Chinese-made toys that were found to contain lead paint could exceed $70 million after the toymaker and its Fisher-Price subsidiary agreed to settle a consumer class action lawsuit last week. This total includes more than $50 million for the settlement, a $12 million payment to 39 states to end an investigation into the tainted toys last year, and a $2.3 million civil penalty for violating a federal lead paint ban in June.
The latest settlement puts an end to 22 lawsuits and provides refunds for toy buyers and reimbursement for any lead testing expenses they may have incurred after testing their children’s lead exposure. Mattel will also create a new, court-monitored quality insurance program and donate $275,000 to the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions.
The recalls prompted a new federal law mandating third party testing for lead and other harmful contaminants for all toy manufacturers (although the Consumer Product Safety Commission recently allowed Mattel to use its own labs) and was yet another example of the growing concern about the safety of Chinese-made products. In the past three years, consumers have seen defective tires and drywall, and contaminated toothpaste, pet food, milk, and medicine, in addition to the lead-painted toys, all of which were made in China.
