NYT: Mattel outsourcing success 'victim'

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Aug. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. toy giant Mattel Inc., rocked by a massive lead-paint toy recall, was a victim of its own China-outsourcing success, a published report said Wednesday.

The world's largest toy maker -- which started making Barbie dolls in Asia in 1959 -- realizes it was not watching subcontractors closely enough, The New York Times reported. The longer it outsourced to factory suppliers with good results, the less systematic its oversight became, the Times said.

For instance, the company let its more reliable suppliers do their own regular toy testing, and did its own spot tests only every three months, the newspaper said.

But after it recalled some 2 million toys for higher-than-acceptable lead levels in their paint -- and with 65 percent of Mattel products made in China -- it has begun tightening controls, Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert told the Times.

On the day of the second of two August recalls, Mattel announced a plan to crack down on the Chinese subcontractors' unauthorized use of subcontractors. It also said it would test China-made products itself, rather than rely on its contractors to do so.

The plan included testing for every batch of paint.

The company has fired four Chinese subcontractors and is evaluating others, the Times said.

Mattel has quietly carted loads of toys and dolls to its own factories in Mexico to recheck the ones that have arrived from Chinese contractors in recent weeks.