Editorial: Shunning tainted toys

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

A new survey shows 75 percent of American consumers say this year's holiday celebrations will not include toys made in China.

According to a poll by Reuters News Service and Zogby International, 76 percent of the 1,000 people surveyed said they would not buy toys made in China - a decision that comes near the end of a year marked by many recalls of Chinese-made toys that contained lead paint or magnets that children could ingest.

Other U.S. recalls of goods from China this year have included items from pet food to tires to toothpaste.

Consumer Product Safety Commission officials say they haven't enough money or staff to thoroughly inspect the billions of Chinese-made items imported into the United States each year. Consumer advocates have called for better inspections and Congress has given the safety commission more money and power to help prevent contaminated items from making it onto America's store shelves.

But if the Reuters-Zogby poll is any indication, Americans are not leaving the job of policing consumer goods entirely to the government. Or, at least, that's what they are telling pollsters.

As John Zogby, president of Zogby International, told Reuters, it remains uncertain whether the sentiment expressed in a survey will result in consumers checking toys for "Made in China" labels. And even then, only the retail receipts at the shopping season's end will tell whether consumers really and truly chose to pay more to avoid buying China's goods.

If nothing else, perhaps this year's recalls have held a mirror in front of American consumers and asked them to take a look at what they are willing to sacrifice to save money. When the lowest price becomes our highest priority, the trade-off often means accepting that cheaper goods will come from countries that have different - and lower - standards.