Dangerous Toys?

Toys--for children they are necessities of life; for adults, tokens of childhood happiness；and for many ROC business firms, synonyms for profit.

For several years now, the ROC has been the world's second largest exporter of toys, with around US$800 million in sales annually, an accomplishment which has brought smiles to the faces of domestic toy manufacturers to match those of the dolls they make.

But at last year's end a batch of little dolls with sweet pink faces and colorful bright dresses had many local toymakers sweating with fear.

The dolls were "Komfy" dolls rushed to the U.S. in time for Christmas. Some Los Angeles consumers had reported smelling a strange odor emanating from the dolls. Fearing it might come from pesticide, Los Angeles health authorities warned consumers not to buy them. As the news spread, sales of all kinds of toys from Taiwan--not just Komfy dolls--plummeted.

What's worse, if the dolls turned out really to have a safety problem, American insurance companies could raise their rates to Taiwan manufacturers or even cancel their policies, which would effectively shut them out of the U.S. market.

The ROC's Industrial Development Bureau and the Taiwan Toy Manufacturers Association went swiftly to work. Their investigations showed that the Komfy dolls were perfectly safe, a finding confirmed in January by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The unusual odor had come from a less expensive softening agent, completely harmless, used by some manufacturers to save cost.

Domestic toy manufacturers let out a sigh of relief.

Just as the furor over Komfy dolls was reaching its peak, another toy safety story was quietly taking place behind the scenes.

It began when the American toy company Tyco commissioned Taiwan's Union Toy and Garment Co. to manufacture 100,000 furry bears with hollow bodies, which Tyco planned to fill with building blocks and market.

Union produced the bears, all 100,000, in full compliance with U.S. safety standards and then shipped them across the waters.

But they had forgotten one thing. Ordinary toy bears have their center of gravity in their soft, round stomachs. But when Tyco's hollow bears were thrown on the floor, they took most of the force on their heads. Tyco found that the eyes and nose were liable to break off, and the broken pieces could possibly injure the child. When Union found out, it immediately recalled all 100,000 bears and replaced their eyes and noses with ones of a stronger material and a better design.

Komfy dolls and Tyco bears--both stories involved toys and safety. Why was the degree of public attention focused on each so different?

"Because safety is a toy's first imperative," one maker says. "It's a must." Another reason is this: the frequency of injuries to children from toys has made consumers extremely wary. The U.S. recorded 118,000 cases in 1983 alone. And while the ROC does not keep similar statistics, reports of injuries are not uncommon.

The main reason toys are potentially so dangerous is, of course, that the users are children. Children are easily injured, seemingly oblivious to danger, and highly creative--using toys in ways adults never imagined.

Since they can't rely on children to read instructions or follow warnings, toymakers know it is up to themselves to produce safe products.

The work begins with design. Besides being sturdy and safe, a good toy must suit the child's development at a particular age. A poorly designed rocking horse, for example, may impede proper growth.

The production process is just as important. Steps to ensure safety include the use of nonflammable materials and the removal of ragged or sharp edges.

And then comes testing. Smashing, poking, and wrenching toys about, the workers at the testing center are not sadistic; they're just simulating what tiny tots sometimes do to their playthings. And children love to put things in their mouths. To guard against poisoning, the Safety Inspection Center of the Taiwan Toy Manufacturers Association has purchased a detection device at a cost of some NT$1 million (US$25,000) to test the heavy metal content of paints.

The Safety Inspection Center was set up with the authorization of the Industrial Development Bureau in March 1984 to test toys for domestic manufacturers according to the safety standards adopted by the ROC National Bureau of Standards. The ROC's standards are based on the standards of the other major toy exporting countries: Japan, West Germany, and the U.S.

But since over 80 percent of Taiwan's toys are produced for export, most companies manufacture them according to the standards of the country they will be exported to rather than the ROC's. Unless the buyer specifically asks them to, they won't send the toys to be tested. As a result, the Safety Inspection Center has tested a mere 300-some toys since its founding.

To get firms to have their toys tested, the Toy Manufacturers Association has come up with a couple of tricks. Starting this year the Safety Inspection Center will issue a "safe toy" logo to toys that pass their tests, and it has arranged with toymakers to set up "safe toy" counters in major department stores.

"We need the consumer's cooperation," says Chang Shih-ch'iu, the association's general director. "If customers insist on buying 'safe toys,' then manufacturers will naturally want their toys tested, and the consumer's safety will be that much more ensured."

The Toy Manufacturers Association has also set out to test commonly used materials like paint, fabrics, and plastic and then publish a list of the safe ones. They even plan to start classes to train toymakers in simple inspection procedures and "safety quality control" Finally, the association has drafted a set of regulations, currently before the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which would impose a fine of up to NT$30,000 (US$750) on toymakers that refuse to improve unclear or misleading labeling.

Unfortunately, these steps may not have a great deal of effect on "underground," or unregistered, factories. And it is just these factories that most of the unsafe, unlabeled products come from. To bring these lost sheep into the fold, so to speak, the Industrial Development Bureau gave underground factories a 1 -year grace period beginning last July to improve themselves and register as legal companies.

"We hope the underground factories will turn themselves in and go straight. Only that way will the Manufacturers Association be able to guide them with safety problems. And if something goes wrong, it will be a lot easier to follow up on," an Industrial Development Bureau official says.

Based on the industry's past achievements and the Taiwan Toy Manufacturers Association's current series of reforms, the Komfy doll's smile should be even more sweet and innocent in the future.

[Picture Caption]

Big person: Here darling, this is for you.

Baby: Mm, thanks for the taste. . . .

Anything in a baby's hand is liable to wind up in its mouth. Parents can't be too careful.

(Above) Union Toys modified the eyes of the bears it made for Tyco according to this diagram.

(Below) Holding one of the bears his company made for Tyco, Union's executive director Andrew Tsuei says, "Thinking of the consumer's safety is the key to business survival."

(Above) "Ouch, that hurts!" Being rude to a bear for Baby's sake.

(Below) The Safety Testing Center's million-dollar (NT) heavy-metal detector has been kept busy ever since it was installed.

"We're safe-don't worry!" The sign certifies the Safety Testing Center's approval.

Competition on the world toy market is fierce. We must continue to improve the quality and safety of our toys.

Anything in a baby's hand is liable to wind up in its mouth. Parents can't be too careful.

（Above） Union Toys modified the eyes of the bears it made for Tyco according to this diagram.

（Below） Holding one of the bears his company made for Tyco, Union's executive director Andrew Tsuei says, "Thinking of the consumer's safety is the key to business survival.".

（Above） "Ouch, that hurts!" Being rude to a bear for Baby's sake.

（Below） The Safety Testing Center's million-dollar （NT） heavy-metal detector has been kept busy ever since it was installed.

"We're safe-don't worry!" The sign certifies the Safety Testing Center's approval.

Competition on the world toy market is fierce. We must continue to improve the quality and safety of our toys.