By Xinhua
Beijing : Thomas Debrowski, an executive of toy-manufacturer Mattel, apologised to a senior Chinese official Friday for the inconvenience it has caused to Chinese consumers after recalling millions of China-made toys and pledged to take responsibility.
During his talk with Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Debrowski admitted that the vast majority of its toys recalled were due to design flaws rather than the manufacturing errors in China.
According to a press release by a lawyer of Mattel, 17.4 million toys have been recalled because of loose magnets and 2.2 million were recalled because of impermissible levels of lead.
The magnets-related recalls were due to emerging issues concerning design and this has nothing to do with whether the toys were manufactured in China, the press release said.
“Mattel does not require Chinese manufacturers to be responsible for the magnets-related recalls due to design problems,” it said.
It also admitted that Mattel’s lead-related recalls were “overly inclusive” as the company was “committed to applying the highest standards of safety for its products”.