With recent high-profile incidents involving dangerous goods imported from China, the American media has finally begun to warn consumers about the dangers of cheaply producing goods in a country hardly known for its strict safety regulations. After spending some time digging through product recall press releases, we’ve found that the mainstream media is still only reporting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dangerous products imported from China. Here’s a timeline we’ve created, which shows the huge amount of faulty/dangerous Chinese product scandals so far this year [this list will be regularly updated]:
January 2007
- Toxic Overalls: Samarra Brothers recalled Chinese-manufactured children’s two-piece overall sets because the coatings on the snaps in the overalls and shirt contain excessive amounts of lead, posing a serious risk of lead poisoning and adverse health effects to young children.
- Fire Hazard Heaters: Family Dollar Stores recalled 35,000 oscillating ceramic heaters that were found to overheat and smoke, which could pose a fire hazard to consumers.
- Bad Wiring In Fans: Holmes Group recalled about 300,000 Chinese-manufactured oscillating tower fans that were found to have bad wiring that creates a fire hazard.
- Dangerous Candles: Sally Foster recalled over 46,000 sets of imported Tea Lights candles after it was reported that the candles have a clear, plastic shell that can melt or ignite, posing a fire or burn hazard to consumers.
- Dryers With Electrocution Hazard: Metropolis Beauty recalled about 18,000 Travel’N Baby Mini Hair Dryers, which were not equipped with an immersion protection plug to prevent electrocution if the hair dryer falls into water. Electric shock protection devices are required by industry standards for all electric hand-held hair dryers.
- Improperly Wired/Flammable Lamps: Hong Ten Trading recalled about 4,000 electric oil lamps that had power cords that were not correctly secured and had no strain relief on their switch housing. The switch housing was also not flame-retardant, which poses a fire hazard.
February 2007
- Overheating Remote Controls: Best Buy recalled about 10,000 Isignia DVD Player remotes after it was found that improper battery placement in the remote could result in overheating and present a burn hazard.
- Lead Poisoning Hazard: 115,000 Claudia Jublot children’s rings, which were sold at Big Lots stores, were recalled because they contained dangerous levels of lead.
- Defective Lamps: Currey & Company of Georgia recalled about 2,600 Chinese-manufactured lamps that had defective light sockets, which could pose electrical shock and fire hazards.
- Lead Accessories: Kidsite jewelry sets, which were sold at Kmart stores across America, were recalled for containing high levels of lead.
- Toxic Jackets: Samara Brothers recalled thousands of its outwear jackets for children because the snap closures on the jackets contained excessive amounts of lead, which poses a lead poisoning hazard.
- Lead Bracelets: Imported Chinese bracelets that were sold under the “Ultra Gear” brand were recalled because they contained high levels of lead.
- Hazardous Toy Batteries: JAKKS Pacific recalled over 240,000 battery packs for toy vehicles after dozens of reports of the batteries melting or catching fire.
- Lead Rings: About 280,000 children’s Rachael Rose Kidz rings were recalled after they were found to contain high levels of lead.
March 2007
- Breakable Bike Frames: Target’s made-in-China Triax PK7 and Vertical PK7 bike frames were recalled after it was found that the frames could break rather easily, injuring anyone unlucky enough to be riding such a bike.
- Razor Blades For Kids: Tri Star International recently recalled a made-in-China children’s stationary, which contained a dangerous razor blade.
- Shocking Extension Cords: Dollar Stop Plus recalled 15-foot extension cords that had undersized wiring, and failed to connect properly at the plug and receptacle ends. This poses fire, shock and electrocution hazards to consumers.
- Lead Easels: Discount School Supply recalled Elite about 2,500 5-in-1 Easels after finding that the chalkboard side of the Chinese-manufactured easels contained high levels of lead.
- Lead Necklaces: Children’s necklaces sold at Accessories Palace were recalled because they contained high levels of lead.
- Toxic Paint: Toys R Us recalled over 128,000 Elite Operations toy sets because the paint used by the Chinese manufacturer of the toys contained high levels of lead.
- Lead Mood Necklace: About 47,000 children’s mood necklace imported from China by Rhode Island Novelty were recalled for containing high levels of lead.
- Dangerous Sconces: Home Dectorators recalled about 900 Chinese-produced wall sconces, after finding that many were missing back plates, which exposes consumers to live wires and poses a risk of electrical shock to consumers changing the light bulb.
- Lead Paint On Baby Toys: Stuffed Fun Balls, which were sold at dollar stores and other discount stores from June 2006 until March 2007, were recalled because the paint used by the Chinese manufacturer of the baby toy contained dangerous levels of lead.
April 2007
- Poison Pet Food: Two Chinese companies intentionally exported contaminated pet food ingredients to the United States, killing hundreds of American pets that ate the food.
- Unhappy Hanukkah: Aviv Judaica Imports recalled its Chanukah Oil Candles sets after it was found that they can become engulfed in flames and melt the plastic cups holding the candles in place, allowing hot wax to leak out, which poses fire and burn hazards to consumers.
- Oil Heater Fire Hazard: Holmes Group recalled about 300,000 of its oil-filled electric heaters after discovering that a poor electrical connection within the Chinese-manufactured heaters could overheat and cause fires.
- Flaming Boomboxes: Coby Electronics recalled over 13,000 USB/MP3/CD boomboxes due to electrical problems that could cause them to overheat and catch fire.
- Collapsing Baby Seats: Infant Bouncer Seats were recalled by Oeuf LLC after reports the seats’ metal frame breaking.
- Flammable Baby Clothes: Disney Stores recalled its Baby Einstein Caterpillar Sleepwear and Baby Einstein Duck Sleepwear because of a failure to meet the children’s flammability standard, posing a risk of burn injury to children.
- Hazardous Candles: McCormick Distilling Company recalled 60,000 Tequila Rose Strawberry Cream candle sets after finding that the martini glass containing the gel candle can break while the candle is burning, posing fire and burn hazards to consumers.
- Lead Bracelets: A&A Global Industries issued a recall for about 4 million of its Children’s Groovy Grabber Bracelets, which were painted with paint that contained high levels of lead.
- Lead Key Chains: Dollar General Merchandising recalled about 400,000 Chinese-manufactured Keychains because they contained high levels of lead.
- Shocking Palm Trees: iObjectSolutions Inc. of Georgia’s Chinese-made Pre-lit Palm Trees was found to have electrical problems with its lighting system, which could cause fires or electric shocks.
- Unguarded Blades: Sears warned customers to remove the “Craftsman” logo label from their Chinese-made Craftsman Circular Saws, after it was found that the label could become partially detached, leading to exposure of the saw blade and injury to those operating the saw.
May 2007
- Toxic Fish: It is believed that imported Chinese monkfish was actually deadly puffer fish, a labeling disaster that lead to the hospitalization of at least one person in America.
- Tween’s Lead Jewerly: Tween Brands Inc. of New York recalled a set of Chinese-manufactured metal jewelry for children that jewelry contained high levels of lead, which can cause adverse health effects and is toxic if ingested by young children.
- Toxic Drums: The Boyds Collection of Pennsylvania recalled its “Eli’s Small Drums and Liberty’s Large Drums” when it was found that the paint used by its Chinese manufacturer contained dangerous levels of lead.
- Children’s Rings: Cardinal Distributing Company of Maryland recalled its “Children’s Turquoise Rings” for containing dangerous levels of lead.
- More Lead Jewelry: Spandrel Sales and Marketing of Arizona recalled 200,000 children’s necklaces, bracelets and rings because they contained dangerous levels of lead.
- Collapsing Stools: Cracker Barrel Old Country Store recalled over 2,000 Chinese-manufactured kitchen stools, which had been found to unexpectedly collapse during use.
- Lead Bamboo: Anima Bamboo Collection Games, manufactured by HaPe International Ltd., of Ningbo, China, were recalled when the toys in game sets were found to contain lead paint.
- Hazardous Grills: Grills produced in China by Sagittarius Sporting Goods were recalled after many were found to be missing a hose that connects the grill manifold to its side burner, posing a risk of fires and burn injuries to customers.
- Toxic Jesus Fish: Oriental Trading Company of Nebraska recalled over 130,000 religious fish necklaces for children, which had been found to contain high levels of lead.
- Hazardous Candles: Vivre Royal was forced to recall a set of Chinese-produced candles when it came to light that their exterior coating and decorations were highly flammable.
June 2007
- Kerosene Eyeballs: Gemmy Industries recalled several hundred plastic “Floating Eyeballs” because they contained kerosene, which if broken, presents a chemical hazard to children.
- Deadly Tires: Tire importer Foreign Tire Sales, based in Union, N.J., recalled as many as 450,000 tires after it was reported that the treads on light-truck radials manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co. in Hangzhou, China, were shoddily manufactured and could separate. Several traffic deaths have been blamed on such tires.
- Tainted Seafood: The FDA detained imports of three types of Chinese fish — catfish, basa and dace — as well as shrimp and eel after repeated testing turned up contamination with drugs unapproved in the United States for use in farmed seafood.
- Toxic Thomas the Tank Engine Toys: American toy company RC2 was forced to recall a series of wooden toys based on the popular children’s show after it was revealed that they were painted with dangerously toxic paint.
- Lead Earrings: Accessories・Silver Stud Earring Sets, jewelry for kids that was sold in Kmart stores across America, were recalled after being found to contain dangerous levels of lead.
- Deadly Cribs: American company Simplicity Inc. recently found that the directions for its made-in-China Nursery-In-A-Box crib had been improperly produced. If followed, the Chinese-made directions could cause the crip to come apart and trap/injure babies.
- Poisonous Toothpaste: The FDA recently found that several low-priced toothpastes imported from China contained diethylene glycol, which poisons the liver and kidneys and depresses the central nervous system.
- Lead Necklaces: Geocentral’s Butterfly Necklaces for kids were recalled when it was found that the metal clasps on the necklaces contained dangerous levels of lead.
- Unexpected Shattering: Pier 1 Imports recalled over 200,000 Chinese-made glassware pieces after it was found that they can crack or break unexpectedly, posing a laceration hazard to consumers.
- Collapsing Recliners: Rockingham Deluxe Lounge Chairs, imported from China by Rockingham Deluxe Lounge Chairs, were recalled because the chairs can collapse or fall backward due to faulty support brackets or weak frames, posing fall and severe laceration hazards to consumers.
July 2007
- Dangerously Crappy Hammocks: A free-standing hammock manufactured by the Chinese company Danlong Industries has been found to break quite easily, sending anyone unlucky enough to be resting in the hammock to the ground. Several people have reported injuries.
- “Essential” Lead Jewelry: Future Industries of New Jersey recalled their “Essentials for kids” jewelry product line after the Chinese-manufactured jewelry was found to contain dangerous levels of lead.
Are you concerned about the safety of "Made In China" products?
[Note: Most products on recall lists we checked were American companies' products manufactured in China, but we have chosen to mention only the incidents that seem most likely connected to problems on the Chinese side, such as dangerous/faulty materials being used in production.]
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thank you
why doesn’t things that come from china have to meet any special critiea?? whats up with our goverment letting this happen??what are our politician doing about it??are we that stuipd that we can’t see that there doing this on purpose especially with so many things!!!!!
The people of China have a very strong business culture with a good work ethic and a desire to excel in the business world. The Chinese people are innovative and well educated and are always looking for new development, working on their trade standards, or perfecting an existing product, so China’s market place is very professional. I don’t see how products could be of low standards.
I have to say that as an American, I am sick of seeing chinese made goods being sold on American soil. I for one intend to do something about it. I am an American born engineer by day and an inventor by night. I am now engaged in the process of bringing an American made product to market. I plan to print the words “NOT MADE IN CHINA” on the packaging to express that we are indeed an American company producing American made products for the American consumer.
All of you manufacturers of childrens items especially babies, should be ashamed. You place a greater importance on profits than you do the safety of our children.
You people are driven by your own greed. I refuse to do business with any company who outsources manufacturing to CHINA, SRILANKA or any other country for that matter. You are selling your souls to the DEVIL. You are empowering their economy and weakening ours. People such as yourselves should be tried for treason.
Your taking away jobs from hard working American citizens.
Listen up president Obama you need to place stiff tariffs on any goods imported to this country. Stop providing foreign aid to other countries. You say that the American consumer should have the freedon of deciding which products to purchase. Competition is good, it increases quality of goods for the consumer.
Ask yourself how many choices the japanese consumer has when purchasing a car. More importantly, how many different American vehicles can the japanese consumer choose from. The answer is zero. They don’t sell American cars in Japan!
I spent three months in japan this past summer on several business trips. The entire time I was there the number of American cars could be counted on both of my hands!
We need to take care of our own. We are in a crisis situation. The American way of life is at stake.
The future of our children is at stake. It is time to take action. I ask that any of you who is planning to start a business or bring a new product to market here in America, do so immediately!
Your country, The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is counting on you. The government will not change the way business is done. We the citizens of the United States of America must act now!
Ask your self how many contributions to science were invented by the chinese. THey can’t even design their own weaponry for equippintg their military. They had to take sides with the Russians who showed them how to manufacture the AK47.Then ask yourself the same of American contributions to science. Now take a moment to do a search on the internet. You will be astounded at the number of scientific contributions developed here in America, in comparison to CHINA and other foreign countries. The fact is, we are the most inventive and innovative country in the world. We invented the ligth bulb the phonograph, motion pictures, the transistor, the microprocessor,
television, photo copier, and so many more contributions. We were once an industrial giant.
The Chinese do not invent, they copy everything we do.
If you don’t believe me, look at the types of products they are offering.
but it is getting worse, the chinese military is now recruiting large numbers of college graduates. They are the next super power fueled by the greed of American corporations.
We need to close our universities and junior colleges to foreign students and eliminate student visas. It does our country no good to educate these people who will return to their country after graduation to serve the needs of their country.
eliminate NAFTA:
NAFTA only benefits the econonomies that are south of the border. The corporations love NAFTA because it opens the doors to cheap labor. Why should these U.S. companies continue to manufacturer products on U.S. soil when they can employ mexicans at a labor rate that is 6 to 7 times lower than that which they would pay to an American worker?
Do the right thing for America. Take a stand. Boycott Chinese made goods. Complain to Home Depot about the cheap made in china screws that break in half when hand tightened. Complain to Your local gov’t representative about the lead based paint in your childrens’ toys. Complain about the 10s of thousands of chinese made tires deemed unsafe that were recently sold from a retailer in NJ. Complain about the CHINESE tooth paste that killed innocent consumers. Complain about the CHINESE made drywall that is being spoken of in the news that resulted in so many recent illnesses and the expenditure of millions of U.S. dollars to expose of the toxic waste the CHINESE call drywall.
A very disturbing trend that is taking place is the buying up of american land by foreign CHINESE, JAPANESE companies and private investors. We have what they want “LAND”. Have you ever been to Japan. land is so scarce there that they build gas staions with gas pumps mounted high above the pavement. They build elevevators for temporary storage of their vehicles.
The Japanese parking garage looks like something that Otis elevator would have fabricated. Why do you think that the japanese car companies have built their manufacturing plants in America. he reason is that there is no available land in Japan upon which a factory can be built. The city of Tokyo is largerly a man made land mass. The same can be said for CHINA.
This is also the reason that everything produced in Japan is made increasingly smaller. They don’t have large homes. They don’t have large plots of land. But wait yes they do, The land is called the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
It is the fault of the US law system, employee appreciation and employee work ethic that its cheaper to manufacture in China. US lost manufacturing infrastructure it used to have. Besides, US capitalist does not have to worry about rest of the details associated with the maintaining the workforce. the People in us continue buying stuff they don’t need – 99% of garages I see are packed with stuff. This buying creates demand, for cheap stuff, we buy lots of it. How to fix it? Don’t buy “made in china” labeled products. Buy European, south American, Japanese, canadian, russian products, there is plenty of them. We don’t, because we are too cheap. We are focused on the bottom price vs quality. “Made in China” are the cheapest, so we buy lots of it. It breaks, throw it away, buy another one like it. Heck, buy extra just for backup when buying the first one. I don’t advocate to buy American, lots of that is poor quality, mostly due to loose QA practices. US manufacturers are slowly grasping the concept of quality vs quality.
Excuse me but the bottom line was and still is slave labour. Wake up and smell the blood, sweat and tears.
I simply refuse to buy it if the label reads “Made in China” I see Nativity Scenes in BJ’s and they are made in China…the same country that refused to allow athletes to enter the country with a Bible during the Olympics. And people wonder what’s wrong with our ecomomy. Why our unemployment rate is high…c’mon. I’ll do without before I contribute to the problem. I am an American….how about some of the CEO’s out there….don’t you care, or is everything in your life about sticking a couple more dollars in your pocket.
.Great subject. I have been playing around with the idea of the comment structure recently.
The popular comment layout is common, so it is easily recognized when scanning to post a comment. If the comment section is in a different format, then I am going to spend more time trying to decipher what everything means.
IT Provider
Very nice posting. Thanks.
Bathmate
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Made in China is not dangerous anymore, if you ask me. After all, China is a preferred source of goods and services because of the relatively low cost of
manufacturing and raw materials available there, but the final products are developed somewhere else.
My 5yr old daughter has started on a restricted diet. So, we would like to find a milk alternative that is enriched with calcium. We found Rice Dream Enriched Original (1-800-434-4246 – a number in Canada). As I was curious to the origin of the ingredients of this product, I called the company. I learned that the rice is from the US, the salt from Argentina or Mexico, but the source of “enrichment” – a readymade powder, originates in China(YIKES!!!!!). The customer service representative at Rice Dream also told me that any of North America’s “enriched” foods, no matter what you are buying – flour – cereals – whatever – has likely used this readymade mixed enriched powder that originates in China. Apparently they supply most of the enrichment vitamin/mineral powder used in our foods.
I don’t think the lady I spoke to from Rice Dram can make this claim “officially”, but it was concerning to hear. Does anyone here know where to reference me (a government soucre? a watchdog group?) so that I can investigate her claim further?
Want to help? If you have time, please call all companies that manufacture any of the enriched foods you buy (including such foods as calcium fortified orange juice) and just ask them this question “What are the origins of the countries of the ingredients you use in your products? Do any of them come from China? In particular, does your source of “Enrichment” come from China”. Let me know what you learn….
Please post what you learn…
Catherine
Canada
Like a priest in a brothel the west is willing to forego its hysterical exhortations of ever increasingly unattainable ‘safety’ in the persuit of cheapness at the level of both its junk and value consumption. An electric drill costing 8E is something many people are going to use but a few times over a once in a lifetime DIY blitz — if the thing doesn’t survive for the next job, well.. (my drill and saw do sterling service by the way where some other of my chinese purchses fall to pieces) The chinese attitude toward the junk end they supply carries at least a sense of humour: If you (catholics) buy this kind of crap for your kids then you all deserve to die anyway, arf.
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why doesn’t things that come from china have to meet any special critiea?? whats up with our goverment letting this happen??what are our politician doing about it??are we that stuipd that we can’t see that there doing this on purpose especially with so many things!!!!!
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It’s time for America to Install an Embargo on “All Chinese Product Imported Into The U.S.” until U.S. Inspectors can Approve All Manufacturinf and Packaging and Shipping of these Products That Ensure their Safety to American Buyers!
So it is 2010, who cares?! All the products Americans are able to buy are still Chinese garbage. We shouldn’t blame Obama, unless he does nothing about it-he was left with a legacy of incompetence, ignorance, greed, corruption, murder, and retardation from the Bush administration as they pissed America’s money away and made shady business deals to keep their own family oil business going rather than trying for renewable/recyclable resources. I still am boycotting all Wal-mart & Chinese products. I wonder what people do who are now having children and have to worry about milk bottles and products made w/ melamine and other toxic substances.
*****IN RESPONSE TO WHOHOO the goddamn idiot. It IS the Chinese Government and workers who are doing this and they know it, you f***ing retard. Did you not see that medical supplies are contaminated?! Do you not understand the concept of how they are poisoning people?! I am not a rascist, and I do not believe all Chinese people are bad people, however I do believe that many Chinese know exactly what is going on based on postings here to try to still get us to buy these products (and the fact the leaders kill themselves when they are found out-hmm). ***What do you call it then when all products from a country are poisoned?! When your child or pet dies or becomes retarded, is that racism? You think you’re a genius but you’re an idiot-but don’t worry I won’t poison you like a coward, I would do it the American way and beat your head in. And as for all this talk of how hard it is for the Chinese to survive-It’s not Africa, I’ve never heard that they have difficulty eating and getting jobs (maybe in Burma, but that is not China) so maybe you should do some research about if they are starving or not before making unsupported statements. Additionally, “SCRUTINIZE” all the products you want you piece of garbage, unless you’re using a microscope it will be hard to see toxic substances but you’re so smart you can just look at pet food and know whether it is contaminated or not-retard.
**in response to the Old bastard: Americans should have it their own way as Native Americans, and the original immigrants who came here did it to have a better life and to improve this country NOT to steal from it, degrade it, and corrupt it like their own backwards countries do to their own people. American products used to be the best, now they are Chinese junk. Bush & America won’t even buy American-Their are farmers here who raise lamb and beef organic w/ no hormones and instead our country now buys it from CHINA or australia!!!!! Gloves for medical use are even made in China where I work & if they were made w/ quality in America it would improve American jobs/factories and the products might actually work! Stop outsourcing & make American products with quality in America!!!!As a side note, Innova and Evo pet foods are made in America and undergo rigorous testing to ensure you pet’s safety. They are more expensive, but isn’t it worth it to save your pet’s life and boycott China!? BUY AMERICAN-DON’T BE AN ASSHOLE & KILL PETS & SMALL CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!
Rather curious that so many of the products listed here are children’s toys painted with lead-based paint and clothes with buttons, and such, containing dangerous levels of lead in the mix; especially when the world has known for 30 or more years that lead, ingested by pregnant mothers, causes birth defects in unborn children and is a major impediment to their mental development during adolescence
the Chinese will dumb down our kids with their products. When we go to war with them they will expect to be fighting a bunch of half wits
Have you all read about the dangers of pet toys made in China?
We are trying to do something about it by offering safe dog toys made in the USA. We are committed to saving the lives of innocent dogs at the hands of imported products since our own darling pomeranian almost died from chicken jerky from China.
Please check out our site for safe dog toys.
Also, here is the link to an article on dangerous pet toys from China and the toxins found:
http://www.dogtopics.com/133/dog-toys-from-china-why-we-should-be-worried/#comment-99677
Ive ALWAYS maintained tat where ever possible NOT to buy chinese goods,Especially food at the supermarkets in australia.Hardware stores are big culprits of HIGH profit LOW quality tols.I dare ANY of the hardware chains to comment on the Absolute crap the tools that come out from china are.I worked in a hardware store until recently and know for a fact the HIGH number of returns.Electrical tools,hand tools,low grade metal.Tyres that literally EXPLODED in 1999 made in china when the tyres had not even done 1km,just sitting there.ALL made to get high profits without safety being considered…I boycott any chinese product now where ever I can….GO LOCAL
Any company that willfully produces a product that can or will harm a child or other is morally corupt. That company should be prosocuted to the full extent of the law on a world stage.Unfortunatly when dealing with china companies it seams that they most often close their doors and go out of business. Only to reappear months later under a different name. Case in point Chineese dry wall. How many people have lost their homes because of this product.
I think that Made-In-Chinas have improved their quality,now you can buy good stuffs from China which were only available in developed country.
Thanks for the list of products, I am always on the look out for things made in China.
Regards,
John
this Post Is really interesting