福布斯 关于中国与玩具的荒诞说法

对玩具产业而言，这是一个漫长、炎热的夏天，一个困难的秋天。在太平洋两岸，关于产品设计和质量问题的政治利益和媒体报道数量大得令人难以置信。当我们进入2007年的假日季节，我认为这将是一个很好的机会，从一个深切关注玩具业、而且一生都融入玩具业的人的角度对所有这一切提供一些看法。

　　出于种种理由，有若干产品被召回，美国玩具业和中国供应商都因此承受痛苦。有些人是活该，但很多人是无辜的。当涉及我们的孩子以及他们的健康和安全的问题不可避免地出现时，很多错误的信息就传来传去，无限放大。

　　我可以很清楚地说：美国玩具业始终把孩子们的健康和安全放在第一位。即使受伤的孩子只有一个，那也是太多了，而且通过我们的玩具业协会，这个产业正做着正确的事情以确保我们的产品尽可能的安全。

　　我不是为玩具业或为中国辩护，也不是他们的官方发言人；但我会澄清人们广泛持有的一些误解。

　　误解：产品设计和质量问题是玩具业的风气
事实：到目前为止，2007年召回的所有产品大约占美国一年出售的30亿玩具中的0.9%。有数以百计的玩具品牌，但所有被召回的产品中，四个品牌占了75%。而且这四个品牌中有两个占了因油漆铅含量过多而被召回的产品的54%。

　　误解：中国是所有这些召回的主要元凶之一；让我们的孩子处于危险之中是他们的错。
事实：这完全不正确。制造、进口和出售产品的是公司，而不是国家。消费者产品安全委员会正确地让那些下订单并把产品带回国内的人为玩具的安全负责。同样重要的是，被召回玩具中有74%是由于设计相关的问题，而不是制造相关的问题。设计是那些下订单的人的主要责任，而不是仅是那些制造产品的人的责任。我们要为自己的行为负责，而不是责怪他人。

　　误解：中国要为美国玩具业就业的损失负责。
事实：再次声明这不是真的；中国只是生产集中的最新国家，这样它的廉价劳动力成本才能转化成消费者的低价格。玩具业在五十年前就走出美国，先是去日本，然后去台湾和韩国以及其他亚洲国家。到了上世纪八十年代，中国才开始玩具出口。

　　误解：玩具业过于关注削减成本，因此愿意使用虐待工人的工厂。
事实：在确保供应商公平对待工人方面，世界玩具业是公认的领袖。国际玩具工业理事会（ICTI）的商业行为守则是世界首批责成其成员公平对待工人的守则之一。ICTI关怀程序（ICTI CARE Process）是一个完整的体系，它的形成就是为了确保工厂遵守守则确立的标准。

　　关于美国玩具业的安全标准有一个重要的点——在多数情况下它们是自发的，而且是全世界最好的，受到其他国家的广泛效仿。美国玩具业协会的一致评定程序到明年全面运作，到那时，美国还将拥有全世界最好的安全检验标准和程序。

　　我最后想到的是：为什么不应该制定一套全球安全标准和安全检验程序呢？这样，所有国家都遵守一个行之有效的标准，我们就可以向世界各地的父母保证他们给孩子们的玩具是安全的。如果可以让我实现一个愿望，那我希望所有的孩子都有安全的玩具可玩——无论他们住在哪里。（作者：Alan G. Hassenfeld，曾在祖父于1923年创办的Hasbro玩具公司担任主席和首席执行官18年，他还是国际玩具工业委员会关怀基金会的共同主席和中国玩具协会的首席顾问）


The Myths Of China And Toys

Alan G. Hassenfeld

It has been a long, hot summer and a difficult autumn for the toy industry, with an incredible amount of media coverage and political interest--on both sides of the Pacific--in the product design and quality issues that have become apparent. As we enter into the 2007 holiday season, I thought this would be a good opportunity to provide some perspective on all this from the standpoint of someone who cares deeply about the toy industry and who has been a part of it all his life.

There have been a number of product recalls, for a variety of reasons, and because of them, both the U.S. toy industry and our Chinese suppliers have taken it on the chin. Some of this is deserved, but a lot is not. As inevitably happens with issues involving our children and their health and safety, a lot of mistaken information has been passed around and blown up beyond all recognition.

Let me make it very clear: the U.S. toy industry puts first, and has always put first, the health and safety of the children who play with our toys. Even one injury is too many, and the industry, through our Toy Industry Association, is doing exactly the right thing to ensure that our products are as safe as they can possibly be.

In Pictures: Not Made In China

I am not an apologist for the toy industry or for China, nor an official spokesman for either; but I would like to straighten out what I think are some pretty broadly held misconceptions.

--Misconception: Product design and quality issues are endemic in the toy industry.

--Fact: All of the products recalled so far in 2007 amount to about nine-tenths of 1% of the 3 billion toys sold in the United States each year. There are many hundreds of toy brands (500 in the Toy Industry Association), but only four accounted for 75% of all the products recalled. And just two of those four accounted for about 54% of the toys recalled for excess lead in their paint.

--Misconception: China is one of the main culprits in all these recalls; it is their fault that our children are in danger.

--Fact: That is simply not true. Companies manufacture, import and sell products; countries do not. The Consumer Product Safety Commission rightly holds those who order the toys and bring them into the country responsible for the safety of those toys. Equally important is the fact that about 74% of the toys recalled were for design-related issues, not manufacturing-related ones. The designs are the primary responsibility of those who order the toys, not only of those who manufacture them. Let us take responsibility for our actions and not blame others.

--Misconception: China is responsible for the loss of American jobs in the toy industry.

--Fact: Again, not true; China is simply the latest country where production has concentrated so that its cheaper labor costs can translate into lower prices to consumers. Toy production started moving out of the United States over 50 years ago, going first to Japan, then to Taiwan and Korea and other Asian countries. It was in the mid-1980s that China began its export of toys.

--Misconception: The toy industry is so focused on reducing costs that it is willing to use factories that mistreat their workers.

--Fact: The worldwide toy industry is an acknowledged leader in ensuring that workers in its suppliers' factories are treated fairly. The International Council of Toy Industries' (ICTI) Code of Business Practices, one of the first such codes in the world, obligates its members to treat workers fairly. Through its ICTI CARE Process, a comprehensive system has been developed to ensure that factories adhere to the standards established by the Code.

In the past three years, nearly 1,200 factories employing over a million workers have entered the program. Its Seal of Compliance, issued to factories who have achieved those standards, are accepted by just about all of the major toy retailers in the U.S. There is still much to do, as this is a long journey that brings retailers, brands, civil society and government together. For now, we must continue to monitor and audit all factories in the system, but our primary objective is to build capacity through education programs. Our stated goal is one global standard for the ethical manufacturing of children's products.

An important point about the U.S. toy industry's safety standards--they are voluntary, for the most part, but are the best in the world, widely emulated by other countries. By the time the U.S. Toy Industry Association's Conformity Assessment program is in full operation next year, the U.S. will also have the best safety testing standards and procedures in the world.

My final thought is this: Why shouldn't there be one worldwide set of safety standards and safety testing procedures? That way, all countries would adhere to one proven standard, so that we could assure parents everywhere that the toys they give to their children are safe. If I could have one wish granted, it would be this one: that all children have safe toys to play with--no matter where they live.

In Pictures: Not Made In China

Alan G. Hassenfeld has served as chairman and CEO of Hasbro, the toy maker founded by his grandfather in 1923, for 18 years. He also serves as co-chair of the International Council of Toy Industries' CARE Foundation and chief adviser to the China Toy Association.