Among the global recalls of toys, only a small part results from exceeding lead on toys’ surface paint. When joining the Yunhe Toy Festival, I am glad to have a talk with Mr. Kieselvos, co-owners of Gollnest & Kiesel KG, which purses the business of toy import and wholesales in Germany, so as to know more about the affect of US’s recent recall on EU toy standards, as well as buyers’ requirement on purchasing.

TOY INDUSTRY (T): What kind of toys would you buy most? How do you think about China’s toy quality?

Kiesel (K): I mainly purchase wooden toys. Besides EU, I sell them in other counties as well. I have engaged in this business for over two decades. Not only in Yunhe, I also buy products in Huangyan of Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sri Lanka, Germany and Thailand.

T: What’s your thought on recent recall in US?

K: Around one million different toys are presented to trade visitors every year at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. The number of justified complaints due to possible toy safety irregularities is well below one in a thousand.

     No-one is free of errors. Major German automobile and baby food manufacturers have also made mistakes which, unlike toys, constituted an acute risk to human life. It does not occur to anyone to write the words "This car endangers human life" on the bonnet of every car or to warn beer drinkers that "Drinkers of this brand of beer have been known to beat children following its consumption". Each dummy holder carries a warning notice that babies could strangle themselves with it, although there has never been such a case in the EU territory and prescribed, predetermined breaking points also prevent it from happening.

     Never before have children in German homes been safer from health hazards caused by traditional toys than today. However, there will never be such a thing as total safety. The observance of obligatory parental supervision will therefore remain a necessity in the future.

     We would welcome it if these aspects were also to be included from time to time in what is justifiably critical reporting in order to open parents' eyes to the many dangers which are actually present in every household to the physical and mental health of their children. You can rest assured that we German manufacturers also see the production of toys as a mandate for the development of our children.

     Unfortunately, the at times exaggerated response to the Mattel recall is also hitting us very hard. The Chinese government appears to want to meet the allegedly universal quality standards and working conditions in China with an immediately effective stop on exports of toys. This measure can also be attributed to reporting which has been excessive in parts. It is a measure that threatens our existence and that of other German manufacturers because it affects our Christmas business. This year too, children should be able delight in high-quality, safe toys.

T: Do you worry about excessive lead on toy paint? How do you guarantee your products’ quality when making purchasing?

K: I am not worrying. I advance two requirements to toy makers. Firstly, they must offer me certificate of competency of paint suppliers. Secondly, I need third party inspection lab to carry out spot test upon the first batch.

     As a trader, I will pay special attention to quality according to my clients’ requirements. EN-71 and ASTM are necessary. I need my suppliers to offer inspection report and spot check must be carried out during the production process. Makers should provide safe products with high quality.

T: Would EU make its toy standard stricter due to US’s recall?

K: It is known that, EU government is going to issue a revised standard on toys, which has been planned for 7 years. It comes with stricter requirement on quality on safety. Besides of this the social responsibility aspects are getting more into the focus of consumers.

T: What’s your idea on product “made in China”? Do you have any subjection to China’s enterprises?

K: In view of statistics, I see only 0.008% of toys made in China have some problems. Most of them, actually, are safe and nontoxic. Even if certain problem exists, only certain maker should be blamed. We should not translate it into the misunderstanding that all China’s toys have problem. A large number of companies are highly responsible. In my own opinion, imposing big pressure on a small business as toys, is establishing trading barrier on it. The Toy-industry lobby has not as much influence as other industries, that bear even bigger risks on children’s safety concerns.

     I have visited Yunhe for many times. Now it’s more convenient in traffic. Its product quality keeps improving and now it can go to become as good as those in Thailand. I think China’s toys have good quality, but comparatively, German is better. Generally, China’s design is not as good as Germany’s, and the latter has its obvious advantage in development and innovation. That’s the reason why we supply German made designs to our Chinese producers.

     As to China’s market in the future, I think it should retune from static processing to developing contemporary, innovative production methods. With mere processing work, companies can hardly survive and develop. █