Mattel Agrees to Pay the Price for Selling Toys With Lead Paint

David Mittleman

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 430

1 CommentPrint ArticleSubscribe

Nearly two years after being fined $2.3 Million for selling toys with hazardous levels of lead, Matter and its Fisher-Price subsidiary agreed to pay the civil penalty.

In 2007, toy giant Mattel recalled nearly a million of its toys due to dangerous lead paint. The 967,000 recalled toys were made by a manufacturer in China. Mattel reported that it kept two-thirds of the 967,000 toys from reaching consumers, but that still left 300,000 toys that made it into the hands of unsuspecting children. Some of the lead-laced toys included the popular Elmo and Dora the Explorer toys.

Prior to this incident, Mattel had a reputation for upholding their safety obligations to consumers. In fact, the CPSC applauded Mattel back in July 2006 for being one of the few companies to maintain their responsibility, while other companies such as RC2, the maker of Thomas the Tank Engine toys, had to recall 1.5 million toys for lead paint.

A European retailer of Mattel’s toys first discovered lead on some products. Mattel reportedly stopped production at the factory that produced those toys to conduct a further investigation. Two years later, Mattel's agreement to pay the fine demonstrates an important step in acknowledging that it placed consumers and children in danger.