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A bleak overview of Mattel, dubbed one of the "Bad Boys of Business"

posted Sep 6, 2009 11:10 PM by dan marshall   [ updated Sep 6, 2009 11:37 PM ]
The finance site Minyanville recently named Mattel one of the "bad boys of business", using the tagline "No lawsuit, recall, or suicide can stop this childhood-memory maker."  Other recipients of this dubious honor include Blackwater, Wal-Mart, and Comcast. The article then describes a litany of bad PR dating back to the original Barbie.

Unfortunately, the article missed the recent news about Mattel's exemption from CPSIA testing requirements. But, a commentator named James Wolfe updated the article and provided some additional insights. Here are his comments:

Mattel Ethics
09-03-2009, 1:32 pm
Having worked for this company for a couple of decades, most of that time as middle management, I finally left because I could no longer stomach its hypocrisy.

Mattel's latest behind-the-scenes maneuvering involves getting ($1 Million lobbying effort) a special 3rd party toxicity measuring exemption by the CPSC. This will give Mattel a competitive edge because it will not incur the expense of independent testers and is (once again) allowed to police itself.

Bob Eckert dodged a fatal bullet a couple years ago when he testified before congress regarding the impermissible levels of lead in painted toys. The commission failed to ask him how Mattel monitors the VENDORS of the China factories Mattel owns. Vended-out work constitutes something like 75% of Mattel's manufacturing processes in China. Had the senators gone there, the outcome of the committee would have been RADICALLY different.