Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.

Earlier this month, the Associated Press exposed yet another disturbing Chinese trade secret when it reported that some manufacturers in China are making children’s jewelry with the highly toxic metal cadmium. Children’s jewelry now joins the growing list of dangerous and sometimes deadly products pouring into the United States from China – a list that includes toys covered with lead paint, pet food and baby formula tainted with melamine, sulfuric drywall that has ruined thousands of homes, and other poorly made or defective merchandise.

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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, is pulling items of children’s jewelry known or suspected to be manufactured with high levels of toxic cadmium from store shelves. The move follows an Associated Press investigation published earlier this week which found some China-based manufacturers were creating children’s jewelry with varying amounts of cadmium — a heavy medal considered by the federal government to be one of the most toxic substances on earth.

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On the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s priority list of the 275 most toxic substances in the environment, the heavy metal cadmium is ranked seventh. Unfortunately, in an investigative report, the Associated Press found that cadmium is being used in large quantities to make children’s jewelry and other products that are sold in the United States. The country of origin for almost all of these products is China.

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Toys, children’s furniture, clothing, home appliances, power tools, sports equipment – these are just some of the many products that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls every year to protect consumers from using potentially dangerous and life-threatening items. But while the CPSC’s safety alerts notify the public of recalls involving new and recently made products, millions of older, defective, once-recalled or banned products find their way into thrift stores every year.

In fact, the CPSC says that 7 out of every 10 thrift stores sell products that pose the risk of injury and death. If hazards abound in second-hand stores, what is the CPSC doing to improve public safety? And what can consumers do to protect themselves?

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Toys with lead paint, contaminated food, toxic drywall, defective all-terrain vehicles – these are just some of the Chinese exports that have spawned massive safety recalls and personal injury lawsuits in the last couple of years. In 2007, made-in-China products accounted for more than 82% of all U.S. consumer product recalls. Assuming that U.S.-China trade relations remain normal, what will the future of the American marketplace look like in 5 or 10 years? Will it be rife with all sorts of defective and dangerous imports or will Chinese manufacturers eventually embrace what it means to make a “quality” product?

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Just in time for the holiday season, W.A.T.C.H. (World Against Toys Causing Harm), a Massachusetts-based consumer watchdog organization, announced its annual “10 Worst Toys” list at a conference in Boston’s Franciscan Hospital for Children. According to the organization’s website, “Founder Edward M. Swartz and W.A.T.C.H. have fearlessly exposed potentially dangerous toys to the general public. As a result, children’s lives have been saved.”

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