Desk of Brian
Pull the Valentine Bears from Target.
The AP reported that Target will pull the pink bears which the CEH, The Center for Environmental Health has discovered contain eight times the federal limit of lead on the inflated letters on its chest.
The CEH is NOT a government agency, but a non-profit "watchdog" acting as the "Lead Police" asserting that children will (I theorize) chew on the "XO" from the bear and suffer a lead poisoned demise.
Does this bother you? Should it?
Whether it's purses or lunchboxes, the CEH has repeatedly patrolled the lead components of various products and I'm not contending that this is a horrible thing.
Whether it's purses or lunchboxes, the CEH has repeatedly patrolled the lead components of various products and I'm not contending that this is a horrible thing.
In fact, I was shocked that the government has done so little to confirm their findings.
What I don't want to see is a company seeking high profile press coverage to increase funding at the expense of companies like Target.
Target is in a no-win situation because one sick child would yield a public relations nightmare for the company. However, collapsing to these accusations so quickly, without asking Federal Agencies or Independent tests to be performed encourages the CEH and other agencies.
There are too many corporations corrupted by profits and it's not hard to comprehend how a watchdog agency can fall into the same trap. Either way the consumers pay for the loss: either through the risk of lead poisoning (in this example) or through price increases as Target recoups the loss of revenue from the exiled bears.
These should have been stopped at customs. Also, Target is a large enough operation that they should have reps visiting the factories where their products are made: working to keep the product safe under US laws.
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