TO many children, Elmo, the much-loved furry red monster from Sesame Street, is more than just a plaything. To children ages two to five years old, Elmo is a trusty playmate—a friend to lug around the playground; one who won’t complain when hugged, pinched or smothered with kisses. For parents, Elmo even makes a good teacher. How many children from all over the world have learned the letters of the alphabet or mastered numbers one to 10 from this ticklish little creature? Children eat orange and broccoli because Elmo does, too.

Imagine parents’ shock, then, when Mattel announced a massive global recall of toys in August this year that included Elmo, Big Bird and Dora the Explorer toys, among others. On August 1, Mattel’s Fisher-Price division announced that it was recalling 1.5 million preschool toys because of lead paint. That action included 967,000 toys sold in the United States between May and August.

Two weeks later, it announced that it would be recalling 19 million toys worldwide, mainly Chinese-made toys that either had excessive amounts of lead paint or had small magnets that could easily be swallowed by children. It announced that further recalls could follow, as it began investigations and production checks in its factories in China.

Toy recalls are nothing new in America. For the past two decades, monthly recalls have been issued covering all kinds of toys and children’s equipment for an assortment of reasons—high lead content, having loose buttons or small parts that can come off, being made without fire retardants, among others. Almost every toy brand has experienced having its items pulled off the shelves for reasons that Filipinos typically do not worry about, but which American consumers have been trained to regard as a possible health hazard. The average Filipino consumer, for instance, would not worry about a teddy bear with loose button for eyes, or fret over drawstrings longer than 2 inches on a toddler’s shirt. American regulators, though, would see those loose buttons as a possible choking hazard, and the drawstrings as a possible strangulation threat.

High lead content, ingestion of which can lead to developmental delays and learning difficulties, is the top reason why toys are pulled off the shelves. American consumers are, in fact, relatively well informed in matters involving product recalls, and trooping to the store to return a crib or a doll that fails product safety standards is almost a nonevent for many. US retailers, for that matter, do not question a customer who walks in to return or exchange a toy for whatever reason. Tired of Piglet? Here’s Pooh Bear instead.

The August toy recalls, though, were troubling for their scale. Never before have parents seen so many of the children’s best-loved toys being labeled as a health hazard.  For many, it was agonizing to think that those Elmo stacking rings their babies have mouthed with aplomb actually contained dangerous levels of lead. Even before trade officials could get moving, parents all over the world were already emptying their children’s toy boxes to flush out the toys they deemed to be everything but dangerous.  The recall scare did not spare the Philippines, especially affecting those parents who normally pick up toys in their travels to the United States. The response, though, was more subdued than the frenzy experienced in other countries.

Unlike the full-blown recall carried out in the United States, the Philippine recall was much more limited in scale. Fortunately for Mattel’s toy distributors in the Philippines, Richwell Trading and Ban Kee Corp., the toy stocks in their warehouses were not among the flagged toys.

According to a Mattel press statement, the Philippine recall was limited to three main lines, including 16 lines of Polly Pocket toys with magnets made in 2006 and earlier (Pollyworld Dial a Style; Polly World Rocking Theme Park set, Quick Click Playset, Quick Click Penthouse, Quick Click Boutique, among others.); Magna Battle Armor, Batman and Fight Wing Batman Magnet Lok system figures; as well as Sarge die-cast cars from Disney/Pixar. The recall announcement was made through print ads in major Filipino dailies as well as through notices in the customer service counters of major toy retailers.

Of course, there were many questions raised, especially among those who had purchased some of the recalled toys in the United States. Filipinos taking to the net were also surprised to find some of their old toys on the recall lists of the past years, and could only shake their heads in dismay.

But unlike American parents who frantically pulled out the toys from their children’s toy boxes, Filipino parents, after their initial shock, were far more relaxed about the whole recall to-do.

Perceptions Inc., a public relations firm tasked to handle the Mattel recall hotline in the Philippines, was initially deluged by calls from worried consumers but the tumult soon petered out. Rhea Bautista of Perceptions reports that out of more than 100 calls made to the Mattel hotline since August, less than half of the callers have followed through on their complaint. In fact, the on-ground team has been busy following up these callers, but many are no longer keen on following up on their complaint, even if the toys can be picked up by courier. “Di bale na lang [Never mind],” was a common refrain.

Bautista notes that there have been zero returns for the Batman figures, and negligible figures for the Barbie kitchen and living room sets. The most returns were for Polly Pocket dolls, whose magnets were found to easily detach from the toys and which could cause a choking hazard if swallowed.

Majority of the callers, she notes, came from the upper socioeconomic classes, which is not surprising considering that toys made by Mattel are priced above the reach of the mass market. Whether Filipino parents simply do not give much weight to the hazards of lead ingestion, belittle the possible dangers posed by these toys in their bedrooms, or are inured to having the developed world dumping toxic products in their children’s bedrooms,  is something that only they can determine.

One theory also holds that most Filipino children are constantly watched by adults—nannies, their moms, aunts, grandparents or some relative in an extended household—so that the list of an unsupervised toddler ingesting some harmful product is not so high, and therefore, parents aren’t so paranoid about the potential harm from toys.

Bautista points out that it is far easier to exchange or return recalled toys through the Mattel hotline. Unlike retailers who still require the official receipt, and sometimes even the original packaging of the toys, Mattel is ready to pick up any toy that bears the right product code or at least fits the description of the toy in question. Bautista adds that even toys bought in other countries, including the Dora and the Sesame Street line, are now being received and processed through the Philippine hotline.

Of course, returning toys has not always been this easy in the Philippines. The first wave of recalls, which covered the Dora the Explorer line, had to be processed through Mattel’s Malaysia office. A parent who tried to return her daughter’s Dora toy found it simpler to dump the toy in the trash bin instead.

Today, Mattel’s Southeast Asia office in Malaysia still oversees recall operations in the Philippines, which will run up to February 2008. The Department of Health is the government agency closely monitoring the pullouts, while the Department of Trade and Industry is simply assisting the involved retailers.

DTI Undersecretary Zeny Maglaya notes that Mattel “pulled out quickly” following the recall announcements.  Toy manufacturers and importers, on the other hand, are voluntarily seeking and presenting laboratory results attesting to the safety of their toys, especially those toys that are being packaged with kiddie meals by fast-food chains.

Last November, the DOH issued a circular requiring importers and manufacturers to present their laboratory results to the DOH-attached Bureau of Technology and Health Devices following a six-month transition phase, during which consultations will be made.

In the meantime, the public could only hope that toy manufacturers and government agencies could at least conduct independent audits at different points of the supply chain, whether it be at the manufacturing, shipping or retail levels. Third-party laboratories and testing facilities should also be identified. Filipino retailers could undertake their own safety checks on toys, similar to what retailer SM did for the Christmas lights sold in its stores. Product registration cards should also be included in toy products to ensure the success of future recalls. 

Maglaya believes the recall wave has made Filipino consumers more aware of the need to ensure product safety and quality. “The China recalls was a wake-up call. More calls were made to our consumer direct line,” she added. That, she says, is a “good sign” which means that no matter how slow, Filipinos are somehow on the road to consumer vigilance.

PLAYING ALONG

TO many children, Elmo, the much-loved furry red monster from Sesame Street, is more than just a plaything. To children ages two to five years old, Elmo is a trusty playmate—a friend to lug around the playground; one who won’t complain when hugged, pinched or smothered with kisses. For parents, Elmo even makes a good teacher.

TOY TEST 2007

The holidays are just about here, and the toys are piling up in stores, waiting for you to make your list. Of course, even if your wish does come true, you have to hope for the best: That really great-sounding toy might be a piece of junk.

CONSUMER CONFIDENTIAL

This should be the time of year when Santa’s wholesale elves in the toy district in downtown Los Angeles are busy delivering cheap, Chinese-made playthings to consumers and retailers.

Lumads in the new world

It was a minifair compared with the grand bacchanalia that is the Kadayawan Festival that Davao City has come to be known for.

Mission: global customs service

Del Castillo: From what I have gathered, Commissioner Morales is a self-made man in this career; he supported himself through college while working at the Bureau of Customs as a utility man.

No run of the mill success

Management is a practical discipline measured by financial returns and competitive position. But it is easy to forget that success in business ultimately comes from a commitment to personal values. When you look at Metrobank today, the tendency is to focus on its results, its size and its position. It is easy to overlook the elements that shaped its character.

Winning: Private equity’s very public problems

Q: Why are so many private-equity deals blowing up? Alan Engle, Great Neck, New York                 

A: The short answer is that the world has changed (read: the US sub-prime-mortgage mess has erupted). A lot of companies that were once hell-bent on acquiring hot new properties suddenly want out of deals that are starting to look too cold for comfort.

A Queen Stumbles

HIS eyes stared upward as he started with that familiar tuneful articulation about Iloilo at the peak of its grandeur. A few minutes later, his voice turned wobbly as he recounted how the province slipped from prominence. “So we lost our label being the country’s Queen City of the South.”

Teacher’s pet

WHY am I passionate about Vietnam? Because Vietnam has proven to the world that it is possible to simultaneously achieve robust and sustained economic growth with equitable income distribution. 

Putting imagination to work

SOON after World War II, from 1941 to 1945, the Philippines experienced a decade of unprecedented growth in the 1950s, with Manila—despite being the most devastated city during the climactic battle era—slowly regaining its vigor to once again become a center of industrial progress.

Five steps to building your personal leadership brand

You have a personal leadership brand. But do you have the right one?

A leadership brand conveys your identity and distinctiveness as a leader. If you have the wrong leadership brand for the position you have or the position you want, then your work is not having the impact it could.

What Health Consumers Want

Consumers of health care constitute a market that is as diverse as a market can be, yet the idea that companies might profit by segmenting customers to address their varied needs seems almost foreign to the health industry, despite the billions of dollars at stake.

How Bayan got its voice back

Bayan Telecommunications’ Tunde Fafunwa is very enthusiastic nowadays because the Lopez-controlled company has risen from its low point. And the source of his excitement is largely due to the recent introduction of Span, Bayan’s wireless landline service.

Winning: Managing shooting stars

Q: How far should I go to keep a star performer who has an offer to work at a competitor? Hymie Betesh, New York                 

A: Not as far as you’re probably considering, we imagine, given the panic that strikes most managers when a star threatens to shoot out the door.

Lighting the way

Dutch electronics and lighting giant Philips Electronics has been continuously doing business in the Philippines for the past 50 years.

In the name of the people

THIS time around, former Navy officer and neophyte Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV left no room for ambiguity.

In his 2003 debut at the Oakwood mutiny, then-Lt. Senior Grade Trillanes hemmed and hawed about his intentions.

Water Is Life

FOR corporate do-gooders, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is just the start. The new trend among large and well-established corporate organizations is to integrate sustainable-development programs—not just mere philanthropic activities—to their core businesses.

Give your team a challenge they can’t resist

It’s not easy pulling a group of diverse individuals together to work as a team. Barriers abound in the form of fierce territoriality, incentive systems that reward individual rather than collective achievement, and mistrust spawned by an acquisition, merger or major internal restructuring.

Improve your return on returns

Competitive pressures have forced many retailers and manufacturers to liberalize their returns policies in recent years and gladly accept for a refund just about anything customers regret having bought.

A staged solution to the catch-22

Companies launching two-sided platforms—businesses that connect two groups of users, as credit-card companies do—have often subsidized one group to get it to use the platform. This is a risky approach, because it requires a big upfront investment.

Ship shape

For an employee, a company-sponsored overseas trip could mean mostly fun, with, of course, some work in between. For a chief executive of a company, however, it would be the opposite, and most of the time the fun part takes place in between working or not at all.

Winning: Stay the course…especially if it’s a new one

Q: Sometimes companies need to change even when there is not a crisis forcing the issue. In such cases, how do you keep your people excited about a change initiative after its newness has worn off? Trevor Smith, Singapore

A: You have to stay excited yourself. And not just excited, but obsessed.

If I had a hammer

HASHIM squinted before pulling the trigger. Although the 19-year-old is used to holding Soviet-made AK-47 assault rifles in the deep jungles of Mindanao three years back, this particularly weapon was new to him.

Big failure, little dreams

CASTELLANA, Negros Occidental—It is already past noon and yet Edelyn Pineda is still lazing around Sitio Odiong here along with her little friends.

The Morning Meeting: Best-practice communication for executive teams

Does your company’s executive team struggle with chronic communication problems and a lack of shared accountability? Many times when my colleagues and I are called in to help out an organization, we find that these two core issues underlie their problems.

Lessons from the leaders of retail loss prevention

Preventing theft, damage and errors such as food spoilage has long been an unyielding and poorly understood problem for retailers. But a few companies stand out in their ability to limit losses, and if every retailer were as successful as they are, the sector could save billions of dollars annually—as much as $27 billion in the United States alone.

The Jock Correlation in business

WITH many sports headlines today trumpeting organizational and solvency issues with various teams and sports associations across the world, there is often an almost missionary zeal to bring to sports a more “business approach.”

Winning: Developing a successful succession plan

Q: What companies would you hold up as examples of succession planning done right? Robert Handfield, Raleigh, North Carolina 

A: It’s sad to say, but your question would be a heck of a lot easier to answer if you had asked for examples of succession planning done wrong. That trend is gaining such ground these days it’s alarming.