Word: paints
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...stunning reversal. In August, after the company announced its recalls of several toys because they were made using lead paint, reporters grilled Mattel CEO Bob Eckert about how lead paint, which is banned for use on children's toys in the U.S., ended up on its "Sarge" toy cars. Surprisingly, he had answers. In a conference call on Aug. 14, he blamed it on a subcontractor who violated Mattel's policies and "utilized paint from a non-authorized third-party supplier...
...needs Mattel, and it cannot afford to jeopardize its relationship with the country that produces 65% of its toys. In a global public relations campaign, Chinese officials have emphasized that the country does have strong safety standards, and that problems at a few companies shouldn't be used to paint the whole country's products as unsafe. Even well-regarded Chinese companies with no link to toys or any hint of safety problems, such as brewer Tsingtao and appliance maker Haier, could suffer in the backlash against the made in China label...
...Technically, Mattel's analysis is correct. Of the 19.6 million toys that it has recalled this year globally, 2.2 million were due to lead paint; the remaining 17.4 million (11.7 million in the U.S.) were toys recalled not because of lead paint but because they were made with super-strong magnets. If they come loose and are swallowed in multiples, those magnets can come together with force enough to tear through the intestines of a young child. (Mattel's announcement noted three such serious injuries that required surgery.) The magnet recall was unusually large because it includes toys sold...
...best way to avoid the fate of sellers who watch their property languish (the average sell time is eight to 10 weeks) is to hit the field with a bang; the house should look sharp (fresh paint, fresh flowers) and be priced to move. "People used to try a higher price and see what happened," says Realtor Judy Moore, based in Lexington, Mass. "Today, when the buyer has so many choices, you don't want to sit on the market for 30 days and then reduce your price. That buyer is long gone...
...THAT BLACK MUD? Put a little sugar in it ... add a little water, and you can paint all day." So said American folk artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth, who got his start in mud painting as a toddler, accompanying his healer mom through the Alabama woods. Using his fingers as a brush, plywood as canvas, and sugar, berries and turnip greens for color and texture, Sudduth, a star of the folk-art explosion of the 1980s, painted his life--his dog, farm animals and, after traveling, the U.S. Capitol. Sudduth's works are in the permanent collections of a number...