Mattel to announce another recall

And the unnamed toy in question may contain excessive amounts of lead paint. Yikes. The AP couldn't get many specifics, other than it doesn't involve the Chinese supplier implicated in the worldwide recall two weeks ago. An SEC filing earlier this month mentioned "other small product recalls" that involved design problems. Today's big news: The head of a Chinese company that made the recalled toys committing suicide. From the NYT:

Experts here say many Chinese factory owners — often under intense pressure to lower production costs — cut corners in making products and regularly use cheap and illegal substitutes. And indeed, in several of the recalls involving China this year, the government says companies intentionally used cheap or illegal substitutes. For instance, after the United States announced one of the largest pet food recalls in history, Chinese regulators said they found that two makers of food ingredients here intentionally added an industrial chemical called melamine into the feed to save money and artificially increase the protein count. Instead, they created a toxic potion that sickened or killed thousands of animals.

Patt Morrison interviewed me about the Mattel story on her KPCC show this afternoon.