U.S. parents say wary after China product recall

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The recall of millions of Chinese-made toys by U.S. toy company Mattel Inc. will make Americans more cautious about buying toys made in China but will not deter them, parents said.

U.S. companies were as much to blame for importing sub-standard goods as Chinese manufacturers who produced them, said parents interviewed in Atlanta and Phoenix.

They said parents were under two types of pressure: to buy particular makes of toys and dolls for children and to buy cheap. That means it would be near impossible to stop buying Chinese-made toys.

"I am going to be a little more vigilant and I am happy that there is some kind of standard," said Lauren Bays, a mother of two small children, said after learning about the product recall.

"I would pay more for (toys made by) a company that was safe," said Bays, eating at an Atlanta shopping mall with her family.

She said it would be reassuring to buy U.S.-made products but just because a toy was made in the United States did not automatically make it safe.

The recall on Tuesday involves 18.2 million magnetic toys globally including 9.5 million in the United States with magnets or magnetic parts that can be dislodged.

The toys involved include Polly Pocket dolls, Doggie Day Care magnetic toys, Barbie and Tanner magnetic toys, Batman and One Piece play sets.