Zhang Shuhong - 2007 Mattel Toy Recall

2007 Mattel Toy Recall

On August 2, 2007, the Mattel Corporation recalled hundreds of thousands of toys which were made in China under the Fisher-Price label. These recalled Fisher-Price toys included figurines of Big Bird, Elmo and Dora the Explorer and related characters, which were manufactured by Lee Der Industrial. Some of these toys were found to have been coated in paint containing excessive levels of lead. Lead exposure, particularly from lead paint, has been found to cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and even death in children. A million toys were recalled from American stores such as Toys R Us and Walmart.

The Mattel Company sent investigators to China. Mattel identified Lee Der Industrial company as the main supplier of the lead paint tainted toys. China immediately suspended the company's export license which had a devastating effect on the company's business. According to press reports, Lee Der Industrial stood to lose as much as $30 million due to the Fisher-Price toy recall scandal.

Mattel tracked down three paint suppliers who worked for the Lee Der company - Dongxin, Zhongxin and Mingdai. Each of these three companies had supplied paint to factories which were contracted to make Mattel products, including Fisher-Price.

Mattel believes that specifically, the Mingdai company sold yellow paint pigment containing lead to Dongxin and Zhongxin, which produced the paint. The paint was then used by Lee Der, operated by Zhang Shuhong, to produce Mattel's line of Fisher-Price products.

It is believed that a personal friend of Zhang's ran the company who supplied the lead paint, which ultimately led to the Mattel recall and the financial ruin of Lee Der Industrial. It has been speculated that Zhang Shuhong felt demoralized by the scandal and possibly betrayed by a close friend. Whether or not Zhang knew of the lead paint before the recall is unknown.

Zhang spent the morning of August 11, 2007, talking to some of Lee Der Industrial's 5,000 employees encouraging them to look for other jobs. He also told his managers to sell the factory's equipment. Zhang then apparently hanged himself on the third floor of one of his factories later that day. According to The New York Times, Zhang was 52 at the time of his death. A funeral was held for Zhang Shuhong on August 17 in the factory yard of the Lee Der company.