Sat 13 Oct 2007
Found this amusing in light of the Chinese toy recalls:
Deborah Evanoff thought she’d traded her frantic Silicon Valley career for a lazier pace when she took over the low-tech toy company her parents founded in the late 1960s.
Instead, she’s ramping up Arrowcopter Inc.’s manufacturing operations and getting a record number of orders from retailers in 11 countries. More people are buying the slingshot-like gizmo, which starts at $4 and — as the packaging proudly proclaims — is made in the United States.
As consumers look for alternatives to Chinese-made toys following a series of recalls this year, dozens of small toy companies are struggling to meet surging demand. Some owners report online sales up as much as fivefold from last year. They’re hiring extra workers, expanding warehouses and adding extra assembly shifts.
“Every time there’d be a new recall this summer, we’d get a huge new order,” Evanoff said as she watched contract manufacturers stuffing neon-colored copters, rubber bands and wooden sticks into plastic packages. “We didn’t stop all summer long.”
Good. People buying what they feel is up to standard and dropping what is not is more reasonable and a lot simpler than calling for blanket bans. Thinking before you spend your money isn’t that hard.