China Product Safety: Whose Battle Is This, Anyway?

Whose fault is China’s product safety problem? Is it Mattel’s and Hasbro’s, companies that dutifully complete their technical specs and expect them to be followed? Is it Costco’s and Kroger’s, because they buy products trusting that somebody has checked them before shipping them out? Is it the Chinese ministries, provinces and municipalities, which take pride in their achievements without perhaps really understanding what it takes to make them sustainable? Or, is it you and me, because we don’t really care as long as the price is right? That is, until something goes wrong.

Well, it really has gone wrong now, and it is mostly our doing. Make no mistake, China has gone along for the ride and made a pretty penny, but this situation also belongs to us—the wealthier economies in Western Europe, the Americas and Japan. Let’s not fool ourselves. We’ve had the capability to monitor and manage our contract manufacturers around the globe for decades. This Chinese debacle is of our making. Many of us are caught in competitively damaging situations. But that’s just half the story.

Urban air pollution, water, energy, soil, you name it, and China’s environmental assets have been depreciated in the interest of their—and our—economic well-being. But with the Olympic Games coming to Beijing in August 2008, China, and we who serve China, sell to the Chinese or buy their products, have been quickly and justifiably thrust into the limelight.

The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported in 2005 that 3.5 percent of China’s GDP growth was at the expense of their environment. Other green GDP estimates double that number, and one source says it might be as high as 12 percent. That means that all of China’s growth over the past 20 years has been at the expense of their environment. No, let’s put a sharper point on it—all of our growth has been at the expense of their environment. Get your pencils out, because we’ll be arguing this one for decades.

The Chinese consumer is getting richer and wants safe, fresh foods and other products. It will be seven to 10 years until China’s own middle class makes enough ruckus for business to respond, and so the problem that is “over there” gets to be “over here” pretty quickly. This kind of us versus them zero-sum game will never work.

Instead, we the global consumers and the companies that serve us must consider the global social costs of the products and services we consume or provide. We cannot be doctrinaire about this. We have enjoyed the benefits of China’s deteriorating environment while China has converted the depletion of its environmental assets into more than $1 trillion in sovereign reserves. Undoubtedly they will invest these funds wisely to ameliorate their environmental tragedy. But it is equally important that the wealthier economies help to accelerate that development by providing essential know-how and experience, reinforcing standards and rewarding suppliers that take a more responsible, sustainable approach.

So perhaps all this concern about our food and our toys is misguided in the long term. The only time in history when China and India were not the lion’s share of global GDP was during the latest 200 years. They seem to be figuring it out. Let’s make sure we work together to get it right.

Mike Moriarty is the head of A.T. Kearney’s consumer industries and retail practice in North America. Based in the Chicago office, he can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .