WASHINGTON (AFP) — With Christmas fast approaching, Don Edwards is worried about the record number of recalls of Chinese-made toys in the United States, and not because he has bought tainted goods for his grandchildren.
Edwards is concerned he won't be able to meet a surge in demand for the hand-crafted, all-American wooden toys he makes in a converted barn in central New York state.
"Every time the phone rings I think, 'Oh my goodness, I've only got a dozen of that type of truck on the shelves and it's six weeks to Christmas,'" the retired 76-year-old professor told AFP.
"I'm worried because I'd hate to have to say to some grandma, 'I'm sorry, I don't have any more of that.' And I know that is going to happen this year."
Demand for the toys made by Edwards with the help of only one other craftsman, who applies the non-toxic finishes to the toys, has been spurred by the recalls of millions of toys this year, many of them imported from China.
"Since the publicity surrounding toys made in China, there has been a dramatic surge in hits on my website," he told AFP.
"You must factor in the Christmas season arriving, but two days ago there were 115 hits and the norm for this period would probably be about half that," he said.
According to the Consumers Union, more than 20 million toys have been recalled due to lead and other hazards this year so far.
"Among those aware of the recalls, 36 percent say they will be buying fewer toys this holiday season, and 70 percent say they will be checking product labels," the consumer watchdog said.
Pamela Gilbert, a former executive director of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, told lawmakers at a hearing on toy safety this week that "industry analysts say only about 10 percent of toys sold here are actually made in the USA."
Almost all of the millions of toys recalled in the past year in the United States were Chinese-made, Gilbert said, adding that the rash of recalls has "left parents wondering if any toy they buy will be safe for their children."
At the Guillow model airplane company, sales of made-in-America balsa wood scale model airplanes and gliders have increased this year, vice president Tom Barker said.
"We've had more orders from US toy shops, and our international sales have picked up too, especially to the UK," he said.
The internationally recognized Little Tikes company has a special section on its website, telling prospective buyers which of its toys are made in America.
"Our consumers have asked to very clearly know which products are made here in the USA and which are not," vice president Tom Prichard told AFP.
Little Tikes produces around two-thirds of its toys in the United States, he said. "We've seen a lot more interest in the made in USA products," Prichard said.
With many items that carry the made in USA label costing more than imported goods, buying American goes against the trend of belt-tightening this Christmas.
Faced with soaring fuel prices, a glum property market, and credit and banking squeezes, analysts have predicted Americans will be thrifty shoppers this holiday season.
But Edwards' toys are selling better than ever before in his nine years in the woodworking business, despite the bigger price tag on his toys.
"If you measure a 160-dollar dump truck which is precision-made of white pine with three coats of water-based, as opposed to petroleum-based, finish against the same thing made in plastic coming out of China, it is expensive stuff," Edwards said.
"Nevertheless, in the past five days, I have shipped more toys than I normally would at this period -- I'm probably at 130 percent," he said.
"This stuff is going to be used by the grandchildren of the kid who's getting it this Christmas, it's so well built."
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