The Harris Poll^® #114, November 14, 2007

Recent toy recalls and media coverage on the topic have hurt China’s reputation as a manufacturer and have soured consumer attitudes toward Chinese products this holiday season. One-third (33%) of Americans say they will be buying fewer toys this holiday seasons due to recent safety recalls and forty-five percent (45%) indicate they will avoid buying toys manufactured in China. This number jumps to nearly seven-in-ten (68%) among those who claim they have been directly affected by the recall. It doesn’t stop at toys – this negative attitude extends to all products manufactured in China, with nearly half (46%) of all Americans saying they will avoid buying Chinese manufactured products this holiday season.

Negative attitudes toward Chinese products are prevalent in all segments of the population, but more negative among older generations. Three in five (59%) Matures (those ages 62 or older) say they plan to avoid purchasing products from China this holiday season. This is compared to just over one-quarter (28%) of Echo Boomers (those aged 18 to 30). In part, this appears to be a function of income, with two-fifths (39%) of those with an annual household income of less than $35,000 saying they plan to avoid buying Chinese manufactured toys, compared to fifty-three percent (53%) among those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more.

These are some of the results of a Harris Poll of 2,565 U.S. adults conducted online between October 9 and 15, 2007 by Harris Interactive^®.

Messages around the conformity across the globe to U.S. standards do little to change Americans’ opinions around purchasing toys. When Americans are asked about knowledge that all toys in the U.S. need to conform to the same U.S. safety standards regardless of where they were made, four-in-ten (43%) feel this knowledge makes them at least somewhat more confident the toys they purchase are safe, while nearly the same amount (44%) indicate no change in opinion.

Overall, awareness of recent toy recalls is very high in the U.S., with nine-in-ten (91%) saying they have heard about the issue. However, while awareness is high, the percentage of the population who believe they have a recalled toy in their home is relatively low and the percentage who report doing something about it is even smaller.

Only six percent of those surveyed are confident they have a recalled toy in their home. Another nine percent believe there is a possibility they have one of the recalled toys in their homes, but are not sure.

Among those who are confident they have a recalled toy in their home, just over half (55%) say they have discarded the toy(s) and a slightly smaller percentage (47%) say they have stopped buying toys from China as a result. Only three-in-ten (30%) directly affected by the recall report returning the toy to a retailer and roughly a quarter (26%) report contacting a manufacturer with questions about the recall.

While men and women are equally as likely to be aware of recalled toys in their homes, women are slightly more inclined to take action. In particular, twenty seven percent (27%) of women who report at least a possibility of recalled toys in their home indicate they have already stopped buying toys completely, compared to just seventeen percent (17%) among men.

Findings from the survey show Americans have misconceptions around the actual reasons for the recall and expose an information gap in the recalls themselves. When asked to choose whether the vast majority of toys were recalled because of lead paint or whether they were recalled due to manufacture design flaws, nine-in-ten (90%) Americans believe the majority of recalls are due to lead paint. While some of the toys were recalled for lead paint content, the vast majority of toys recalled were due to manufacturer design flaws, yet only six percent cited this as the reason.

According to consumers, the most trusted source of information on toy safety is the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). Over half of those surveyed (52%) indicate that the CPSC is the single most trusted source when it comes to toy safety concerns. The second most trusted source is the media at 12 percent. This is followed by pediatricians (9%), other parents (8%), and the Internet (3%). Toy manufacturers are sixth on the most trusted list, with only one percent of the population indicating they are the most credible source of information on toy safety.

According to Justin Greeves, Vice President of Research for Harris Interactive’s Public Affairs and Policy Division "The survey results clearly show that Americans are looking to the Consumer Products Safety Commission as a trusted source of information on toy recalls. The lack of understanding around the recalls, combined with the lack of decisive action on the part of consumers, reveals great opportunities to improve the recall communication process and ensure the safety of the American consumer."

Consumers are divided on whether recent actions taken by manufacturers and retailers increase confidence in toy safety. Adults who were aware of the recalls were asked whether knowing that toys on shelves had been checked by manufacturers and re-checked by retailers helped them feel toys were more safe. Nearly four-in-ten (38%) feel like these actions make the toys at least somewhat more safe, while forty-four percent (44%) indicate these actions do not change their perceptions of toy safety.

It is important to note that some people buy toys and other goods without checking their country of origin and that intentions do not always translate into action. As the holiday toy buying season begins in earnest, it will be interesting to see if the attitudes that people expressed pre-holiday shopping are ones that they will follow through on when in the stores or shopping online. While almost half of adults say they will not purchase toys or products from China and one-third will purchase fewer toys this holiday season, sales figures come January, and anecdotal evidence during December will indicate if this does become reality. Granted, if there are more high profile recalls more of these intentions will become reality and many of these numbers will increase.

"Recently, a series of children’s toy recalls have been announced covering more than 20 million toys sold under a variety of well-known brand names. Do you recall reading, hearing or seeing anything about these toy recalls?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Did you or do you currently have any toys in your household that have been impacted by the recall?"

Base: Have heard of toy recall

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"-" Indicates no response

"Thinking ahead to the coming holiday shopping season and your own shopping habits, please indicate if you agree or disagree with the following statements."

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Thinking ahead to the coming holiday shopping season and your own shopping habits, please indicate if you agree or disagree with the following statements."

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Thinking ahead to the coming holiday shopping season and your own shopping habits, please indicate if you agree or disagree with the following statements."

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Which of the following actions, if any, have you taken or will take in light of recent recalls?"

Base: Have recalled toys or not sure

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Which of the following actions, if any, have you taken or will take in light of recent recalls?"

Base: Have recalled toys or not sure

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

"Which one of the following statements best describes the reasons behind the vast majority of the recalled toys?"

Base: Have heard of toy recall

"Which one of the following information sources do you trust most when it comes to information about the safety of toys in the United States? While you may trust all of them, please indicate the one you trust the most."

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding

Note: * = less than 0.5%

"Since the recall, toys currently on the shelves of U.S. stores have been tested by manufacturers and retested by retailers and have been deemed safe for sale. Knowing this, how does this make you feel about purchasing toys?"

Base: Have heard of toy recall

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

"All toys in the U.S. need to conform to the same U.S. safety standards regardless of where they were made. Knowing this, how does this make you feel about purchasing toys?"

Base: All Adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to exactly 100% due to rounding.

This Harris Poll^® was conducted online within the United States between October 9 and 15, 2007, among 2,565 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.