China Suppliers Up Ante on Product Safety

Many of the new safety standards require makers to conduct more tests on a greater number of chemical substances. As a result, certification fees for some products have risen by as much as 50 percent, and even doubled in a few cases. In many instances, fulfilling safety requirements involves replacing infringing materials with compliant substitutes.

Suppliers of food-grade products, for instance, have already stopped using BPA, an organic compound found in many plastics. In a range of consumer goods, further modifications include the shift from PVC to POE, and from PC to phthalate-free PES, glass and nontoxic silicone.

Battery makers are striving to develop or source safer anode and cathode materials. Some have begun to replace conventional lithium cobalt oxide formulation with lithium iron phosphate, an alternative with lower environmental impact. Other efforts are aimed at improving protection against overcharging, discharging and heating.

In some cases, imported materials, which invariably cost more, are favored over domestic equivalents. Overseas-sourced organic fabrics, likewise, are 20 to 30 percent more expensive than local variants.

Despite the high outlay, some companies prefer to source abroad for consistent quality. Foshan Geuwa Electric Appliance Co. Ltd sources 80 percent of materials and components for its blenders and juicers overseas, while the rest are purchased locally.

Besides higher raw material expenses, makers have to contend with increases in indirect costs, particularly those related with monitoring the supply chain to ensure that all manufacturing inputs meet specifications.

According to Tim Corrigan, president and CEO of the Quality Assurance Institute, "The root cause of the problem (of product quality) is control of the raw material, application contaminations and subfactories. To fix this requires an overhaul at many factories. The solution calls for significant transparency, diligence and dedication."

Generally, material vendors are able to offer third-party certification. But for those that cannot do so, companies need to send their own QC staff to supervise the production at the material suppliers' factories.

More exporters are now limiting their sourcing to suppliers that can provide certified inputs. Still, collection and documentation of every component utilized requires time, effort and money.

In addition to testing and materials quality, manufacturers are also enhancing their in-house QC facilities.

Some baby stroller factories are now equipped with wheel performance, dynamic durability and drop-testing facilities. At the same time, many stuffed toys and children's garments makers are purchasing more needle detectors.

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