China, Part 3: Chinese Cribs Kill Babies

Q: Who would trust a precious baby to a Chinese-made product?

A: All of us, of course, because it's nearly impossible to avoid these products as long-trusted manufacturers switch their manufacturing to the Peoples Republic of Shoddiness.

Now we have dead American babies, thanks to sloppy quality control:

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and a U.S. company announced the voluntary recall of about one million cribs due to suffocation dangers.

The cribs are made by Simplicity for Children Inc., a Reading, Pa., manufacturer of infant bedding and other products. The cribs were manufactured in China.

The CPSC said it is aware of two deaths in the cribs with older-style hardware, including a 9-month-old child and a 6-month-old child, where the "drop-side" of the crib was installed upside down. A 1-year-old child died in a newer model of the cribs, which has not been recalled but is being investigated by the safety agency, CPSC officials said. ...

In all three deaths, the consumer had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the CPSC said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate. CPSC also said it was aware of seven infant entrapments and 55 incidents in these cribs. (See the CPSC announcement and photos.)(WSJ)

This appears more likely to be a design flaw that is the fault of the U.S. product designer, not the Chinese, but until the investigation is completed, this is filed under "China."