Safety Recall Of Cub Scout "Totem" Badges

Test Revealed Lead Paint Used On Chinese-Made Insignia

(AP)  The Boy Scouts of America said that a Chinese-made painted, plastic badge commonly worn by some of its youngest scouts is being voluntarily recalled after a test revealed high levels of lead in the paint.

As many as 1.6 million of the badges, which are made in China, may be affected by the recall.

"We're doing everything we can," Boy Scouts spokesman Gregg Shields said Thursday.

The plastic totem badge is given to Cub Scouts, who are usually between the ages of 7 and 8. The badge has a yellow and blue border, includes a picture of a bear and wolf and reads "Progress Toward Ranks."

No illnesses have been reported, Shields said.

The unacceptable amounts of lead were discovered during a testing of Boy Scouts products, Shields said. He did not know the level of lead the test revealed.

The recall came the same day that the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced recalls of more than a half-million other Chinese-made products because they contain dangerous levels of lead.

The badges are supplied by Kahoot Products Inc., based in Roswell, Georgia. The company is calling for a voluntary recall of the badge and asking parents to take them away from their children.

Kahoot has supplied the badge to the Boy Scouts, based in Irving, Texas, for about eight years, Shields said. About 20,000 kits containing the badges have been sold each year since, he said.

The Boys Scouts are continuing to use Kahoot, which supplies 39 products to the organization. Shields said Kahoot has "acted responsibly in initiating this voluntary recall."

Shields said the badge was the first of 94 Boy Scouts products tested to come back positive for lead. More products are being tested, he said.

[mopheadad]

Is this idiot day? Was''nt it bill "cigar" clinton who, with union support, signed nafta and promoted foreign trade. Was''nt the U S sued in world court because President Bush raised the tarrifs on foreign goods coming into this country so U S companies could compete? And most recently we lost in the world court because cigar bill forced us to let mexican trucks on our roads bringing more of their junk, like china''s, into our country (President Bush refused to let them cross the boarder) so they sued, so now there is a loss of transportation jobs and our roads are gonna become alot more unsafe, since it is impossible to inspect every truck that is gonna cross our border. Sheesh, wake up people, quit buying that foreign junk, boycott GM, insist on non union products, support your family and neighbors, buy American, heck with wal mart, you people who buy that foreign junk and support idiots like clinton are to blame, go ahead and kill your kids or make them retarded, its your fualt for buying. Get rid of the unions, and prices will go down. I can''t blame Bush for what you''s do.

[southwind720]

If people don''t want things bought from Chinese companies, then American companies need to lower their prices and Americans need to shell out more cash towards these companies so that they can actually afford to underbid the Chinese. Until then, stop complaining about it.

[southwind720]

What people don''t realize is that Boy Scouts of America is a NON-PROFIT organization. They are not in things to make money, so they have to buy things from the lowest bidder, and China is just that. I am a Cub Scout Leader who has boys that wear that totem and we are removing it from the boys and moving forward.

[mlthompson2]

I guess this is a shocking way to realize that sometimes cheaper isn''t always better and that making things in America is actually a good thing, even if it does cost a little more.

[rushlimpdrug]

the boy scouts of china?

[tail_honcho]

My wife justifies her existance by making sure she buys something every day... after she found internet shopping/eBay, most our cash went to the credit card companies. Every item says "Made in China". To save time, I should just have half my pay direct deposited into a Chinese bamnk account and send my wife over seas!

[mcvet]

Well didn''t Corporate Jerks tell us we''d get rewarded if we let them exploit the forced labor in china? This is our reward! Sieg Heil Bush!

[zootallures2]

Maybe they are made with the melted down steal from the World Trade Center you blew up? Better check them for DNA too.

[hungry1968]

"Anyway, shouldn''t the cub scouts BUY AMERICAN in the first place..."
Posted by ozilot at 07:25 AM : Oct 05, 2007


"The time to boycott China is way overdue."
Posted by yorkiegirl2 at 07:20 AM : Oct 05, 2007



You''re both right. At least I agree with you whether you''re right or wrong. :-)

NY state caused an uproar a few years back when they went to have some new "I love NY" tour promotion pamphlets printed, and they awarded the job to a Canadian company instead of one of the dozens of printing companies in NY. Why would a state award a contract to someone outside of their state? There were two companies that were within a few thousand dollars of the total cost of the contract.

It''s tough to do business when your own government agencies and American organizations are turning against you.

[zootallures2]

If I had to live tied to a slave factory in 50 to a room to make your junk, I''d probably wanna put lead in you in more ways than one.

Yea, you gonna boycott..lol. You fat lazy cowards? Maybe you mean a boy on a cott? That''ll show ''em you da man...LOL!

The fact that I can own all this self rightiousness is mind boggling and ironic.