One needn't have an M.B.A. from Harvard to understand why some companies such as Mattel and First Years have decided to discontinue use of plastic-softening phthalates in some or all of their toys ("Toy Makers Say Bye-Bye to 'Plasticizers', " news article, Nov. 12). But it helps to be a parent or simply somebody with foresight and concern to deplore those decisions.
The companies admitted that their products were safe, but were being yanked because of bad PR, mostly stirred up by one of the most radical environmental groups, Greenpeace. Doing so, those firms may think they have satisfied their duty to their shareholders. But ultimately, caving in to terror tactics and junk science harms us all.
Although there is no evidence to show that phthalates in plastic toys cause any problems, now the companies will either drop the toys altogether or switch to something that's second best. That means toys that are more expensive or less durable or have less of the tactile feeling that's so important to children. More importantly, the companies almost inevitably will be switching to something much less understood than phthalates C chemicals that have been intensely studied for decades. Then Greenpeace can use that as a wedge to go after those chemicals.
Greenpeace is as much a business as the businesses it attacks. Mattel produces toys; Greenpeace produces, packages and sells fear. If it doesn't convince contributors that it's saving the world, its funding disappears and then so does Greenpeace. The group over the past several years has faced a substantial drop-off in funding from the U.S. This campaign may be its way of trying to gin up greater support.
With every victory, Greenpeace gains money and then looks for another crisis to create. Appeasement no more works with radical groups than it does with radical national leaders. The cave-in companies may have acquired a bit of short-term gain, but for consumers and even for themselves, they have set in motion a cycle for long-term pain.
Frances B. Smith
Executive Director
Consumer Alert
Washington
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