CHERI ELLISON-CARROLL did not know where to turn when a red rash raced up her leg late one night while she was on a business trip in Phoenix last spring. Scheduled to give a keynote speech early the next morning, she didn’t want to sit in the emergency room all night. So she picked up the phone and had a doctor sent to her hotel room.
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He took the subway, top, to travel to the apartment of a patient, Kayla McDermott, who had a sore throat.
Ms. Ellison-Carroll called a service named Inn-House Doctor, and two doctors, a husband and wife, were at the hotel within an hour to diagnose her condition. It turned out that the rash was a reaction to a bug bite, and the doctors administered topical antibiotics. Ms. Ellison-Carroll got some sleep and was able to give her speech the next morning. The cost to her was $450, and she paid for it out of her own pocket.
“They were immediately available,” said Ms. Ellison-Carroll, who lives in Menlo Park, Calif. “It was a service that was priceless to me.”
A new kind of medical practice is flourishing nationwide that offers to go to where the patients are — whether a home, an office or a hotel — to treat ailments as diverse as a sprained ankle or a bad case of bronchitis. Some services may even wheel in a mobile X-ray machine or an ultrasound machine, depending on the ailment, or perhaps pull out kits to test for strep throat or to draw blood. They may dole out medication on the spot or arrange for pharmacies to deliver prescriptions.
“When you call, you can speak to a doctor in five minutes, and that doctor can be there with you within the hour. Where else do you get that kind of delivery?” said Walter Krause, founder of Inn-House Doctor. The company says it has 40 physicians on call in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Philadelphia and Washington; some of the doctors are in private practice or work in hospitals, and they make house calls during their time off.
The convenience comes at a price. Appointment fees can range from $250 to $450, with additional tests and medication extra. And payment is due at the time of the appointment.
Much of the time, that payment comes out of the customer’s own pocket. Some preferred-provider insurance plans may reimburse members for the fees for certain cases — much as they would any other out-of-network physician — or may apply the fee to the deductible. Depending on the insurance policy, the reimbursement is typically 70 percent to 100 percent of the cost. But most health maintenance organizations would not typically cover any out-of-network house calls.
These doctors will see patients for most kinds of medical problems, except potentially life-threatening conditions like chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, serious trauma or problems with a pregnancy. In those cases, people should head to the hospital.
Doctor delivery is one of many new approaches springing up to address the demand for faster, more convenient medical care. Walk-in clinics are opening in places like pharmacies, retail stores and airport terminals, though not everyone thinks this is a good idea. The desire of consumers for better access to a doctor has also given rise to “concierge medicine,” in which they pay thousands of dollars annually to get convenient, no-wait appointments. There is a separate fee for an actual appointment.
“We have that perfect storm. The current system doesn’t work well for patients or physicians,” said Dr. Rick Kellerman, a doctor who works in Wichita, Kan., and is president of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "More doctors are coming up with new home business practice models. They’re exasperated with paperwork and insurance regulation.”
The demand for primary care physicians outweighs the supply in many cities, so patients can wait weeks, and even months, for appointments, and hospital emergency rooms are becoming overloaded with nonemergency cases. Health insurance premiums, meanwhile, have continued to rise.
Some doctors are doing things like taking only house-call appointments or operating “micropractices” in which they work without front-office staff and nurses and see their patients in a smaller one-room office, Dr. Kellerman said.
When making house calls, “you get paid,” said Dr. Steven Meed, one of eight New York physicians working for Sickday Medical House Calls, which started last year and serves patients in Manhattan. “The paperwork overhead is kept at a minimum, the fee is fixed and it’s not going to be reduced.”
Still, these kinds of doctor-delivery services are not likely to solve a big problem in health care: the 47 million uninsured Americans, many of whom probably cannot afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for an at-home appointment.
Nor do these new businesses always address the need for continuity of care or the sharing of patient information among hospitals and doctors about any tests performed or medication prescribed, said David Barton Smith, a professor emeritus of health care management at Temple University. “There’s no common record-keeping,” Professor Smith said.
My Home Doctor, based in Miami, does require its doctors to send an e-mail record of their appointment to each patient’s primary care doctor within hours of the visit and to follow up with phone calls to patients for the next 48 hours.
Alex Leeds, a Miami mother of three, received two follow-up phone calls from My Home Doctor after a physician visited her home to examine her 3-year-old daughter in May. “That follow-up never happens with my pediatrician’s office. Never,” Ms. Leeds said.
She called My Home Doctor after her daughter developed a fever late one evening after the pediatrician’s office had closed. Her husband was out of town, and she didn’t want to haul her daughter and two other children, ages 7 and 10, to the emergency room. The physician arrived, diagnosed a throat infection and gave her a two-day dose of an antibiotic until she could get to a pharmacy.
“It was great,” Ms. Leeds said. “For me to go to a pharmacy with three kids is very inconvenient.”
She called My Home Doctor a second time when her daughter had a respiratory infection. Ms. Leeds said she was trying to convince her H.M.O. to reimburse her for emergency visits for the two separate $300 fees she paid.
IN other situations, employers provide some reimbursement to patients. Sickday in Manhattan has sent some of its eight doctors and four physician assistants to 20 advertising agencies, financial services companies and law firms to provide check-ups and other medical services for employees. The idea is that employees can have medical problems handled on the spot and get back to work quickly.
“Would you rather have a lawyer who is billing $500 an hour be gone half the day for a doctor’s appointment or have Sickday come to your office?” said Aaron Baca, the C.E.O. of Sickday. “This mirrors people’s lifestyles better. People don’t want to wait to be seen.”
2007年9月29日星期六
Recalls Make Toy Shopping a Source of Anxiety
“Get this, Mommy,” said Thalia, 2, on a recent morning at a Target in Brooklyn, as she handed her mother, Liz Gumbinner, a plastic horse made by the Schleich company.
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Related
A Boon for Lead-Testing Companies (September 29, 2007)
In a Contaminated World, Play Isn’t the Only Hazard (September 29, 2007)
Some Parents Test Toys at Home (September 29, 2007)
Times Topics:Consumer Product Safety
Enlarge This Image
Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Thalia, 2, at a Target in Brooklyn, where her mother, Liz Gumbinner, made sure to check where the toys were made.
“We have a lot of these; they’re made in Germany,” Ms. Gumbinner said, then checked a white sticker on the hoof and shook her head. “No, it’s made in China. I’ve been misled by the German name.”
With more than 20 million toys manufactured in China recalled for lead paint and other hazards this summer — and some children being hospitalized after swallowing the magnets of recalled toys — a lot more parents are looking carefully at what they buy and where it comes from. But it is not easy to find many exceptions to the rule that most toys come from China.
Ms. Gumbinner pulled a package of Lincoln Logs off a shelf. “If these are made in China, I’ll be upset,” she said. “No, China. I was holding out hope that something called ‘Lincoln’ would be American.”
As the holiday season nears, parents are waiting for Barbie’s other plastic shoe to drop. When a Mattel toy is recalled for having lead paint, should they avoid just that toy, or all Mattel toys, or all painted toys from China, or all toys from China? Or, since Mattel admitted recently that the problem with loose magnets is not in the manufacturing process but with Mattel’s domestic design, is anxiety toward China misdirected?
“Nobody wants to be a paranoid parent,” said Ms. Gumbinner, 39, of Brooklyn Heights, who works as a creative director for a Los Angeles advertising agency and is a co-founder of the site coolmompicks.com. “I mean, where do you draw the line between cautionary and crazy?”
Other than purging the toy chest of all recalled products, many parents are at a loss. The steady drumbeat of recalls over the last three months has led some parents to wonder whether it is just a matter of time before more of their children’s playthings will be found hazardous.
In the absence of hard and fast rules, the range of reactions has been mixed. Some parents are shrugging off the potential danger as remote or unavoidable. Others are going out of their way to avoid anything even faintly suspicious.
Among the signs that concerns are escalating: pediatricians and health centers report that more parents are bringing their children in for lead tests, which doctors say are never a bad idea.
From June, when the first Thomas the Tank Engine lead-paint recall was issued, through August, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, for example, conducted 3,046 lead tests, an increase of 81 percent from the 1,684 in the period last year.
And some parents are trying to test their children’s toys themselves. Sales of a First Alert home lead test are up 900 percent over last year, according to the company. On Thursday, the product was the 17th best seller in the broad Home Improvement category on Amazon.com, although some product safety experts say that home tests are unreliable.
In an effort to offer some guideposts for parents, retailers like F.A.O. Schwarz are highlighting countries of origin of their merchandise. EBay, where used toys that have been recalled occasionally pop up for sale, recently began directing bidders to toy company recall lists.
Some people are thinking twice before buying used toys. “My girlfriends and I are concerned about going to garage sales, and people are actually staying away,” said Beth Blecherman, who lives in Menlo Park, Calif., and helps run a blog called Silicon Valley Moms. “You hope that toys in stores have been vetted, but how do you know if something you get at a garage sale has been recalled? This has really ruined the whole secondary market for toys.”
Even in the market for new toys, shoppers are puzzled. Is a toy that is assembled in China from parts manufactured elsewhere any safer than one made entirely in China? Does a “made in Indonesia” label inspire any greater confidence?
“I think people are kind of stunned because they don’t know what to do,” said Greg Allen, who writes a blog for fathers, daddytypes.com, and has a 3-year-old daughter. “You can’t just cut out every made-in-China toy. It’s just not realistic.”
On a recent visit to the Toys “R” Us in Times Square, Mr. Allen paused at a section of Playmobil toys, which he said are popular at his house. He trusts the brand because the toys are made in Europe and known for high quality, but he said that the recent spate of recalls has made him question even those assumptions.
“The Thomas the Tank Engine recalls were shocking,” he said. “Then when the Fisher-Price recalls hit, that’s when the problem of the lack of regulations started to become clear.”
As for what all this portends for holiday toy shopping, retailers are unclear, and many parents are trying to figure out how to proceed.
“I don’t think the industry is going to see a big nose dive in terms of dollars,” said Lane Nemeth, who founded Discovery Toys in 1978 and sold the company to Avon a decade ago. “You’re still going to want gifts under the tree at Christmas. There’s just going to be a shift in what people buy.”
Ms. Nemeth said that if she had a toddler, “I’d avoid anything that is painted — I’d just wait until the industry shakes itself out.” Besides, she said, “by bringing home wooden blocks that are unpainted, you’re probably helping your child’s creativity.”
But plain wooden blocks alone probably will not satisfy most toddlers. Danielle Wiley, a 33-year-old publicist in Chicago, recalls a recent tantrum that her 2-year-old son, Max, had in the bathtub.
“I knew a new toy would help,” Ms. Wiley said, but the only one in the house was a Fisher-Price Diego toy that had just been recalled for lead paint. Nevertheless, “I handed him the toy and he stopped,” she said. After the bath, she said, she discarded the toy.
Back in the toy aisle at Target in Brooklyn, Ms. Gumbinner was examining a toy car made by Mattel from the Pixar movie “Cars,” when another shopper, Dunia Sunnreich, a stranger to her, offered some unsolicited advice.
“I don’t think that one’s in the recall, but another one in the series, Sarge, is,” said Ms. Sunnreich, who was shopping for her 3-year-old son, Simon. “I’m glad I can get online on my phone — otherwise I’d have to carry around an extra little bag just for the recall lists. It’s total madness.”
Skip to next paragraph
Related
A Boon for Lead-Testing Companies (September 29, 2007)
In a Contaminated World, Play Isn’t the Only Hazard (September 29, 2007)
Some Parents Test Toys at Home (September 29, 2007)
Times Topics:Consumer Product Safety
Enlarge This Image
Ruby Washington/The New York Times
Thalia, 2, at a Target in Brooklyn, where her mother, Liz Gumbinner, made sure to check where the toys were made.
“We have a lot of these; they’re made in Germany,” Ms. Gumbinner said, then checked a white sticker on the hoof and shook her head. “No, it’s made in China. I’ve been misled by the German name.”
With more than 20 million toys manufactured in China recalled for lead paint and other hazards this summer — and some children being hospitalized after swallowing the magnets of recalled toys — a lot more parents are looking carefully at what they buy and where it comes from. But it is not easy to find many exceptions to the rule that most toys come from China.
Ms. Gumbinner pulled a package of Lincoln Logs off a shelf. “If these are made in China, I’ll be upset,” she said. “No, China. I was holding out hope that something called ‘Lincoln’ would be American.”
As the holiday season nears, parents are waiting for Barbie’s other plastic shoe to drop. When a Mattel toy is recalled for having lead paint, should they avoid just that toy, or all Mattel toys, or all painted toys from China, or all toys from China? Or, since Mattel admitted recently that the problem with loose magnets is not in the manufacturing process but with Mattel’s domestic design, is anxiety toward China misdirected?
“Nobody wants to be a paranoid parent,” said Ms. Gumbinner, 39, of Brooklyn Heights, who works as a creative director for a Los Angeles advertising agency and is a co-founder of the site coolmompicks.com. “I mean, where do you draw the line between cautionary and crazy?”
Other than purging the toy chest of all recalled products, many parents are at a loss. The steady drumbeat of recalls over the last three months has led some parents to wonder whether it is just a matter of time before more of their children’s playthings will be found hazardous.
In the absence of hard and fast rules, the range of reactions has been mixed. Some parents are shrugging off the potential danger as remote or unavoidable. Others are going out of their way to avoid anything even faintly suspicious.
Among the signs that concerns are escalating: pediatricians and health centers report that more parents are bringing their children in for lead tests, which doctors say are never a bad idea.
From June, when the first Thomas the Tank Engine lead-paint recall was issued, through August, the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, for example, conducted 3,046 lead tests, an increase of 81 percent from the 1,684 in the period last year.
And some parents are trying to test their children’s toys themselves. Sales of a First Alert home lead test are up 900 percent over last year, according to the company. On Thursday, the product was the 17th best seller in the broad Home Improvement category on Amazon.com, although some product safety experts say that home tests are unreliable.
In an effort to offer some guideposts for parents, retailers like F.A.O. Schwarz are highlighting countries of origin of their merchandise. EBay, where used toys that have been recalled occasionally pop up for sale, recently began directing bidders to toy company recall lists.
Some people are thinking twice before buying used toys. “My girlfriends and I are concerned about going to garage sales, and people are actually staying away,” said Beth Blecherman, who lives in Menlo Park, Calif., and helps run a blog called Silicon Valley Moms. “You hope that toys in stores have been vetted, but how do you know if something you get at a garage sale has been recalled? This has really ruined the whole secondary market for toys.”
Even in the market for new toys, shoppers are puzzled. Is a toy that is assembled in China from parts manufactured elsewhere any safer than one made entirely in China? Does a “made in Indonesia” label inspire any greater confidence?
“I think people are kind of stunned because they don’t know what to do,” said Greg Allen, who writes a blog for fathers, daddytypes.com, and has a 3-year-old daughter. “You can’t just cut out every made-in-China toy. It’s just not realistic.”
On a recent visit to the Toys “R” Us in Times Square, Mr. Allen paused at a section of Playmobil toys, which he said are popular at his house. He trusts the brand because the toys are made in Europe and known for high quality, but he said that the recent spate of recalls has made him question even those assumptions.
“The Thomas the Tank Engine recalls were shocking,” he said. “Then when the Fisher-Price recalls hit, that’s when the problem of the lack of regulations started to become clear.”
As for what all this portends for holiday toy shopping, retailers are unclear, and many parents are trying to figure out how to proceed.
“I don’t think the industry is going to see a big nose dive in terms of dollars,” said Lane Nemeth, who founded Discovery Toys in 1978 and sold the company to Avon a decade ago. “You’re still going to want gifts under the tree at Christmas. There’s just going to be a shift in what people buy.”
Ms. Nemeth said that if she had a toddler, “I’d avoid anything that is painted — I’d just wait until the industry shakes itself out.” Besides, she said, “by bringing home wooden blocks that are unpainted, you’re probably helping your child’s creativity.”
But plain wooden blocks alone probably will not satisfy most toddlers. Danielle Wiley, a 33-year-old publicist in Chicago, recalls a recent tantrum that her 2-year-old son, Max, had in the bathtub.
“I knew a new toy would help,” Ms. Wiley said, but the only one in the house was a Fisher-Price Diego toy that had just been recalled for lead paint. Nevertheless, “I handed him the toy and he stopped,” she said. After the bath, she said, she discarded the toy.
Back in the toy aisle at Target in Brooklyn, Ms. Gumbinner was examining a toy car made by Mattel from the Pixar movie “Cars,” when another shopper, Dunia Sunnreich, a stranger to her, offered some unsolicited advice.
“I don’t think that one’s in the recall, but another one in the series, Sarge, is,” said Ms. Sunnreich, who was shopping for her 3-year-old son, Simon. “I’m glad I can get online on my phone — otherwise I’d have to carry around an extra little bag just for the recall lists. It’s total madness.”
Assembled Off Site, the Somewhat Homemade Family Dinner
MEALS can get a little fraught around our home. I like cooking, but often run out of time and creativity. My younger son has become increasingly picky, so that he now suspiciously examines every morsel of food, worried I have slipped in an onion or maybe polonium.
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Alan S. Orling for The New York Times
Eager to abandon the takeout treadmill, or even worse, the expensive eating-out habit, I was looking for different dinner options. I had heard of places that supply all the recipes and ingredients. You just put the components together and bring the meals home to cook.
While searching for these places on the Web, I had to figure out what they were called. Prepared meals? Meals to go? No, it is meal assembly, a strange phrase, but one that has become increasingly popular in the last several years. There is even an association, the Easy Meal Prep Association, that says about 1,149 such stores exist nationwide. That is up from four stores in 2002.
I went to www.easymealprep.com and clicked on Directory. A search showed five meal assembly places within a 20-mile area.
I called my friend Nancy Winkelstein, who has a certificate in holistic health counseling, to join me.
While I sometimes read the ingredients on cans — although not with the microscopic intensity of some of my friends — and I more or less know (if not always adhere) to what is considered healthy, she could offer the more critical insight.
We went to Let’s Dish in Scarsdale, N.Y., part of what is now the sixth-largest chain of meal assembly places, with 33 outlets across the country. Dream Dinners is No. 1, with 225 franchises, and Super Suppers, with 207, is No. 2, according to Bert Vermeulen, founder of the Easy Meal Prep Association.
Let’s Dish required a four-meal minimum for $94, with each meal serving four to six people; I had ordered ahead on their Web site (www.letsdish.com). Other places like the Super Suppers near me (www.supersuppers.com) do not have minimums and welcome walk-ins.
Nancy and I were allowed to share the meals. Each recipe, propped up on the counter where we were preparing the meal, has two sides — one for the whole portion and one if you are splitting it.
We were first asked to don bandannas and aprons and wash our hands, and also instructed to wash our hands between each meal we prepared. We went to the first station, where the raw pork cutlets awaited for our pork piccata with linguine.
The measuring spoons are color-coded for size; the necessary ingredients were all sitting out in plastic containers, chopped or grated as dictated, or in the refrigerated compartment below the counter.
It felt a bit like playing house. Measure, mix, put in the plastic bag, set aside, measure, mix, stir. The closest we got to cooking was melting butter (precut) in the microwave.
At the end of an hour, we had four meals, wrapped in plastic and foil containers labeled with cooking instructions. We left the dirty bowls and measuring spoons for someone else to wash.
Nancy was pleased that the ingredients at Let’s Dish, like chicken base, were mostly natural and did not have a lot of additives. Nutritional information for all meals is listed on the Web site.
But she did not (and I agree) like the environmental waste. In many cases there seemed to be an excessive use of plastic bags to wrap items.
“My bottom line is there is nothing I did there that I couldn’t as quickly and as easily do at home in the same amount of time,” she said. “It didn’t have the fresh herbs and had less fresh vegetables than I had hoped for.”
She acknowledged, however, that she probably cooks more at home than most people, and “it’s a step up for people who don’t cook,” she said.
But those who like such places really like them. Suzanne Kelly and Lisa Marinelli, both elbow deep in raw meat, said they had been coming to Let’s Dish for about six months, often with five or six friends.
“It’s a lot easier than going to the cookbook,” Ms. Kelly said. “And for the cleanup, we just walk away. And I haven’t made one thing that my children say is icky or yucky.”
Like many such places, Let’s Dish will cater to specific diets like wheat-free or kosher, and play host to meal-making parties. I did wonder about the quality of the meat; the owner, Terese Hunersen, said the chicken was free of hormones and antibiotics, although the beef was not.
“We’re working on that,” she said. All the meat is also fresh, not frozen, although some of the vegetables are flash frozen.
Skip to next paragraph
Alan S. Orling for The New York Times
Eager to abandon the takeout treadmill, or even worse, the expensive eating-out habit, I was looking for different dinner options. I had heard of places that supply all the recipes and ingredients. You just put the components together and bring the meals home to cook.
While searching for these places on the Web, I had to figure out what they were called. Prepared meals? Meals to go? No, it is meal assembly, a strange phrase, but one that has become increasingly popular in the last several years. There is even an association, the Easy Meal Prep Association, that says about 1,149 such stores exist nationwide. That is up from four stores in 2002.
I went to www.easymealprep.com and clicked on Directory. A search showed five meal assembly places within a 20-mile area.
I called my friend Nancy Winkelstein, who has a certificate in holistic health counseling, to join me.
While I sometimes read the ingredients on cans — although not with the microscopic intensity of some of my friends — and I more or less know (if not always adhere) to what is considered healthy, she could offer the more critical insight.
We went to Let’s Dish in Scarsdale, N.Y., part of what is now the sixth-largest chain of meal assembly places, with 33 outlets across the country. Dream Dinners is No. 1, with 225 franchises, and Super Suppers, with 207, is No. 2, according to Bert Vermeulen, founder of the Easy Meal Prep Association.
Let’s Dish required a four-meal minimum for $94, with each meal serving four to six people; I had ordered ahead on their Web site (www.letsdish.com). Other places like the Super Suppers near me (www.supersuppers.com) do not have minimums and welcome walk-ins.
Nancy and I were allowed to share the meals. Each recipe, propped up on the counter where we were preparing the meal, has two sides — one for the whole portion and one if you are splitting it.
We were first asked to don bandannas and aprons and wash our hands, and also instructed to wash our hands between each meal we prepared. We went to the first station, where the raw pork cutlets awaited for our pork piccata with linguine.
The measuring spoons are color-coded for size; the necessary ingredients were all sitting out in plastic containers, chopped or grated as dictated, or in the refrigerated compartment below the counter.
It felt a bit like playing house. Measure, mix, put in the plastic bag, set aside, measure, mix, stir. The closest we got to cooking was melting butter (precut) in the microwave.
At the end of an hour, we had four meals, wrapped in plastic and foil containers labeled with cooking instructions. We left the dirty bowls and measuring spoons for someone else to wash.
Nancy was pleased that the ingredients at Let’s Dish, like chicken base, were mostly natural and did not have a lot of additives. Nutritional information for all meals is listed on the Web site.
But she did not (and I agree) like the environmental waste. In many cases there seemed to be an excessive use of plastic bags to wrap items.
“My bottom line is there is nothing I did there that I couldn’t as quickly and as easily do at home in the same amount of time,” she said. “It didn’t have the fresh herbs and had less fresh vegetables than I had hoped for.”
She acknowledged, however, that she probably cooks more at home than most people, and “it’s a step up for people who don’t cook,” she said.
But those who like such places really like them. Suzanne Kelly and Lisa Marinelli, both elbow deep in raw meat, said they had been coming to Let’s Dish for about six months, often with five or six friends.
“It’s a lot easier than going to the cookbook,” Ms. Kelly said. “And for the cleanup, we just walk away. And I haven’t made one thing that my children say is icky or yucky.”
Like many such places, Let’s Dish will cater to specific diets like wheat-free or kosher, and play host to meal-making parties. I did wonder about the quality of the meat; the owner, Terese Hunersen, said the chicken was free of hormones and antibiotics, although the beef was not.
“We’re working on that,” she said. All the meat is also fresh, not frozen, although some of the vegetables are flash frozen.
Seeking a Joint Effort for Greener Athletic Shoes
Jeffrey B. Swartz, the chief executive of Timberland, is frustrated.
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JEFFREY B. SWARTZ
He has seen makers of athletic shoes and outdoor wear — companies like Nike, Patagonia and certainly his own — act in concert to end child labor practices. And he has seen these companies use more organic cotton and use solar and wind energy.
But he has yet to see an industrywide effort to adopt the greenest methods for making, transporting and selling shoes. Green technologies are readily available, he says, but shoe companies have been excruciatingly slow to adopt them.
The main reason, he says he suspects, is that while most of the industry’s chiefs really do care about environmental issues, they are indulging in parallel play.
In a recent conversation, Mr. Swartz elaborated on why his industry will make environmental progress only if its chiefs agree to an industry standard for greenness and use their combined clout to get their suppliers to meet it.
Following are excerpts:
Q. Shoe companies easily collaborate on human rights issues, so why are they having such a hard time with environmental matters?
A. When you are talking about child labor laws, for example, people from the manufacturing team or from the social enterprise team take charge. And at that level there are wonderful informal networks among the companies.
It’s not Timberland and Patagonia collaborating, its Betsy from Timberland networking with Casey from Patagonia. Its activist to activist, not company to company. The companies are sponsors, but not originators of ideas.
That works for some environmental issues, too, of course. Nike developed a way to gasify waste leather for use as fuel, and someone from their team told someone from our team about it.
We’re putting gasification online at our Dominican Republic plant.
Q. Why wouldn’t that same approach work for adopting other environmentally sound practices?
A. Very few of us do our own manufacturing. Probably 90 percent of the footwear sold in America is made by the same five or six global manufacturers, who are operating out of huge manufacturing complexes that serve many clients.
We all probably use Pou Chen in China, for example. So sure, I can go to the head of Pou Chen and say, “Why don’t you try wind energy? I use it in the Dominican Republic.”
But then another customer says, “No, try solar energy.” We need to go as an industry and say, “We’ll invest with you to explore greener energy.”
And lower-level people cannot make that kind of commitment.
Q. In other words, you should band together to apply pressure on suppliers. But aren’t your customers — the retailers and the consumers — applying that kind of pressure on all of you to provide “green” shoes?
A. Not really. We ask people who just bought a pair of shoes how they made their choice, and the immediate answer is that the price was right, or they liked the look or the color.
Ask people what they know about the human rights or environmental track record of the brand they just bought, and they walk away. People buy on the basis of product attributes, not brand attributes.
Q. But why must they make that choice? Wouldn’t consumers flock to an environmentally friendly shoe that is also fashionable and inexpensive?
A. They wouldn’t avoid it. But as an industry, we position our products as more waterproof, or worn by the hottest celebrities. We haven’t positioned environmental attributes as aspirational, as qualities that will make people who buy our shoes feel good about themselves.
The result is that people may think of green shoes as things that they should buy, but not necessarily as things that they want to buy.
It’s like community service — people have come to think of that as something that judges force celebrity drunk drivers to do, not as something that people joyfully embrace. It’s all couched in terms of guilt and penalties, not in terms of aspirational activities.
Q. But how could even a coordinated collaboration of shoe industry chiefs break through such strong psychological resistance?
A. If the industry breaks through its own resistance, the consumers will follow.
We could start by developing industrywide standards. Timberland has begun putting green index tags on some of our shoes, which show how they rate in terms of their impact on the environment. We hope to eventually have tags on all of them. And we hope other shoe companies will adopt similar tags.
If we all make the tags bold and colorful, shoppers will notice them. And if they are on all the shoe boxes, it will become automatic for shoppers to compare green tags among brands, just like they compare price and color.
And then they’ll notice which boxes aren’t labeled, and they’ll ask the sales associate why not. The sales associate will tell the store’s buyer, who will call the manufacturer and ask for labeling, just like they now call and insist on colors or styles.
When that happens, we’ll all be fighting to have the best tag. No car company wants to be known for the worst gas mileage, and no shoe company will want to be known for the least environmentally friendly shoes.
Q. So why don’t you get the collaborative ball rolling, and convene a meeting of your chief executive counterparts?
A. Good question. Our competitors are so much bigger than we are, and that makes me reluctant to place the call. But maybe I really should do less lamenting that C.E.O.’s aren’t getting together, and pick up a phone. Maybe that’s the answer: I should lament less and dial more.
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JEFFREY B. SWARTZ
He has seen makers of athletic shoes and outdoor wear — companies like Nike, Patagonia and certainly his own — act in concert to end child labor practices. And he has seen these companies use more organic cotton and use solar and wind energy.
But he has yet to see an industrywide effort to adopt the greenest methods for making, transporting and selling shoes. Green technologies are readily available, he says, but shoe companies have been excruciatingly slow to adopt them.
The main reason, he says he suspects, is that while most of the industry’s chiefs really do care about environmental issues, they are indulging in parallel play.
In a recent conversation, Mr. Swartz elaborated on why his industry will make environmental progress only if its chiefs agree to an industry standard for greenness and use their combined clout to get their suppliers to meet it.
Following are excerpts:
Q. Shoe companies easily collaborate on human rights issues, so why are they having such a hard time with environmental matters?
A. When you are talking about child labor laws, for example, people from the manufacturing team or from the social enterprise team take charge. And at that level there are wonderful informal networks among the companies.
It’s not Timberland and Patagonia collaborating, its Betsy from Timberland networking with Casey from Patagonia. Its activist to activist, not company to company. The companies are sponsors, but not originators of ideas.
That works for some environmental issues, too, of course. Nike developed a way to gasify waste leather for use as fuel, and someone from their team told someone from our team about it.
We’re putting gasification online at our Dominican Republic plant.
Q. Why wouldn’t that same approach work for adopting other environmentally sound practices?
A. Very few of us do our own manufacturing. Probably 90 percent of the footwear sold in America is made by the same five or six global manufacturers, who are operating out of huge manufacturing complexes that serve many clients.
We all probably use Pou Chen in China, for example. So sure, I can go to the head of Pou Chen and say, “Why don’t you try wind energy? I use it in the Dominican Republic.”
But then another customer says, “No, try solar energy.” We need to go as an industry and say, “We’ll invest with you to explore greener energy.”
And lower-level people cannot make that kind of commitment.
Q. In other words, you should band together to apply pressure on suppliers. But aren’t your customers — the retailers and the consumers — applying that kind of pressure on all of you to provide “green” shoes?
A. Not really. We ask people who just bought a pair of shoes how they made their choice, and the immediate answer is that the price was right, or they liked the look or the color.
Ask people what they know about the human rights or environmental track record of the brand they just bought, and they walk away. People buy on the basis of product attributes, not brand attributes.
Q. But why must they make that choice? Wouldn’t consumers flock to an environmentally friendly shoe that is also fashionable and inexpensive?
A. They wouldn’t avoid it. But as an industry, we position our products as more waterproof, or worn by the hottest celebrities. We haven’t positioned environmental attributes as aspirational, as qualities that will make people who buy our shoes feel good about themselves.
The result is that people may think of green shoes as things that they should buy, but not necessarily as things that they want to buy.
It’s like community service — people have come to think of that as something that judges force celebrity drunk drivers to do, not as something that people joyfully embrace. It’s all couched in terms of guilt and penalties, not in terms of aspirational activities.
Q. But how could even a coordinated collaboration of shoe industry chiefs break through such strong psychological resistance?
A. If the industry breaks through its own resistance, the consumers will follow.
We could start by developing industrywide standards. Timberland has begun putting green index tags on some of our shoes, which show how they rate in terms of their impact on the environment. We hope to eventually have tags on all of them. And we hope other shoe companies will adopt similar tags.
If we all make the tags bold and colorful, shoppers will notice them. And if they are on all the shoe boxes, it will become automatic for shoppers to compare green tags among brands, just like they compare price and color.
And then they’ll notice which boxes aren’t labeled, and they’ll ask the sales associate why not. The sales associate will tell the store’s buyer, who will call the manufacturer and ask for labeling, just like they now call and insist on colors or styles.
When that happens, we’ll all be fighting to have the best tag. No car company wants to be known for the worst gas mileage, and no shoe company will want to be known for the least environmentally friendly shoes.
Q. So why don’t you get the collaborative ball rolling, and convene a meeting of your chief executive counterparts?
A. Good question. Our competitors are so much bigger than we are, and that makes me reluctant to place the call. But maybe I really should do less lamenting that C.E.O.’s aren’t getting together, and pick up a phone. Maybe that’s the answer: I should lament less and dial more.
G.M. Determined to Make Malibu Its Sales-Stalwart Sedan
DETROIT, Sept. 27 — General Motors solved one problem this week by reaching a deal with the United Automobile Workers. Now it hopes its new Chevrolet Malibu will help solve another: winning sales and market share back from its Japanese rivals.
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General Motors
A new Malibu is intended to end Asian supremacy in midpriced sedans.
For years, family sedans have been a lower priority for General Motors and the other Detroit automakers. They focused instead on big trucks and sport utility vehicles, which earned tidy profits, while letting Toyota and Honda dominate the less lucrative market for cars.
But the best days for the big vehicles have passed, and G.M. is eager to break the Asian stranglehold on midsize sedans by offering a redesigned Malibu. The car is set to go on sale Nov. 2, and the automaker views it as its most important vehicle in years.
G.M. is spending $100 million to introduce the new Bu, as executives call it, significantly more than the costs for any other car in recent memory. It has to invest heavily, experts say, to make a dent in the market led by the Toyota Camry, the country’s best-selling car for the last seven years, and the Honda Accord.
“It’s tough to get the broad American public to reconsider an American car in that price class,” G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, said at an industry conference in northern Michigan last month. “The Camry and the Accord have established, and justifiably so, such strong brand value, which means that you’ve got to have a really outstanding car.”
While the Malibu may be improved, so is its competition. This month, Honda began selling a redesigned Accord sedan that is bigger, more powerful and more luxurious than previous versions. The Camry and the Nissan Altima were also overhauled last year.
Honda executives, for their part, say they are not worried about the revamped Malibu. Gary Robinson, senior product planner for the Accord, called it “pretty secondary to what we consider our primary competition.”
Chevrolet dealers, who have had difficulty in the past pushing Malibus off their lots without incentives, say they are excited about the 2008 version, even though few have actually seen one.
With S.U.V.’s no longer pulling as many consumers into their showrooms, dealers have been clamoring for a car that they can steadily sell in large numbers.
“It’s that one segment that’s going to decide how successful you are,” said Travis Jackson, sales manager at the Chevrolet of Naperville dealership in suburban Chicago.
There is plenty of room for growth. Last year, G.M. sold 138,110 of the previous version, but about 40 percent of those went to rental companies. In comparison, Toyota sold 417,104 Camrys, and Honda sold 348,843 Accords. Only about 5 to 10 percent of those sales were to fleet purchasers.
G.M.’s quest for a Camry-Accord fighter has been a long battle. Malibu’s sister car, the Impala, sold nearly 290,000 last year. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, G.M. executives want to sell more than one midprice family sedan.
G.M. will not reveal its production or sales goals for the Malibu, but anything close to the current model’s numbers would be deemed a failure. At one point in the development process, G.M. even considered dropping the Malibu name in favor of something new that might avoid any negative connotation for consumers.
Malibu started out in 1964 as the name for Chevrolet’s top-level midsize car, a version of the Chevelle. It quickly became a hit, selling millions before being discontinued in 1983. G.M. resurrected the Malibu in 1997, but the car has never seriously challenged the Accord and the Camry, which have been at the top of their segment since then.
“The Malibu name might be stale,” said James Edwards, general manager of Heritage Auto Plaza, a Chevrolet and Chrysler dealership in Alexandria, Va. “If you put a Honda Accord out, you know you’re going to sell it. But a Malibu, you really don’t how it’s going to do.”
Chevrolet’s general manager, Ed Peper, insists that the new Malibu “will speak for itself” and will not be hurt by its name, which he says is one of General Motors’ best-known trademarks.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the name,” Mr. Peper said. “We’re going to deliver the finest Malibu that we’ve ever delivered.”
G.M. acknowledges that its position as an underdog in the sedan segment means the Malibu cannot be simply as good as competing models — it has to be better. “We built this vehicle to be the best midsize car in the marketplace, period,” Mr. Peper said. “We’re going to deliver more to consumers in this package than any other midsize car.”
The company has spent months aggressively promoting the car. It released a photo of its two-toned interior late last year, even before it put the 2008 model on display.
The new Malibu, with a low stance and gently curved roof, is sportier than its predecessor. There was even a Web site created to sing the praises of the 2008 version.
G.M. has not allowed critics who have driven the Malibu to publish their thoughts yet, but the car received mostly positive coverage at the Detroit auto show last winter.
“The nice surprise here is the car’s striking styling — something we haven’t seen in a Malibu since, er, the ’64 original,” wrote Howard Walker in Car and Driver.
Another auto writer, Rich Ceppos, said the new Malibu “promises to be everything that the previous model was not: stylishly dressed inside and out and as roomy and smooth-driving as the class-leading Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.”
“Exterior fit and finish, quality of interior materials and driving refinement all take a big stride forward,” he said.
G.M.’s goal, Mr. Peper said, was to make the Malibu look as if it cost double the $19,995 starting price. (That is about $2,000 more than the 2007 model.) A gas-electric hybrid Malibu will start at $22,790.
Mr. Peper said G.M., which lost its long-held place as the world’s largest automaker to Toyota this year, is not intimidated by its position as an underdog in the sedan market.
“We relish that position; we look forward to competing with them,” Mr. Peper said. “They will know by the product that we are going to put in the marketplace that they’re going to have some competition.”
Micheline Maynard contributed reporting.
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General Motors
A new Malibu is intended to end Asian supremacy in midpriced sedans.
For years, family sedans have been a lower priority for General Motors and the other Detroit automakers. They focused instead on big trucks and sport utility vehicles, which earned tidy profits, while letting Toyota and Honda dominate the less lucrative market for cars.
But the best days for the big vehicles have passed, and G.M. is eager to break the Asian stranglehold on midsize sedans by offering a redesigned Malibu. The car is set to go on sale Nov. 2, and the automaker views it as its most important vehicle in years.
G.M. is spending $100 million to introduce the new Bu, as executives call it, significantly more than the costs for any other car in recent memory. It has to invest heavily, experts say, to make a dent in the market led by the Toyota Camry, the country’s best-selling car for the last seven years, and the Honda Accord.
“It’s tough to get the broad American public to reconsider an American car in that price class,” G.M.’s vice chairman, Robert A. Lutz, said at an industry conference in northern Michigan last month. “The Camry and the Accord have established, and justifiably so, such strong brand value, which means that you’ve got to have a really outstanding car.”
While the Malibu may be improved, so is its competition. This month, Honda began selling a redesigned Accord sedan that is bigger, more powerful and more luxurious than previous versions. The Camry and the Nissan Altima were also overhauled last year.
Honda executives, for their part, say they are not worried about the revamped Malibu. Gary Robinson, senior product planner for the Accord, called it “pretty secondary to what we consider our primary competition.”
Chevrolet dealers, who have had difficulty in the past pushing Malibus off their lots without incentives, say they are excited about the 2008 version, even though few have actually seen one.
With S.U.V.’s no longer pulling as many consumers into their showrooms, dealers have been clamoring for a car that they can steadily sell in large numbers.
“It’s that one segment that’s going to decide how successful you are,” said Travis Jackson, sales manager at the Chevrolet of Naperville dealership in suburban Chicago.
There is plenty of room for growth. Last year, G.M. sold 138,110 of the previous version, but about 40 percent of those went to rental companies. In comparison, Toyota sold 417,104 Camrys, and Honda sold 348,843 Accords. Only about 5 to 10 percent of those sales were to fleet purchasers.
G.M.’s quest for a Camry-Accord fighter has been a long battle. Malibu’s sister car, the Impala, sold nearly 290,000 last year. Unlike their Japanese counterparts, G.M. executives want to sell more than one midprice family sedan.
G.M. will not reveal its production or sales goals for the Malibu, but anything close to the current model’s numbers would be deemed a failure. At one point in the development process, G.M. even considered dropping the Malibu name in favor of something new that might avoid any negative connotation for consumers.
Malibu started out in 1964 as the name for Chevrolet’s top-level midsize car, a version of the Chevelle. It quickly became a hit, selling millions before being discontinued in 1983. G.M. resurrected the Malibu in 1997, but the car has never seriously challenged the Accord and the Camry, which have been at the top of their segment since then.
“The Malibu name might be stale,” said James Edwards, general manager of Heritage Auto Plaza, a Chevrolet and Chrysler dealership in Alexandria, Va. “If you put a Honda Accord out, you know you’re going to sell it. But a Malibu, you really don’t how it’s going to do.”
Chevrolet’s general manager, Ed Peper, insists that the new Malibu “will speak for itself” and will not be hurt by its name, which he says is one of General Motors’ best-known trademarks.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the name,” Mr. Peper said. “We’re going to deliver the finest Malibu that we’ve ever delivered.”
G.M. acknowledges that its position as an underdog in the sedan segment means the Malibu cannot be simply as good as competing models — it has to be better. “We built this vehicle to be the best midsize car in the marketplace, period,” Mr. Peper said. “We’re going to deliver more to consumers in this package than any other midsize car.”
The company has spent months aggressively promoting the car. It released a photo of its two-toned interior late last year, even before it put the 2008 model on display.
The new Malibu, with a low stance and gently curved roof, is sportier than its predecessor. There was even a Web site created to sing the praises of the 2008 version.
G.M. has not allowed critics who have driven the Malibu to publish their thoughts yet, but the car received mostly positive coverage at the Detroit auto show last winter.
“The nice surprise here is the car’s striking styling — something we haven’t seen in a Malibu since, er, the ’64 original,” wrote Howard Walker in Car and Driver.
Another auto writer, Rich Ceppos, said the new Malibu “promises to be everything that the previous model was not: stylishly dressed inside and out and as roomy and smooth-driving as the class-leading Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.”
“Exterior fit and finish, quality of interior materials and driving refinement all take a big stride forward,” he said.
G.M.’s goal, Mr. Peper said, was to make the Malibu look as if it cost double the $19,995 starting price. (That is about $2,000 more than the 2007 model.) A gas-electric hybrid Malibu will start at $22,790.
Mr. Peper said G.M., which lost its long-held place as the world’s largest automaker to Toyota this year, is not intimidated by its position as an underdog in the sedan market.
“We relish that position; we look forward to competing with them,” Mr. Peper said. “They will know by the product that we are going to put in the marketplace that they’re going to have some competition.”
Micheline Maynard contributed reporting.
A Boon for Lead-Testing Companies
As toy makers and retailers try to reassure consumers that dolls, action figures and other toys are safe, a group of relatively unknown companies that test toys and other products are emerging as clear beneficiaries.
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Graphic
Looking for Lead at Home
Related
What’s a Parent to Do? (September 29, 2007)
In a Contaminated World, Play Isn’t the Only Hazard (September 29, 2007)
Some Parents Test Toys at Home (September 29, 2007)
Times Topics:Consumer Product Safety
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Timothy O’Rourke for The New York Times
Toy makers and retailers are responding to recalls by adding new product testing in factories.
Mattel, Walt Disney, Toys “R” Us and scores of other toy makers and retailers are responding to the series of recalls this year by adding new product testing in factories and on store shelves. Lawmakers are also considering legislation to require more toy testing and product certification, much like the UL marks on electrical products that designate that they are safe.
“Phones are actually ringing off the hook, which I think is a good thing,” said John F. Gual, chief operating officer of Specialized Technology Resources, a private testing company in Enfield, Conn. “The recalls have actually brought toy safety to the forefront for everyone.”
In addition to Specialized Technology Resources, the largest testing companies include Intertek and SGS, both European companies, and Bureau Veritas, owned by the French holding company Wendel Investissement.
Scores of smaller companies are trying to gain market share in the $5 billion consumer testing business in hopes of capturing some of the expected growth from the increased demand for testing. One company, Quantex Labs, announced this month that it had tripled its lab capacity in New Jersey, and the TÜV Rheinland Group, a German company prominent in electronics and mechanical testing, has just completed a toy lab expansion in Hong Kong.
Toys and other consumer products currently represent only a fraction of the revenue of these testing companies: several generate larger amounts monitoring oil and gas production, ports, food and drugs or construction projects.
But consumer product testing offers higher profit margins. Beyond lab tests, these companies are managing surprise visits to factories to check working conditions and environmental practices. They are also creating custom quality control plans and even documenting the destruction of tainted products.
“For these companies, every food or product scare is a bonanza,” said Alex Barnett, an analyst at the investment firm Jefferies who has a buy rating on both SGS and Wendel. “As global trade expands, people are going to be more worried about their goods.”
Most toy makers involved in recalls this year now admit that they were not testing frequently enough. The Oriental Trading Company, for example, hired Intertek to test its products, but the testing was only once a year after the initial order. So bracelets that were 96.39 percent lead made it into consumers’ hands.
In May, Tween Brands, the owner of the Limited Too and Justice stores, had to recall lead-tainted jewelry — even though those products were shipped with certifications from seven Chinese vendors that said the jewelry had passed independent tests.
“If there’s anything that caught people, it was maybe trusting too much and verifying too little,” said Gene Rider, vice president, global retail leader for Intertek. “The folks who had these recalls said, ‘Oh, we trusted, we trusted.’”
The French retailing company Auchan hired Intertek to test toys it stocks; it discovered the first Mattel lead-paint problem on June 6. Mattel toys recalled this summer had as much as 11 percent lead in their paint; the legal limit is 0.06 percent.
Demand for third-party testing has been growing for decades as the trail of manufacturing expands around the world. Companies completed more of their quality control and testing in-house when they manufactured their products closer to home. Global brands began turning to third-party testing companies to monitor their suppliers as they moved production overseas.
Major testing companies now have tens of thousands of engineers and scientists and scores of labs scattered through China, where 80 percent of the toys sold in the United States are produced. In the short term, these companies may have to run their Chinese labs on overtime to meet demand, though executives at the testing companies said they could handle the new business.
Some of their clients are not so sure. “There’s a finite amount of capacity in the world for toy test and the big people — the Mattels and Hasbros — are taking a lot of the bandwidth,” said Chuck Rogers, head of global procurement for Wal-Mart.
Ronald S. Kaplan, chairman of Action Products, a small toy maker based in Orlando, Fla., estimated new testing would add 10 cents to the cost of every toy. Action Products has not recalled toys recently, but the company decided to test every batch of production.
“Frankly, it’s a good thing that consumers are becoming aware because it’s reasonable for them to pay for safety,” Mr. Kaplan said.
Thermo Fisher of Waltham, Mass., is aggressively selling a hand-held device to test for heavy metals that can detect lead, mercury, cadmium and other hazards in a matter of seconds. Mattel said it planned to buy the devices to conduct initial screenings.
“Those things are selling like hotcakes,” said Donald L. Mays, senior director for product safety planning at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazines, which is leasing one of the devices.
This month, at a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, held up one of Thermo Fisher’s devices, which cost around $30,000 each, and suggested to Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, that she require all companies that import toys to use such analyzer devices.
“This is from your district?” Ms. Nord responded, laughing.
Some quality experts say that more testing does not necessarily mean the problems will stop. Chinese suppliers often devise ways to skirt audits, offering up clean samples when they have actually started using hazardous ingredients.
“It used to be just assumed that everything is safe,” said Sue Warfield, president of the American Specialty Store Retailers Association. “Now people are saying that what we assumed was not as true as we thought it was.”
Skip to next paragraph
Multimedia
Graphic
Looking for Lead at Home
Related
What’s a Parent to Do? (September 29, 2007)
In a Contaminated World, Play Isn’t the Only Hazard (September 29, 2007)
Some Parents Test Toys at Home (September 29, 2007)
Times Topics:Consumer Product Safety
Enlarge This Image
Timothy O’Rourke for The New York Times
Toy makers and retailers are responding to recalls by adding new product testing in factories.
Mattel, Walt Disney, Toys “R” Us and scores of other toy makers and retailers are responding to the series of recalls this year by adding new product testing in factories and on store shelves. Lawmakers are also considering legislation to require more toy testing and product certification, much like the UL marks on electrical products that designate that they are safe.
“Phones are actually ringing off the hook, which I think is a good thing,” said John F. Gual, chief operating officer of Specialized Technology Resources, a private testing company in Enfield, Conn. “The recalls have actually brought toy safety to the forefront for everyone.”
In addition to Specialized Technology Resources, the largest testing companies include Intertek and SGS, both European companies, and Bureau Veritas, owned by the French holding company Wendel Investissement.
Scores of smaller companies are trying to gain market share in the $5 billion consumer testing business in hopes of capturing some of the expected growth from the increased demand for testing. One company, Quantex Labs, announced this month that it had tripled its lab capacity in New Jersey, and the TÜV Rheinland Group, a German company prominent in electronics and mechanical testing, has just completed a toy lab expansion in Hong Kong.
Toys and other consumer products currently represent only a fraction of the revenue of these testing companies: several generate larger amounts monitoring oil and gas production, ports, food and drugs or construction projects.
But consumer product testing offers higher profit margins. Beyond lab tests, these companies are managing surprise visits to factories to check working conditions and environmental practices. They are also creating custom quality control plans and even documenting the destruction of tainted products.
“For these companies, every food or product scare is a bonanza,” said Alex Barnett, an analyst at the investment firm Jefferies who has a buy rating on both SGS and Wendel. “As global trade expands, people are going to be more worried about their goods.”
Most toy makers involved in recalls this year now admit that they were not testing frequently enough. The Oriental Trading Company, for example, hired Intertek to test its products, but the testing was only once a year after the initial order. So bracelets that were 96.39 percent lead made it into consumers’ hands.
In May, Tween Brands, the owner of the Limited Too and Justice stores, had to recall lead-tainted jewelry — even though those products were shipped with certifications from seven Chinese vendors that said the jewelry had passed independent tests.
“If there’s anything that caught people, it was maybe trusting too much and verifying too little,” said Gene Rider, vice president, global retail leader for Intertek. “The folks who had these recalls said, ‘Oh, we trusted, we trusted.’”
The French retailing company Auchan hired Intertek to test toys it stocks; it discovered the first Mattel lead-paint problem on June 6. Mattel toys recalled this summer had as much as 11 percent lead in their paint; the legal limit is 0.06 percent.
Demand for third-party testing has been growing for decades as the trail of manufacturing expands around the world. Companies completed more of their quality control and testing in-house when they manufactured their products closer to home. Global brands began turning to third-party testing companies to monitor their suppliers as they moved production overseas.
Major testing companies now have tens of thousands of engineers and scientists and scores of labs scattered through China, where 80 percent of the toys sold in the United States are produced. In the short term, these companies may have to run their Chinese labs on overtime to meet demand, though executives at the testing companies said they could handle the new business.
Some of their clients are not so sure. “There’s a finite amount of capacity in the world for toy test and the big people — the Mattels and Hasbros — are taking a lot of the bandwidth,” said Chuck Rogers, head of global procurement for Wal-Mart.
Ronald S. Kaplan, chairman of Action Products, a small toy maker based in Orlando, Fla., estimated new testing would add 10 cents to the cost of every toy. Action Products has not recalled toys recently, but the company decided to test every batch of production.
“Frankly, it’s a good thing that consumers are becoming aware because it’s reasonable for them to pay for safety,” Mr. Kaplan said.
Thermo Fisher of Waltham, Mass., is aggressively selling a hand-held device to test for heavy metals that can detect lead, mercury, cadmium and other hazards in a matter of seconds. Mattel said it planned to buy the devices to conduct initial screenings.
“Those things are selling like hotcakes,” said Donald L. Mays, senior director for product safety planning at Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazines, which is leasing one of the devices.
This month, at a hearing of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts, held up one of Thermo Fisher’s devices, which cost around $30,000 each, and suggested to Nancy A. Nord, the acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, that she require all companies that import toys to use such analyzer devices.
“This is from your district?” Ms. Nord responded, laughing.
Some quality experts say that more testing does not necessarily mean the problems will stop. Chinese suppliers often devise ways to skirt audits, offering up clean samples when they have actually started using hazardous ingredients.
“It used to be just assumed that everything is safe,” said Sue Warfield, president of the American Specialty Store Retailers Association. “Now people are saying that what we assumed was not as true as we thought it was.”
Chinese UN ambassador: Taiwan question purely China's internal affairs
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wang Guangya on Wednesday said the act by a very few countries to raise the so-called issue of Taiwan's "participation" in the UN constitutes a gross violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and a brazen challenge to the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community.
In a statement at the General Committee of the UN General Assembly, Wang said the Chinese government, "strongly condemns such flagrant interference in China's internal affairs." "There is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division."
Wang Guangya said Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971 "has solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.""There is simply no such issue as the so-called 'Taiwan's representation in the United Nations'," he added.
The Chinese ambassador stressed, "The question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China. An early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both at home and abroad."
He said, "Adherence to the one-China principle is the basis for the development of cross-straits relations and the realization of peaceful reunification. 'One country, two systems' has been implemented successfully both in Hong Kong and Macao, and it is also the best way for the reunification between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits."
He said, "The Chinese central government has stated clearly on many occasions that after its reunification with the mainland, Taiwan may keep its existing social system unchanged and enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Our Taiwan compatriots may keep their way of life unchanged, and their vital interests will be fully guaranteed. They will enjoy a lasting peace. Taiwan may then truly rely on the mainland as its hinterland for economic growth and thus get broad space for development. Our Taiwan compatriots may join the people on the mainland in exercising the right to administer the country and sharing the dignity and honor of the great motherland in the international community. Personages of Taiwan may also, as part of the Chinese delegation, participate in activities of relevant international organizations and international conferences."
Wang said, "the Chinese government will continue to work for the peaceful solution of the Taiwan question on the basis of the one-China principle."
Wang also said the General Committee of each and every session of the General Assembly since 1993 has flatly rejected the inclusion in the agenda of the General Assembly of the so-called issue of Taiwan's "participation" in the United Nations. "This fully demonstrates that to raise in whatever form the so-called issue of Taiwan's 'participation' in the United Nations will fail to receive support from the vast number of UN member states."
He expressed his confidence that "the General Committee of the 58th session of the General Assembly will, as in the past, refuse once again to include the so-called 'question of Taiwan's representation in the United Nations' in the agenda of the General Assembly session." Enditem
In a statement at the General Committee of the UN General Assembly, Wang said the Chinese government, "strongly condemns such flagrant interference in China's internal affairs." "There is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity brook no division."
Wang Guangya said Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971 "has solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.""There is simply no such issue as the so-called 'Taiwan's representation in the United Nations'," he added.
The Chinese ambassador stressed, "The question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China. An early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people including Taiwan compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both at home and abroad."
He said, "Adherence to the one-China principle is the basis for the development of cross-straits relations and the realization of peaceful reunification. 'One country, two systems' has been implemented successfully both in Hong Kong and Macao, and it is also the best way for the reunification between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits."
He said, "The Chinese central government has stated clearly on many occasions that after its reunification with the mainland, Taiwan may keep its existing social system unchanged and enjoy a high degree of autonomy. Our Taiwan compatriots may keep their way of life unchanged, and their vital interests will be fully guaranteed. They will enjoy a lasting peace. Taiwan may then truly rely on the mainland as its hinterland for economic growth and thus get broad space for development. Our Taiwan compatriots may join the people on the mainland in exercising the right to administer the country and sharing the dignity and honor of the great motherland in the international community. Personages of Taiwan may also, as part of the Chinese delegation, participate in activities of relevant international organizations and international conferences."
Wang said, "the Chinese government will continue to work for the peaceful solution of the Taiwan question on the basis of the one-China principle."
Wang also said the General Committee of each and every session of the General Assembly since 1993 has flatly rejected the inclusion in the agenda of the General Assembly of the so-called issue of Taiwan's "participation" in the United Nations. "This fully demonstrates that to raise in whatever form the so-called issue of Taiwan's 'participation' in the United Nations will fail to receive support from the vast number of UN member states."
He expressed his confidence that "the General Committee of the 58th session of the General Assembly will, as in the past, refuse once again to include the so-called 'question of Taiwan's representation in the United Nations' in the agenda of the General Assembly session." Enditem
UN decision represents consensus on One-China principle: Chinese envoy
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The decision by the United Nations General Assembly at its 58th session not to consider the so-called Taiwan's representation in the UN at the current session represented the will of the majority of UN members, said Chinese top UN envoy Wang Guangya in New York Wednesday.
Wang told reporters after a General Committee session that the decision embodied the purpose and principles of the UN Charter andupheld Resolution 2758 which solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.
"The decision is an indication that One-China policy is a consensus reached by the international community. Any attempt to split China and create 'Two Chinas' or 'One China, One Taiwan' by a small handful of people bent on Taiwan's independence is unpopular and doomed to failure," he said.
He stressed that an early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots.
The concept of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems" put forward by Deng Xiaoping and the eight-point proposition on cross-straits ties and the promotion of China's peaceful reunification have pointed the way for realizing this goal, he said.
UN General Assembly refuses to consider Taiwan's representation
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The General Committee of the 58th United Nations General Assembly Session decided Wednesday not to consider the so-called "Taiwan's representation in the UN," foiling for the 11th consecutive time Taiwan's attempt to join the world inter-governmental institution. EnditemThe General Committee of the United Nations General Assembly decided Wednesday at its 58th session not to include into the draft agenda of the current session the so-called "question of the Taiwan's representation in the UN."
The General Assembly has, for the 11th consecutive time, thwarted Taiwan's attempt to join the world inter-governmental body composed of sovereign states.
The decision was announced by Julian R. Hunte, president of the current session of the UN General Assembly, after a long debate on the issue, raised by Gambia and a few other countries.
Delegates from more than 100 countries addressed the General Committee session. Over 80 of delegates, including those from Britain, France, Russia and Spain, spoke in favor of China's position not to consider the issue.
Speaking at the session, Wang Guangya Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN, said that the purpose of a few countriesin raising once again the issue of Taiwan's representation in the UN is to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" in the world body.
"It is not only a gross violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter but also a brazen challenge to the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community."
He said Resolution 2758, which was adopted by the 26th session of the UN General Assembly in 1971, has solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation inthe United Nations.
He noted that there is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China. "It is an objectivity that cannot be changed by anybody."
Wang said that the question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China, and an early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both at home and abroad.
He stressed that the creative concept of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," put forward by Chinese top leader Deng Xiaoping constitutes the best way for the reunification between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
In their speech, delegates from many countries expressed the belief that there is no such issue as Taiwan's representation in the UN, as Resolution 2758 has solved the issue of UN representation for China, which includes Taiwan. They noted that raising the issue of Taiwan's representation in the UN constituted interference in China's internal affairs.
Many expressed regret that a few countries raised the same issue to no avail year after year, considering the move a waste of the precious time and resources of the General Assembly. Enditem
Wang told reporters after a General Committee session that the decision embodied the purpose and principles of the UN Charter andupheld Resolution 2758 which solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation in the United Nations.
"The decision is an indication that One-China policy is a consensus reached by the international community. Any attempt to split China and create 'Two Chinas' or 'One China, One Taiwan' by a small handful of people bent on Taiwan's independence is unpopular and doomed to failure," he said.
He stressed that an early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots.
The concept of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems" put forward by Deng Xiaoping and the eight-point proposition on cross-straits ties and the promotion of China's peaceful reunification have pointed the way for realizing this goal, he said.
UN General Assembly refuses to consider Taiwan's representation
UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The General Committee of the 58th United Nations General Assembly Session decided Wednesday not to consider the so-called "Taiwan's representation in the UN," foiling for the 11th consecutive time Taiwan's attempt to join the world inter-governmental institution. EnditemThe General Committee of the United Nations General Assembly decided Wednesday at its 58th session not to include into the draft agenda of the current session the so-called "question of the Taiwan's representation in the UN."
The General Assembly has, for the 11th consecutive time, thwarted Taiwan's attempt to join the world inter-governmental body composed of sovereign states.
The decision was announced by Julian R. Hunte, president of the current session of the UN General Assembly, after a long debate on the issue, raised by Gambia and a few other countries.
Delegates from more than 100 countries addressed the General Committee session. Over 80 of delegates, including those from Britain, France, Russia and Spain, spoke in favor of China's position not to consider the issue.
Speaking at the session, Wang Guangya Chinese Permanent Representative to the UN, said that the purpose of a few countriesin raising once again the issue of Taiwan's representation in the UN is to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" in the world body.
"It is not only a gross violation of the purposes and principles of the UN Charter but also a brazen challenge to the one-China principle widely recognized by the international community."
He said Resolution 2758, which was adopted by the 26th session of the UN General Assembly in 1971, has solved, in political, legal and procedural terms, the issue of China's representation inthe United Nations.
He noted that there is but one China in the world, both the mainland and Taiwan are part of that one and same China. "It is an objectivity that cannot be changed by anybody."
Wang said that the question of Taiwan is purely an internal matter of China, and an early solution to the Taiwan question and realization of complete reunification of the motherland is in the fundamental interest of the entire Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots and reflects the shared aspiration of all Chinese both at home and abroad.
He stressed that the creative concept of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," put forward by Chinese top leader Deng Xiaoping constitutes the best way for the reunification between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits.
In their speech, delegates from many countries expressed the belief that there is no such issue as Taiwan's representation in the UN, as Resolution 2758 has solved the issue of UN representation for China, which includes Taiwan. They noted that raising the issue of Taiwan's representation in the UN constituted interference in China's internal affairs.
Many expressed regret that a few countries raised the same issue to no avail year after year, considering the move a waste of the precious time and resources of the General Assembly. Enditem
No evidence of Saddam's link with Sept. 11 attacks: Bush
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- US President George W. Bush admitted Wednesday that there is no evidence of ousted Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's involvement in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th," Bush told reporters in the White House.
But Bush insisted that Saddam had connections with al-Qaida, the network believed to be behind the Sept. 11 attacks. "There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al-Qaida ties," the US president said.
Speaking on different occasions on Tuesday, both US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and presidential national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said that Saddam was not behind the Sept.11 attacks.
They were responding to a recent poll by the Washington Post which indicated that 69 percent of Americans believed Saddam was linked to the Sept. 11 attacks although there was no relevant evidence. Enditem
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with September the 11th," Bush told reporters in the White House.
But Bush insisted that Saddam had connections with al-Qaida, the network believed to be behind the Sept. 11 attacks. "There's no question that Saddam Hussein had al-Qaida ties," the US president said.
Speaking on different occasions on Tuesday, both US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and presidential national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said that Saddam was not behind the Sept.11 attacks.
They were responding to a recent poll by the Washington Post which indicated that 69 percent of Americans believed Saddam was linked to the Sept. 11 attacks although there was no relevant evidence. Enditem
WTO meeting results in 33 million US dollar loss to Cancun
MEXICO CITY, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The 5th Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) resulted in a 33 million US dollar loss to Cancun, in the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, Cancun Mayor Juan Garcia said on Wednesday.
The strict security measures put in place during the five-day event cost Cancun 30 million dollars in tourist revenue, the greatest loss for the Caribbean resort, Garcia said during a special session of the city council. He proposed erecting a monument in memory of South Korean Lee Kyung-Hae, a protester who committed suicide on Sept. 10 at the beginning of the WTO event.
The damage done by anti-globalization demonstrators on businesses and municipal infrastructure totaled 2.72 million dollars, Garcia said.
Some marinas and commercial centers in downtown Cancun also suffered losses due to closure during the event, but the Hotel Zone along the shore was the only sector making profits as it was crowded during the two weeks, he said. Enditem
The strict security measures put in place during the five-day event cost Cancun 30 million dollars in tourist revenue, the greatest loss for the Caribbean resort, Garcia said during a special session of the city council. He proposed erecting a monument in memory of South Korean Lee Kyung-Hae, a protester who committed suicide on Sept. 10 at the beginning of the WTO event.
The damage done by anti-globalization demonstrators on businesses and municipal infrastructure totaled 2.72 million dollars, Garcia said.
Some marinas and commercial centers in downtown Cancun also suffered losses due to closure during the event, but the Hotel Zone along the shore was the only sector making profits as it was crowded during the two weeks, he said. Enditem
World's largest butterfly discovered in China
NANNING, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- A senior Chinese agronomist claims he has discovered the world's largest butterfly, with a total wingspan of 22.6 centimeters, in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Jiang Shaofang, of the Guangxi Yuli Agricultural School, discovered the giant Atlas Moth butterfly on Mount Hanshan in Yulin City and has made the butterfly into a specimen.
Jiang said the butterfly wingspan was 26 millimeters longer than a bird-winged butterfly of Canada, which has a wingspan of about 20 centimeters.
The butterfly was the largest in the world in terms of the overall size of its wings.
Jiang has collected a variety of butterflies in Yulin over the years. He has also discovered a butterfly, with the ancient Chinese seal character "gu", meaning mountain valley or corn, on each of its wings. Enditem
Jiang Shaofang, of the Guangxi Yuli Agricultural School, discovered the giant Atlas Moth butterfly on Mount Hanshan in Yulin City and has made the butterfly into a specimen.
Jiang said the butterfly wingspan was 26 millimeters longer than a bird-winged butterfly of Canada, which has a wingspan of about 20 centimeters.
The butterfly was the largest in the world in terms of the overall size of its wings.
Jiang has collected a variety of butterflies in Yulin over the years. He has also discovered a butterfly, with the ancient Chinese seal character "gu", meaning mountain valley or corn, on each of its wings. Enditem
Europe-based IEE opens regional headquarters in HK
HONG KONG, Sept. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), a 130,000-strong engineering society for professional engineers, has selected Hong Kong as the springboard for its exciting growth plans in the Asia Pacific region.
The IEE, a Europe-based engineering society, opened here Wednesday a regional headquarters, which provides a base for launching its services, such as the world-class information service - the Inspec database - into this increasingly important part of the engineering community.
Mike Sterling, president of IEE, was in Hong Kong for the official opening of the office Wednesday. Director-General of Invest Hong Kong Mike Rowse, was invited as the officiating guest.
Sterling said, "In many developed countries the popularity of engineering as a career is under pressure and employers in some fields are reporting serious difficulties in recruiting appropriately qualified staff. In the Asia Pacific region, however,expansion is still strong and growing ever stronger."
He added," It is important, therefore, for the IEE to strengthen its presence in the Asia Pacific area. For instance, inChina, new entrants for engineering courses exceed the total of all new undergraduates in Britain."
Rowse welcomed IEE's opening of its regional headquarters in Hong Kong. He said: "Hong Kong remains the excellent springboard for international companies and organizations to access the Chinese mainland and the rest of East Asia."
Rowse added, "Hong Kong's engineering professionals will clearly benefit from the services provided by the IEE, which will help maintain and enhance the level of Hong Kong's business and professional services at a global standard."
"IEE's investment reinforces Invest Hong Kong's objective of attracting professional bodies as well as companies to strengthen Hong Kong as an advanced regional services hub," he said.
The IEE provides a range of services to enable the professionaldevelopment of engineers across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Its branch in Hong Kong has a very active membership of 6,000. Enditem
The IEE, a Europe-based engineering society, opened here Wednesday a regional headquarters, which provides a base for launching its services, such as the world-class information service - the Inspec database - into this increasingly important part of the engineering community.
Mike Sterling, president of IEE, was in Hong Kong for the official opening of the office Wednesday. Director-General of Invest Hong Kong Mike Rowse, was invited as the officiating guest.
Sterling said, "In many developed countries the popularity of engineering as a career is under pressure and employers in some fields are reporting serious difficulties in recruiting appropriately qualified staff. In the Asia Pacific region, however,expansion is still strong and growing ever stronger."
He added," It is important, therefore, for the IEE to strengthen its presence in the Asia Pacific area. For instance, inChina, new entrants for engineering courses exceed the total of all new undergraduates in Britain."
Rowse welcomed IEE's opening of its regional headquarters in Hong Kong. He said: "Hong Kong remains the excellent springboard for international companies and organizations to access the Chinese mainland and the rest of East Asia."
Rowse added, "Hong Kong's engineering professionals will clearly benefit from the services provided by the IEE, which will help maintain and enhance the level of Hong Kong's business and professional services at a global standard."
"IEE's investment reinforces Invest Hong Kong's objective of attracting professional bodies as well as companies to strengthen Hong Kong as an advanced regional services hub," he said.
The IEE provides a range of services to enable the professionaldevelopment of engineers across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Its branch in Hong Kong has a very active membership of 6,000. Enditem
Chinese companies warming up for 3G
Beijing, Sept. 18, (Xinhuanet) -- The world's sixth largest semiconductor maker, Infineon Technologies, has joined with Chinese telecom network giant Huawei Technologies to make a low-cost mobile phone platform for third generation (3G) mobile telecom systems, marking another major step in the market's development in China.
"The biggest question is how we can stimulate the 3G market and our co-operation with Huawei aims to find a right approach for that," said Ulrich Schumacher, president and chief executive officer of the German semiconductor firm.
He explained in an interview in Beijing yesterday that the difficulties 3G has met so far in the world resulted from the fact telecom operators and equipment makers focus too much on the high-end multimedia and data applications market. It also meant its volume was quite small, and the rollout of the systems could not bring good returns for operators and equipment vendors.
Infineon and Huawei aim to build a mobile phone platform for wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a major 3G standard, and make the prices of the phones affordable to ordinary users with simple functions of voice communications and transmission of short messages.
Xu Zhijun, president of Huawei's wireless product line business, said most of the 3G phones in the world sell at a price of over 5,000 yuan (US$603). But the two firms are expected to bring the prices down to that of 2G phones, which is usually less than 2,000 yuan (US$240) in China.
He said both companies would inject about US$20 million investment into the project, and the first operational phone based on their platform was expected to come out in the middle of next year.
Infineon will be responsible for developing reference designs and protocol software for the platform, while Huawei will provide expertise in the WCDMA network, terminal testing and interfacing between phones and systems.
Schumacher, on his second visit to China this year, believed China would become one of its focused markets in the world.
He said in the next five years, 70 per cent of Infineon's investment will be made in Asia and China has always been a priority.
In this year alone, the company set up a testing and assembling facility in Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province and a research centre in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.
The semiconductor giant is expected to announce the establishment of its China headquarters in Shanghai today.
As well, an agreement was signed yesterday morning with China's biggest computer maker, Legend Group, on co-operation for computer memory chips and wireless technologies. Enditem (China Daily)
"The biggest question is how we can stimulate the 3G market and our co-operation with Huawei aims to find a right approach for that," said Ulrich Schumacher, president and chief executive officer of the German semiconductor firm.
He explained in an interview in Beijing yesterday that the difficulties 3G has met so far in the world resulted from the fact telecom operators and equipment makers focus too much on the high-end multimedia and data applications market. It also meant its volume was quite small, and the rollout of the systems could not bring good returns for operators and equipment vendors.
Infineon and Huawei aim to build a mobile phone platform for wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a major 3G standard, and make the prices of the phones affordable to ordinary users with simple functions of voice communications and transmission of short messages.
Xu Zhijun, president of Huawei's wireless product line business, said most of the 3G phones in the world sell at a price of over 5,000 yuan (US$603). But the two firms are expected to bring the prices down to that of 2G phones, which is usually less than 2,000 yuan (US$240) in China.
He said both companies would inject about US$20 million investment into the project, and the first operational phone based on their platform was expected to come out in the middle of next year.
Infineon will be responsible for developing reference designs and protocol software for the platform, while Huawei will provide expertise in the WCDMA network, terminal testing and interfacing between phones and systems.
Schumacher, on his second visit to China this year, believed China would become one of its focused markets in the world.
He said in the next five years, 70 per cent of Infineon's investment will be made in Asia and China has always been a priority.
In this year alone, the company set up a testing and assembling facility in Suzhou in East China's Jiangsu Province and a research centre in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province.
The semiconductor giant is expected to announce the establishment of its China headquarters in Shanghai today.
As well, an agreement was signed yesterday morning with China's biggest computer maker, Legend Group, on co-operation for computer memory chips and wireless technologies. Enditem (China Daily)
China-made aircraft sought after at air show
Beijing, Sept. 18, (Xinhuanet) -- China's aviation industry received a multi-million dollar boost yesterday when orders were placed for 30 more locally-made planes.
The order for the home-grown jet ARJ-21s was the highlight of the international air show which began yesterday in Beijing.
The planes, developed by China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd (ACAC), were ordered by Shandong Airlines Corp Ltd and Shenzhen Financial Leasing Corp Ltd.
The deals brought to 35 the total number of Chinese-designed aircraft, which will be used for feeder flights in 2007. Previously, a five-plane order was signed between Shanghai Aviation Industrial (Group) Corp and the developer.
ACAC General Manager Tang Xiaoping said with the completion of designs for the aircraft body and undercarriage, his company will start to manufacture the turbo fan regional jets by the end of this year.
First launched in October 2000, the project was listed in the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05) in 2001. Since then, research and preparation for the new turbofan aircraft has gone smoothly.
Two models of the new plane will be produced, seating 78 to 85 passengers and flying 2,225 kilometres and 3,700 kilometres respectively.
All the electrical equipment and undercarriage and body materials will be sourced through tenders on the world market.
Though the feeder flight market is in its infancy in China, it has strong prospects and will become a new growth engine for the aviation industry, said Tang.
According to Tang, ARJ21 planes will be equipped with General Electric engines, Parker Hannifin fuel and hydraulic systems and Liebherr air conditioning and landing gear systems.
At yesterday's signing ceremony, the buyers spoke highly of the ARJ21 planes, saying they are "the right answer to the right market at the right time.''
In other developments, Peter Isendahl, director of communications with the US-based International Aero Engines, told China Daily at the air show that Air China has again selected his company as a supplier. International Aero Engines will provide clean and quiet V2500 turbofan engines for the flagship carrier's growing fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. The V2500-A5 engines, which will power four additional A319 single aisle planes, will be delivered between 2005 and July 2006. The engines are worth a total of US$50 million.
Apart from making deals, domestic and foreign jet producers are using the air show to display models of their new aircraft designs and are holding promotions to win more orders.
The suppliers at the show include Boeing, which mainly promoted its new 7E7 plane, and Airbus, which has introduced the A-380.
The air show, held in the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing, will last until Saturday. Enditem (China Daily)
The order for the home-grown jet ARJ-21s was the highlight of the international air show which began yesterday in Beijing.
The planes, developed by China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) Commercial Aircraft Co Ltd (ACAC), were ordered by Shandong Airlines Corp Ltd and Shenzhen Financial Leasing Corp Ltd.
The deals brought to 35 the total number of Chinese-designed aircraft, which will be used for feeder flights in 2007. Previously, a five-plane order was signed between Shanghai Aviation Industrial (Group) Corp and the developer.
ACAC General Manager Tang Xiaoping said with the completion of designs for the aircraft body and undercarriage, his company will start to manufacture the turbo fan regional jets by the end of this year.
First launched in October 2000, the project was listed in the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05) in 2001. Since then, research and preparation for the new turbofan aircraft has gone smoothly.
Two models of the new plane will be produced, seating 78 to 85 passengers and flying 2,225 kilometres and 3,700 kilometres respectively.
All the electrical equipment and undercarriage and body materials will be sourced through tenders on the world market.
Though the feeder flight market is in its infancy in China, it has strong prospects and will become a new growth engine for the aviation industry, said Tang.
According to Tang, ARJ21 planes will be equipped with General Electric engines, Parker Hannifin fuel and hydraulic systems and Liebherr air conditioning and landing gear systems.
At yesterday's signing ceremony, the buyers spoke highly of the ARJ21 planes, saying they are "the right answer to the right market at the right time.''
In other developments, Peter Isendahl, director of communications with the US-based International Aero Engines, told China Daily at the air show that Air China has again selected his company as a supplier. International Aero Engines will provide clean and quiet V2500 turbofan engines for the flagship carrier's growing fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. The V2500-A5 engines, which will power four additional A319 single aisle planes, will be delivered between 2005 and July 2006. The engines are worth a total of US$50 million.
Apart from making deals, domestic and foreign jet producers are using the air show to display models of their new aircraft designs and are holding promotions to win more orders.
The suppliers at the show include Boeing, which mainly promoted its new 7E7 plane, and Airbus, which has introduced the A-380.
The air show, held in the China International Exhibition Centre in Beijing, will last until Saturday. Enditem (China Daily)
China to host world economy summit
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- China will hold a summit meeting on the world economy in the country's south coastal city of Zhuhai this November, official said here Monday.
The meeting, as part of activities on the world economy development declaration, will attract over ten Chinese ministers and about 1,000 presidents or vice-presidents of enterprises worldwide, said Wang Maolin, vice-chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress and executive vice-chairman of the organizing committee.
The meeting, which will be held from Nov. 6 to Nov. 7, will issue the World Economic Development Declaration (Zhuhai Declaration), drafted and revised by Nobel Prize winners and Chinese economists.
A Guangdong, Hongkong and Macao investment promotion and tradefair will also be held, Wang said.
The Zhuhai Declaration stressed the interdependence of world economies, the important role of science and technology and sustainable development, said Xu Kuangdi, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
"That will serve to promote the cooperation and development of all world economies and to create a sound economic order featuringmutual trust, mutual benefit, interaction and mutual assistance," Xu said. Enditem
The meeting, as part of activities on the world economy development declaration, will attract over ten Chinese ministers and about 1,000 presidents or vice-presidents of enterprises worldwide, said Wang Maolin, vice-chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress and executive vice-chairman of the organizing committee.
The meeting, which will be held from Nov. 6 to Nov. 7, will issue the World Economic Development Declaration (Zhuhai Declaration), drafted and revised by Nobel Prize winners and Chinese economists.
A Guangdong, Hongkong and Macao investment promotion and tradefair will also be held, Wang said.
The Zhuhai Declaration stressed the interdependence of world economies, the important role of science and technology and sustainable development, said Xu Kuangdi, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
"That will serve to promote the cooperation and development of all world economies and to create a sound economic order featuringmutual trust, mutual benefit, interaction and mutual assistance," Xu said. Enditem
HK remains world's fifth largest holder of foreign currency
HONG KONG, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- The official foreign currency reserve assets of Hong Kong amounted to 114.4 billion US dollars at the end of June, compared with 116.1 billion US dollars at the end of May, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced Monday.
In terms of foreign currency reserves ranking, Hong Kong is theworld's fifth largest holder of foreign currency reserves, after Japan, the Chinese mainland, Chin's Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea.
The total foreign currency reserve assets represent about seventimes the currency in circulation or about 44 percent of Hong Kongdollar M3, one of the highest ratios in the world. Enditem
In terms of foreign currency reserves ranking, Hong Kong is theworld's fifth largest holder of foreign currency reserves, after Japan, the Chinese mainland, Chin's Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea.
The total foreign currency reserve assets represent about seventimes the currency in circulation or about 44 percent of Hong Kongdollar M3, one of the highest ratios in the world. Enditem
Chinese economy healthy despite SARS: vice premier
BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- China had achieved major success in the battle against SARS and the Chinese economy will continue to grow in a sustainable, rapid and healthy way, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan said here Monday.
Zeng made the remark during his meeting with Stephen Newhouse, chairman of Morgan Stanley International of the United States, and Morgan Stanley global chief economist Stephen Roach in Zhongnanhaiin Beijing Monday afternoon.
Zeng said the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis had inevitably had a certain negative impact on China's economy, but it had not changed the fundamental fabric of the economy.
He said the Chinese government in the near future would focus on expanding domestic demand, restructuring the economy, improvingthe balance of development, deepening reform, increasing employment and raising living standards.
He said that as the pace of growth increased, the Chinese economy would continue to grow in a sustainable, rapid and healthyway.
Roach said that since the Asian financial crisis, the Chinese economy had seen out various difficulties and demonstrated an outstanding ability to withstand both internal and external challenges. He had a strong optimism on the prospects of China's economy. Enditem
Zeng made the remark during his meeting with Stephen Newhouse, chairman of Morgan Stanley International of the United States, and Morgan Stanley global chief economist Stephen Roach in Zhongnanhaiin Beijing Monday afternoon.
Zeng said the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) crisis had inevitably had a certain negative impact on China's economy, but it had not changed the fundamental fabric of the economy.
He said the Chinese government in the near future would focus on expanding domestic demand, restructuring the economy, improvingthe balance of development, deepening reform, increasing employment and raising living standards.
He said that as the pace of growth increased, the Chinese economy would continue to grow in a sustainable, rapid and healthyway.
Roach said that since the Asian financial crisis, the Chinese economy had seen out various difficulties and demonstrated an outstanding ability to withstand both internal and external challenges. He had a strong optimism on the prospects of China's economy. Enditem
Taiwan businesses check investment prospects in Three Gorges
CHONGQING, July 7 (Xinhuanet) -- Over 60 business people from Taiwan island started a tour of investment prospects in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality and the Three Gorges reservoir areaon Monday.
The economic and trade exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits had become more frequent, said Li Bingcai, vice-director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
From January to May of this year, Taiwan enterprises launched atotal of 1,773 new projects on the mainland, with investment in real terms up 25.1 percent over the same period last year despite the SARS crisis.
The country's strategy of developing the vast western areas hadprovided sound cooperative opportunities for both sides, said Li, adding that more island businesses were encouraged to invest in mineral resources and hydropower development, tourism, traffic andenvironmental protection in the western regions.
Taiwan business people hoped the four-day tour would deepen their knowledge of west China, especially Chongqing and the Three Gorges area, and help increase cooperation.
As the only municipality in west China, Chongqing has established economic and trade relations with over 100 countries and regions. By May 2003, Chongqing had 703 Taiwan-funded enterprises, accounting for 20 percent of the city's total overseas businesses in fields such as food, rubber, real estate and telecommunications. Enditem
The economic and trade exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits had become more frequent, said Li Bingcai, vice-director of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
From January to May of this year, Taiwan enterprises launched atotal of 1,773 new projects on the mainland, with investment in real terms up 25.1 percent over the same period last year despite the SARS crisis.
The country's strategy of developing the vast western areas hadprovided sound cooperative opportunities for both sides, said Li, adding that more island businesses were encouraged to invest in mineral resources and hydropower development, tourism, traffic andenvironmental protection in the western regions.
Taiwan business people hoped the four-day tour would deepen their knowledge of west China, especially Chongqing and the Three Gorges area, and help increase cooperation.
As the only municipality in west China, Chongqing has established economic and trade relations with over 100 countries and regions. By May 2003, Chongqing had 703 Taiwan-funded enterprises, accounting for 20 percent of the city's total overseas businesses in fields such as food, rubber, real estate and telecommunications. Enditem
2007年9月2日星期日
别了我的20年
9月1日了，时间还真快，之前感觉遥遥无期的暑假一转眼也将要接近尾声，想到马上就要步入大学的校门，心里有说不出的感觉。这感觉很特别，是好奇、是喜悦、是难舍、还是痛苦，难以分辨，可能都融合到一块了。平日里经常见面的，经常玩耍的朋友同学，他们那一张张熟悉的面孔，也将要被我储存在脑中的U盘里。对朋友的离别也只有默默的伤心，将泪水锁在喉咙，带给他们的都是微笑。走的远的朋友短假是不能回来的，只能等到过年，才能再见到彼此。由于大学地域的不同，分离是必然的，但我们怀揣的梦是相同的，都希望有个美好的未来。我们选择的专业不同，意味着以后从事的领域也不同，这样我们以后在社会上拥有的道路就宽了。加油吧，我的朋友们！
我生长的故土，我即将踏出你的怀抱，对你的熟悉，也已经不用说了，20年来你发生的每个变化我都非常清楚。这几年变化是最大的，换了新的衣服，一天天的成长。几日后的我即将离开你，但我相信，当我回来的时候，你一定会更加美丽，时尚，富强！
我学的是通信工程专业，具体说毕业的去向是到通信领域中从事研究，设计，制造，运营及在国民经济各部门和国防工业中从事开发、应用通信技术与设备的工作。很复杂的，自己也不是很了解，也许能和手机等通信设备打上交道。
以后追求，实现理想的路要靠自己一个人走下去，途中会充满孤独、寂寞，但抬头看看天空，想起那些好朋友，自己也就不会Feel Lonely!
别了我的20年。
我生长的故土，我即将踏出你的怀抱，对你的熟悉，也已经不用说了，20年来你发生的每个变化我都非常清楚。这几年变化是最大的，换了新的衣服，一天天的成长。几日后的我即将离开你，但我相信，当我回来的时候，你一定会更加美丽，时尚，富强！
我学的是通信工程专业，具体说毕业的去向是到通信领域中从事研究，设计，制造，运营及在国民经济各部门和国防工业中从事开发、应用通信技术与设备的工作。很复杂的，自己也不是很了解，也许能和手机等通信设备打上交道。
以后追求，实现理想的路要靠自己一个人走下去，途中会充满孤独、寂寞，但抬头看看天空，想起那些好朋友，自己也就不会Feel Lonely!
别了我的20年。
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