Greener Assets - Greening Your Business

Facing the Lead Dilemma in Your Small Business

by Ali on November 15th, 2007

This post is part of an ongoing team effort from a collective of b5media business bloggers that started here. You can also follow along here.

One of the major concerns for many parents right now is lead in children’s products. This is a real-world health and environmental problem similar to one that your business may encounter.

Kay just found out that the novelty buttons that she sews onto her children’s aprons and chef’s hats are manufactured by the same company in China that has been associated with selling toys coated with lead paint. She has received confirmation from the distributor that the buttons have been re-tested and do not contain any lead. The buttons are, however, clearly marked “Made in China.” Kay DOES NOT have the budget to remove the buttons and replace them with new buttons. With just six weeks to go before Christmas, she is worried about the potential hit to her sales if parents worry that there is lead on her buttons.

Half of her friends have encouraged her to go public about buttons and re-assure her potential customers that the buttons are okay. The other half tell her not to mention the buttons at all because it will cause more problems for her than it would help.

Kay needs to meet this problem head-on. Legal and ethical responsibility demands it. Even though her buttons have been confirmed not to contain lead, this is still a serious concern. Kay should request the report from the distributor, to have on hand to show concerned customers (include a copy on her Web site).

In addition to relying on the distributor, Kay will send a sample of her buttons to the EPA for testing. Only a small sample is needed; she can send a few for testing, with a cost of $5 to $35 per sample. She will share the results of the EPA testing with her customers, past and present, further assuring her customers.

For now, the products already completed, but not yet sold, will have a tag added (not very expensive) that says “lead-free.” Aprons and hats with buttons from the new distributor will also have a tag that says, “lead free.”

Kay has found a solution that does not require buttons on her hats and aprons. As a simple solution, Kay will add creative knots to her aprons and hats to replace the buttons. And they will even work as fasteners in button holes. They will be creative, cost less to Kay and will become her signature embellishment. Included with the product will be a short “note to mommy and daddy,” on inexpensive minicards, about the safety of her products. With the creative knots, this note can also include the point that there are no small parts to swallow.

Also on her Web site, Kay will be an advocate for information on lead-free products providing information on lead-free products, and lead poisoning awareness for children. Some suggestions for Web links she can add:

• Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning at New York State Department of Health
• Get the Lead Out: Why ‘Made in China’ became a peril for American parents at Herald Tribune
• Lead Poisoning and You (PDF) at Texas Young Lawyers Association
• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
• Protect Your Child From Lead Poisoning at the US EPA

This is a golden opportunity for Kay to turn an industry negative into a positive for her business. A press release to the local newspaper explaining the steps she is taking to protect her customers and her children will publicize the safety of her products. She has the chance to showcase her product in the public eye, and aggressively pursue a positive marketing solution.

*Meet the amazing bloggers behind this team post: Accounting Solver, Biz Chicks Rule, Brandcurve, Common Sense PR, Copyblogger, Doing Biz Abroad, Greener Assets, Interview Chatter, Leadership Turn, Linked Intelligence, Project Management 411, Second Life Pros, Small Business Boomers, Successful Blog, The Golden Pencil, Yielding Wealth

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