Toys NOT made in China

Ah, LEGO and Playmobil. European toys that are still made in Europe and not in a combination toy factory / lead smelting plant.

"We looked at various options," said Iqbal Padda, executive vice president in charge of the global supply chain at Lego, noting that at the start, it was widely accepted "that it has to be China."

Ultimately, China was just too far away for Lego.

"Toys are not the fashion business, but they are like the fashion business," Mr. Padda said. "The need to be able to react to what is going on in the market made us choose [Europe]".

Will it matter to consumers? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, Playmobil says they are too concerned with quality to ship production across the globe:

"Outstanding quality can only be reached when production is carried out under one's own eyes, by people who have developed brand awareness over a long time, and learned to produce the highest quality," said Playmobil's founder, Horst Brandstätter.