Lee Middleton Decides To End U.S. Production of Dolls
Wednesday June 9, 2004
Its another sad slap in the face of the long tradition of dollmaking in America, and another sad after-effect of 9/11 on doll collecting, but the Lee Middleton Doll Co. has announced that it is closing its Belpre, Ohio plant and moving produciton of all its dolls to China.
This is sad news for doll collectors, many of which have expressed dismay with the look and feel of the vinyl of some of the dolls that have already benn manufactured by the company in China.
It is also sad news for the long-time employees of the Belpre, Ohio factory, and for the town of Belpre as well. Find out more in this local report, The Marietta Times: Middleton to make dolls in China
Comments
I’m heartsick to hear of Lee Middleton move to China. How can we buy dolls with confidence of SAFE products after news of lead paints, asbestos in drugs, etc. I’ve collected Lee’s dolls since 1983 but may have to look elsewhere. China products do not have the quality of the U.S. Sorry, Lee, no go!