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Usborne Publishing and Jieli Publishing House will run social media campaigns to educate Chinese consumers over safety worries about fake Usborne titles printed in China. The children’s specialists - who officially launch their Usborne China joint partnership at this BIBF - said they were “extremely concerned” about knock-off Usborne tactile titles, which would not fall under the usually stringent international regulations regarding chemicals and materials used books, “getting into the hands of Chinese children”.
Eloise Boon, Usborne’s product safety manager, said the company was underlining the issue at the very start of its Chinese business to emphasise that “Usborne is just as concerned about safety as Chinese parents”.
Boon added: “We invest considerable resources to make sure that Usborne books are as safe as possible, but of course we cannot guarantee the quality or safety of any books which do not go through our testing processes or are not manufactured by an Usborne-contracted supplier.”
The campaigns will feature videos aimed at parents about the safety benefits of buying authentic titles. Usborne will disseminate the videos in English on its Weibo and WeChat accounts, while Jieli will promote similar videos in Chinese across its social media channels. Both companies will direct consumers to “Usborne Approved” stockists.
Boon said: “We want our customers to know that... [we’re creating] not only the best quality product, but a safe one that children will enjoy for years to come.”