Hours ago, I told you about Wal-Mart's announcement that it will no longer sell children's clothes found to be contaminated with a cancer-causing chemical. The nine brands of children's clothing were sold in stores in China. I then went on to tell you that the public relation spokesperson for Wal-Mart in China declined to state whether or not the same brands of children's clothing had found their way onto U.S. Wal-Mart store shelves. I pondered aloud in the prediction that the public would be hearing from Wal-Mart here in the U.S. regarding this matter -- sooner rather than later.

In sooner rather than later, I have just heard from Marshall Manson of Edelman, who handles the online public affairs for Wal-Mart. In the email he sent a statement from Wal-Mart's spokesperson here in the U.S., Beth Keck, to address any concerns parents in this country might have regarding children's clothing that is sold in U.S. stores. It reads:

"We take all reports seriously and are investigating this instance. So far, we have not found any products from this manufacturer being sold in the U.S. Indeed, we have no indication that these products were exported from China at all, and it's highly unlikely that they were.

Chinese companies that manufacture products for sale in China must have a special export license to sell their products overseas. Virtually none the suppliers that we have worked with for our stores in China have export licenses. They can only sell domestically. So it would be highly unusual if these products had been exported."

While I do not normally make it a practice to issue public statements on behalf of companies hoping to minimize the damage that this type of news can bring to a company, I feel in all fairness, in this case it is justified to do so. Parents work very hard to insure the safety of their children, and to worry them needlessly, or to suggest that any company is putting children at risk is a grave suggestion to make. As it stands now, it doesn't appear that the children's clothing in question has been -- or is being -- sold here in the U.S. Should later facts reveal that, somehow, these lines of clothing were exported to the U.S., I am hopeful that in reciprocal fairness, Manson will contact me and let me know. Regardless, I will let you know if anything is discovered to the contrary of what the company believes to be true at this time.