Ethical Consumption - Toys

Stop Toying Around!

Toys we buy in Europe are mostly produced in China. Outsourcing production to low cost countries allows big companies to have extremely low wages and production costs. In order to meet the very short delivery periods and accept the low prices for toy orders from multinational companies, violations of human and workers’ rights are deemed “normal” in many Chinese toy factories.

  • Labour hours are far too long (up to 16 hours every day!) and wages paid are too low to enable workers and their families to lead a life in dignity.
  • Work places are dangerous because machines are old and faulty, toxic substances are used and safety gear is hardly ever distributed.

Approximately 3-5 million people, most of them young women, work and live under very often inhumane conditions in Chinese toy factories. They leave their homes and families in the countryside in order to find work and earn money in the big cities, where thousands of factories produce for Western toy multinationals. But salaries are too low to support their relatives and excessive working hours and dangerous work places make many of them sick. There is even a Chinese word for death from exhaustion: Guolaosi. Most of the workers are not aware of their rights and very often neither factory management nor ordering customers are willing to rectify this. And in China, only factory representation is allowed, and apart from the official party union, unions are forbidden.

The Campaign „Stop toying around!“ wants to help change this situation! Our task is to inform consumers, media and decision makers about the situation of Chinese workers in toy factories. It is our goal to start a dialogue between multinational toy companies, wholesalers, NGOs, and factory workers and their representatives to eventually improve the situation of Chinese toy workers and allow them a humane life which is not endangered and threatened every day.

Code of Conduct is No More than False Advertising,

Disney Suppliers Continue Exploiting Chinese Workers

Founded in 1923, Walt Disney Co. has grown from a small animation studio to today’s world entertainment empire. The history of Disney Consumer Products (DCP) began in 1929, when Walt Disney first licensed the image of Mickey Mouse for use on a children’s writing tablet. DCP extends Disney’s brand to merchandise ranging from apparel, toys and home décor to books and magazines, foods and beverages, stationery, electronics and animation art. Disney consumer products are sold in Disney Stores and Resort Parks, and in supermarkets everywhere in the world.

In 1995 and 1996, a number of cases of labor abuse were uncovered in Disney’s suppliers in California, Central America, and East Asia. In January of 1996, after a series of investigations of Disney’s suppliers in Haiti, the National Labor Committee released a report titled “The U.S. in Haiti: How to get rich on 11¢ an hour.” In the years since, Walt Disney has been widely criticized for licensing its copyrights to “sweatshops.” In response to public criticism, in 1996, Walt Disney established Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and started an International Labor Standards program. In 2002, Project Kaleidoscope was initiated by a collaborative effort of the Walt Disney Company, the McDonald’s Corporation, and seven organizations engaged in addressing international labor issues. With all the efforts made by Disney and labor advocacy groups, the overall conditions in Disney’s Chinese suppliers have been improved during the past decade.

Yet, violations of Disney’s Code of Conduct and China Labor Law remained, especially in aspects related to overtime, wages, underage labor, and workers’ living conditions. Accusations and criticisms have been long existed around Disney’s audit system. Labor activists urge Disney to transparentize its supply chain and allow independent organizations and shareholders to participate in the monitoring process.

Full report by China Labor Watch (November, 2010)

 

© 2010 Christliche Initiative Romero e.V.