When underage, underpaid factory
workers in China are making toys for the
leading Western companies
By Saffron Hickey
 To define and accomplish the changes that must be made to protect the
essential human and workers’ rights of young people working in toy
factories in China. Children for Children will seek to educate consumers on
the problems, influence leading Western corporations to take action, and
demonstrate the differences that will combat this age-old issue. We will
replace reckless outsourcing with international collaboration to use the
root cause of globalization to our advantage.
“Made in China” label on a stuffed animal toy. Dated 2007.
Focus question: How did this become a symbol of toy manufacturing
and globalization?
A look at the history of toys, manufacturing, materials, factories,
and the Chinese economy.
 Since the beginning of time, children
have had play materials. Children are
usually able to make games with
whatever they have around, but even
in the ancient times toys were
popular.
 Egyptian children played with dolls
that had wigs and movable limbs.
Little horse on wheels
Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman
(Ancient Greek child's toy).
children played with bows-andFrom tomb dating 950-900BC.
arrows and yo-yos. Back then, toys
were usually made by family
members or the children themselves.
Portrait of a girl with a doll in
Denver, Colorado. Dating from
between 1904 and 1915.
 By the 20th century, dolls had been
made to talk. Times were changing;
toys had been produced by stores for
centuries, though they were usually
only affordable for the upper class.
 By the 1950s, it was almost unheard
of to make toys at home, especially as
the quantity of cheap toys available
increased.
The Rubik’s Cube, popularized
in the 1980s, was made
possible by the invention of
easy-to-shape materials such
as plastic.
 The 1980s brought a change in the
Chinese economy; the migration of
populations from rural to urban areas
brought a new kind of capitalist
market economy.
 The world was a global field and
exporting goods was a simple way to
accumulate capital. With plastic and
people readily available, and with the
children of the world ready for more
and more low-quality toys, the “Made
in China” staple was born.
Two toy factory workers in Guangdong province, China. Dated 2003.
Focus question: What do these girls know about the children who buy
the products they make?
How toys are made, from the factory floor to the store shelf.
Factories use local workers who are more willing to accept poorer
working conditions and lower wages (due to cultural, political and
governmental influences). Young workers may need to earn money to
support themselves or their families.
Toys are made in Chinese factories with poor working conditions, low
wages, underage workers, health and safety concerns, aggressive
management, and tense atmospheres.
China produces 75% of the world’s toys, exporting them to Europe,
America, Australasia and other places around the world. Transnational
companies import products without question.
Parents and children all over the world buy Disney, Mattel, Fisher Price,
Walmart, and other brand name toy products.
Activist individuals, groups and organizations, like SACOM, try to inform
consumers of the human rights concerns of toy manufacturing, along
with trying to influence transnational corporations to change.
Room full of second-hand toys. Dated 2003.
Focus question: Why is this business succeeding?
The ongoing effects of supplying brand-name, low-cost toys.
Chinese workers
Western consumers
 Get used to the excessive overtime
and dangerous working conditions.
 Understand that it is extremely
difficult to find work, and feel they
must “make do”.
 Are anxious about reporting their
concerns in case they get fired.
 Develop negative perspectives on
western consumers.
 Parents must send their children (as
young as 14) to work because they
cannot afford to look after the family
all by themselves.
 Get used to buying toys from
recognized companies.
 Are happy that they are getting a
“good deal” on low toy prices.
 Presume transnational corporations
are constantly checking the working
conditions of their suppliers.
 Teach their children about ethics and
human rights whilst not
understanding it themselves.
 If they are suspicious, they lose
interest because it is hard to find
concrete, accurate information.
Chinese factories
Western corporations
 Are anxious to meet the demand of
the Western market.
 Want to stay in the “good books” of
corporations to keep in work.
 Struggle to balance cheap products in
high quantities with workers’ rights.
 Try to hide any sacrifices they feel
they have to make (wages below
legal minimum, excessive overtime,
dangerous working conditions) in
case they are close down.
 Intimidate workers to maximize
product and minimize complaints.
 Become trusting of their suppliers.
 Do not want to highlight too many
concerns in countries where they are
not certain of what is acceptable.
 Find it hard to accumulate accurate
information in investigations.
 Rely on other organizations, like the
International Council of Toys
Industries, to keep the factories in
check.
 Try to assure customers of their clean
products.
 Are, after all, a business that relies on
profit.
Young female workers sew clothes for Barbie dolls. Dated 2010.
Focus question: How can we make things fair for them?
Changes that need to be made and how you can help.
Stop basing the evaluation of working conditions on culturally and socially
acceptable standards; follow legal regulations of all countries involved.
Pay more for products that
are guaranteed to have
been manufactured safely
and ethically.
Have set regulations that
allow for young workers but
make sure their rights are
accurately outlined.
Offer more help to workers, including unions to which they can report their
concerns and organizations to help them find new jobs if they need to.
 Although the changes needed must be made by all parties of the toy
manufacturing process, the party that the rest all depend on is
consumers. If consumers can adapt the way they shop for toys and
products, the corporations and factories will have to change too.
 What you can do:
 Think about how many toys a child really needs.
 Ask for their input on choosing toys.
 Buy good-quality toys that will last them.
 Try simple toys without brand-names or special characters.
 Check out second-hand shops for toys.
 Recycle or reuse old and broken toys.
 Write or phone corporations and organizations for concrete information
on the suppliers of their products.
 Follow these links for more information:
 Stop China’s Unsafe ‘Sturdy Products’ Child Labor Factory. A petition you can sign online with
Force Change; it targets major toy retailers and suppliers, and aims to end child labor and
harsh Chinese factory conditions.
 Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims: Human rights campaigners say
Chinese factories using children as young as 14 and that workers forced to do overtime. An
article by Gethin Chamberlain of the Guardian.
 International Council of Toy Industries: promoting international toy safety standards and a
responsible attitude to advertising and marketing to children. Find information at their
website, including their CARE (Caring, Awareness, Responsible, Ethical) Process for ethical
toy manufacturing.
 SACOM, Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour, critiqued the above
certification system after a toy factory worker committed suicide. Mattel wrote a letter in
response to the allegations of the report.
 Other publications of interest by SACOM. Reports on Disney’s Chinese suppliers: 1, 2. Labour
Rights and ICTI: 1, 2. Walmart’s unsuccessful monitoring of sweatshops. London 2012
Olympics mascot toys. Also, find more at their website.
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http://forcechange.com/3737/stop-chinas-unsafe-sturdy-products-child-labor-factory/
Korn, Stefan. (2007). More Chinese Whispers – Baby Brands Manufacturing in China. Retrieved March 13, 2012, from
http://www.diyfather.com/content/baby-brands-manufacturing-in-china
Mollerus, Sharon. (2009). Little Horse on Wheels (Child’s Toy). Retrieved March 13, 2012, from
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