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Article

6 Dec 2018

Author:
Gethin Chamberlain, The Guardian

International Council of Toy Industries & companies respond to abuse allegations in Chinese toy factories

"Revealed: Disney's £35 Ariel doll earns a Chinese worker 1p", 6 December 2018

Undercover investigation exposes illegally long working hours and low wages for staff at factory producing toys for Disney... Mattel’s Fisher Price brand and other international toy companies.

Staff at the Wah Tung factory... said that they worked 175 hours of overtime in a month, with only one day off over that period...

Many of the biggest toy makers – including Disney and Mattel – are members of the International Council of Toy Industries Ethical Toy Program, which sets out expected industry standards intended... to improve working conditions in toy factories.

The Wah Tung factory is certified by the ETP. ...ETP spokesman Mark Robertson said: “The allegations highlighted from the... report contravene ethical toy programme’s own requirements on working hours, wages, holiday pay and annual leave. We will work directly with factories to address any issues identified...

A spokesman for Disney said the brand was a member of the ethical toy programme’s committed brands plus programme, which it used alongside others “as part of our responsible sourcing approach”.

He referred to a statement from ETP in which the council said it welcomed “any robust investigation which increases our understanding of working conditions at toy factories”.

Mattel said it had no current production in the factories mentioned in the CLW report...

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