Cars 2 Toys linked to Human Sweatshops & Child Labour Abuse

Pixar's Feature Films Cars
#1

Disney’s best-selling “Cars” toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

I’m fully aware that this has little to do with Pixar, as it is a film production company. The onus lies with Disney, Mattel and Walmart, who owe a duty of care to ensure they have a responsible and law-abiding supplier. But I thank God that I didn’t support this despicable practice by buying any Cars merch. I had half a mind to get a Finn miniature from K-Mart the other day, but this horrible expose just put me off completely.

I’m not saying that all toy suppliers are free from guilt. I bought a Rio and Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal toy of Rafael and Mr Ping respectively, and I’m not 100% certain they came from an ethically-responsible source. I’ve looked at the labels of some of the spoof T-shirts I’ve bought and they mentioned they were made in Mexico and Vietnam.

But we should all be aware of where our products come from, and do our best to ensure that they were made in a workplace which respects human rights and dignity. There’s an ongoing controversy in Australia over cattle abuse by Indonesian meat suppliers. Again, when these unsavoury practices come to the surface, we must do everything we can to ensure these horrible acts do not happen again.

In the case of Cars merch, I am not buying a single product from now on until I receive news that Disney, Mattel, and Walmart are not using Sturdy Products as a supplier and have taken steps to properly assess their manufacturers. Essentially, if the parties responsible are gonna sweep this under the carpet, I am going to boycott their product line, and encourage other fans to do the same (I’m telling all my friends on social media and RL too).

If we truly care about human rights and are abhorred by the idea of children working years before they should, or workers suffering ill treatment and abuse by their employers, then not showing our support until things change is the least we could do. I’m even considering writing in to Disney Australia. It truly hurts me as a fan to know that merchandise of one of my favourite Pixar movies is part of a disgusting systematic abuse of human rights in China.

We all need to speak out against injustice, no matter where it takes place.

Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims - The Guardian

#2

That is very sad. You are right thedriveintheatre we do need to get these kinds of things stopped.

#3

That’s really sad…if some of these snot-nosed kids over here would quit yelling at their parents to buy merchindise we would’nt have things like this…I’m not buying the merchindise either…I think since Pixar apprently supports it(they’re not saying otherwise) they should have 5% of the blame… :neutral_face: They’re just children,they deserve much better… :frowning:

#4

He need to contact Disney and Pixar.

They need to know how much people appreciate this investigation and want these conditions to stop. That the consumers care more about people than whether their toys cost a few dollars less. They need to know the people with the money want this to stop as much as the people with just the ethics.

Does Pixar even know about this or is this getting kept quiet from the creative side of things? Because call me a bit of a loyal idealist, but I can’t see them just standing for this. I’ll believe until shown otherwise that we have a strong ally in Pixar we need to utilize, especially when the company is run by a massive toy fan like Lasseter. If they ARE supporting this, they need a slap in the face that it does affect how their fans perceive them and we won’t support this.

I say letter writing campaign needs to get started in here, I know Pixar doesn’t just throw out their fanmail from experience. Imagine hundreds even thousands of letters to Pixar asking them to stand up with us on this.

#5

Wow. I was just thinking about getting a Cars diecast or two, but I guess I won’t be doing that now. I hope Disney will find a more humane place to manufacture merchandise for them, and that the conditions for those workers will be improved at lot soon. : (

#6

While I do think that it’s wrong to employ children and overwork people, that doesn’t mean I’ll stop buying Cars and Toy Story stuff. I’m just too addicted to it to stop.

#7

I hope Disney “running their own investigation” means that they do not permit this, because otherwise I’d feel guilty about buying any of their toys. Personally, I think more of the blame lies on Mattel. Does Disney even choose where Mattel makes their products?

Anyway, this saddens me so much. I’m glad I never bought any merchandise! This is one of the things that really worries me about outsourcing; you can be supporting the abuse of others without even realizing it.

#8

Thank you, pixarmilan. It’s great that you share my sentiments.

xCarsLuverx: Yeah, it’s a real shame that kids in first-world countries are very demanding and pressure their parents into buying merchandise for them. If you ask me, personally, I feel the best way to express one’s fandom is through discussions on forums like this, or creating fanworks like fanart, fanfiction, and fanvideos. These help to promote the studio and their works to a greater audience than if we were to simply buy a toy and keep it in our homes. Of course, you can financially support the studio through buying merchandise, but I’d rather do that through multiple viewings in cinemas or buying the DVDs/Blurays when they come out, not contributing to plastic or paper trash with disposable toys after a few years.
And while I admit Pixar is not really responsible other than their character being used for the toys’ designs, I feel they should at least set an example and make a public statement.

Netbug009: By “He need to contact Disney and Pixar”, do you mean just me? Heh.

I’m so glad that you support me on this, Netbug. I know Lasseter’s hands are totally clean, he probably doesn’t know Mattel’s or Walmarts’ arrangements with the Chinese toy supplier, and it is not within his scope to find out. But as an ardent collector of his movies’ toys, I wonder what he thinks about this horrible piece of news.

I know Pixar is 95% clean, but I want them to speak out against this. They probably aren’t saying anything because Disney probably put a gag order on them or something. But either way, I want to know.

Thanks again, Netbug. If you want, drop me a PM on Twitter and maybe we can get something started (I can’t send you a PM because you haven’t followed me yet). In the meantime, I plan to start writing my letter after Saturday (because I have a big immigration test coming up).

RogerTheSpaceShip: Thanks for the support. I’m really waiting on a proper reply for this. It is not satisfactory for them to say “Oh, we will launch an investigation” but then everything dies out a few weeks later. Or that they shut down that factory, but simply shift it elsewhere. We need a promise that this doesn’t happen again. Although other companies like Nike or Adidas or a million other T-shirt factories do this all the time, this doesn’t mean that Disney, Mattel and Walmart have a ‘get out of jail free’ card, especially seeing how they are major corporations which families and fans put a lot of trust in.

pixarfan9099: It’s great that you are aware it is fundamentally wrong to use child labour and abuse workers, but how is buying Cars and Toy Story merch anything but supporting this practice?

Rac_Rules: I, too, feel the whole PR speak is a load of BS. I want them to assure us that they will do everything possible to source from socially-responsible suppliers from now on so I can support them with a clear conscience. Since Disney is letting Mattel use their IP, I feel Disney also is somewhat responsible, as the parent company of Pixar, to ensure that its product line is not made by the hands of abused workers or underage children. It is a whole supply chain of the manufacturers, the distributor, the retail outlets, and the IP provider.

I’m simultaneously relieved and disgusted. Sturdy Products probably supplied a portion of all the toys produced, so even if I bought one, there’s only a slight probability I would get one made by a mistreated child or adult worker. But then again, Sturdy Products could simply be one among many suppliers who also engage in this practice, and for all we know, they could be form the majority of the toys produced. We don’t know how far it reaches or the full extent of this practice because the companies hide the truth from us. And that’s what opened my eyes and scared me, personally.

#9

Wow, this is horrible. Studying to be a journalist and a lawyer, I’m always inclined to see every story from both sides. I can very easily see where these companies are coming from. If Disney, Mattel, and Walmart are responsible for this and know about it in the first place, it’s obvious to see why they do it. It’s a recession, even companies get hit by it by the thousands. They still need to sell their merchandise and make money- So, of course, they’re not going to pay for an industry who pays employees a nice wage and have nice conditions for them because it’s more money the company has to pay; when they can just get the same result for next to zero out of their pockets and they get rich so it’s all okay. Well, this is the ultimate price that’s paid and it’s much higher in the long run. And you know, some people say “Oh, well it gives them jobs, doesn’t it?” Yeah, sure; but if there were jobs like this in not even America; any first world country- we know no one would take it because we’re picky by nature and have more of the luxury to decline it. OR “Well, how come they haven’t revolted or whatever yet?” That’s like asking “Why hasn’t every single person in America left for another country yet that’s better off?” It’s cruddy here for more than 350 million people. (yes, even the rich ones. Don’t even get me started on the rich vs. poor thing. I have personal account for that coming from the money side.) Just something to think about. I don’t buy any of the merchandise that reportedly comes from this supplier and I certainly won’t now. Mattel and Walmart- I can see doing something like this. (Walmart has always been kind of shady to me, that’s why I don’t shop there) but Disney and Apple?! I don’t believe them supporting and being responsible for this; they’re way too great of companies to get into something like this.

#10

It’s interesting you are studying to be a journo and a lawyer SallyMcQueen - I always harboured thoughts of being the latter, since I have a strong moral compass and I was pleasantly surprised when I learned Sally was a lawyer when I first watched Cars back before I started uni! In fact, I recently graduated from a Journalism degree - which probably explains my motormouth posts here. :unamused: :stuck_out_tongue:

As you said, the ultimate price has been paid. We get our stuff cheap and mass-produced, but at the cost of human liberty and workplace safety. There’s a debate in Singapore about jobs going to foreigners or being outsourced out of the country. I have a Singaporean friend - she told me that it’s because Singaporeans don’t want to accept ‘lousy’ jobs that it’s all going to the mainland Chinese and Indian immigrants. Also, because they demand too high salaries. Same with the Australian unions.

There has to be a balance between the companies being able to remain profitable and the workers getting the pay they deserve. But it very rarely happens; either the unions demand too much (like Qantas here) or the companies exploit third-world workers (like Apple, Mattel, and most clothing and shoe companies).

One argument thrown in support of worker exploitation is that while the pay is crummy and the conditions are deplorable, the workers are better off than if they were not employed. This is the same as saying we should have chickens in battery farms, because it’s better than if they were grown in test-tubes. Or that it’s better to believe global warming is a myth, so that we can continue polluting the Earth. Why sink to the lowest common denominator? Why do we, as decent, kind, human beings, have to settle for any less than what a person is worth? Would it make you feel better if the kid who made that Cars toy you’re thinking of buying was in a factory somewhere in rural China where you won’t see her face-to-face? Out of sight, out of mind?

Another argument - all other companies do this anyway. If you’re gonna boycott Mattel and Disney, TDIT, you might as well boycott all others. Don’t wear that shirt that was made in Mexico, or those pair of sneakers made in Vietnam. You never know if it was made by abused workers or child labour either. Well, see… the thing is, it’s impossible to be a 100% clean consumer. But it is an ideal to aim for. The moment I know that that pair of Adidas was made by juvenile hands either by reading the news or watching the TV, I’d boycott them. This is why it’s important to know as much about the world as possible, and spread any news of injustice so that more people would know. It’s not an all or nothing approach. It’s about being selective about who you support once you have the information. Just because I accidentally dropped a chewing gum wrapper on the road today doesn’t mean I start being a litterbug tomorrow.

#11

China is far from being a non-first world country, though, since it has a developed government (so its not third world) and since the Soviet Union doesn’t exist anymore, its not controlled by them (so its not second world). The issue is its authoritative government that is far too willing to throw away its poor, overpopulation, and how hard it is to move from a lower class to a higher one (think its hard in the US? Try China or India).

I disagree with the point that they can’t revolt against their bosses–heck, one of the main reasons for our abundance of worker’s rights is our worker’s revolts and protests in the industrial revolution. Of course, I’m not in any way saying it would be easy; a lot would be at risk (more than many of them are probably willing to put there) and there’s the fact that their insane amount of people would make any protesters easy to replace. But it can be done.

[size=50]I’m perfectly happy in the US, thanks. Sorry, I’m a bit of an admitted borderline jingoist. ><[/size]

#12

Agreed. Something obviously needs to be done about this, as it’s downright terrible… but I don’t think boycotting all Mattel toys is going to fix anything.

Also, this isn’t Pixar’s fault whatsoever. They’re owned by Disney, who probably takes care of all their merchandising and partners with companies like Mattel. Sturdy Products is one of the many factories that makes toys for Mattel. It’s the factories’ faults. Even call it Mattel’s fault if you will for not making sure all of their factories and workers are treated fairly, but this shouldn’t be blamed on Pixar whatsoever. They just make the films.

#13

I’m meant “We” earlier, Drive. Darn spelling fail. D:

I’m torn on my opinion of this. I mean, yes, it’s not Pixar’s fault. And yes, the toys are a major supporter of Pixar. But I don’t feel comfortable just writing that off and forgetting about it either.

I think we really need to get on Disney’s case. It seems we already have enough that they are doing an investigation, but we need to show them we support them in making the necessary changes to keep this stuff from happening and that we are NOT happy with the current state of things as consumers.

I mean, since I became aware of this, I’ve been less interested in the toys. I’m not even going out of my way to boycott Disney’s stuff or anything, but I feel like as a consumer this is affecting my purchase choices. The more people we make aware of this, the more Disney is going to be affected. And as much as I hate to say it, I don’t trust Disney these days to take a moral issue seriously unless it affects the bottom line. Heck, just look at the way they treat their TV programming.

Heck, I’ve spoken with Club Penguin staff before who talked about getting Disney to support charities in places where the people being helped couldn’t turn around and buy their products like it was a really hard thing to do. Companies these days, for the most part, only help others for their own publicity. Luckily, however, in the US we have a MAJOR push for fair trade practices that seems to be noticed by Disney since they are doing these studies and all.

Yes, I want to support Pixar, but this stuff happening is not cool.

#14

Yeah, Club Penguin does tons of stuff to help charities and all; but I agree with you that it seems like Disney themselves’ charity supports and the stuff they show off on Disney Channel with the whole “Friends for Change” seems more like publicity than them actually doing stuff. I could be completely wrong, but it just seems that way.

#15

Good points, Rac! China is a country in a ‘neither-here-nor-there’ situation, which makes it a difficult ‘beast’ to control. A lot of my friends from China complain about their government and totalitarian rules (they apparently don’t have Google or Facebook there, though there are alternatives and workarounds).

Okay… but how does buying the toys fix things either? Perhaps ‘boycott’ is too strong a word. Maybe it should be rephrased as ‘not buying’. Just like how we can choose to support organic food instead of industrial farms, or coffee from sustainable sources, or not buying blood diamonds, our consumer choices can affect the supply and demand chain significantly if enough people make a conscious effort. Besides, I, personally, am not going to boycott all Mattel toys. Only the Cars 2 and Toy Story 3 line, which I know may have a chance of being produced by Sturdy Products. And this will only be until I hear of a statement from Disney, Mattel and the retailers that they won’t be using that factory as a supplier anymore. I’m not too sure about the other lines like Uno or whatever, so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt.

The fact that they’re the IP holders and the rights of their characters are being used in the product line means they have a share in this, although it is smaller compared to the manufacturers themselves. Besides, why hasn’t Pixar made an official statement about the matter? Probably because they’re under gag order from Disney and Mattel. This would be a great opportunity to speak out against the injustice, but because the offending companies are their business partners, they wouldn’t dare say anything. Not that I blame them, but saying they are absolutely clean when the toys are based on characters in their movies is not entirely correct. As I mentioned earlier, if we were to divide the onus among the companies, Pixar would maybe have a 5% responsibility stake in this.

Exactly, I feel the same way too. I’m not going to be picketing or burning Luxo Jr. effigies, but I certainly will think twice before I buy their merch from now on. And I do not take delight in this. It hurts me as a fan that I can’t support them with a clear conscience anymore. I have bought ‘Art of’ books and a Wall-E and Eve plushie over the last two years, so it’s not like I’m a hater or anything. But now this shocking bit of news makes me feel sick, and until they rectify the situation, I don’t think I can ever look at their products the same way again.

By the way, Netbug, did my PM get through to you? Add me on Twitter, I’d like to have a chat, and you’re free to accept or reject my suggestion. :wink:

#16

I got it but haven’t had a chance to go over it yet; sorry. I am amazingly scatterbrained this week. D’:

#17

No worries, Netbug. I’ve been incredibly busy this week and probably for the next few days until my folks leave, so I haven’t even started my letter yet! Ideally, I aim to send it off by the end of this month, so take your time and we’ll play it by ear. :slight_smile:

#18

[quote="thedriveintheatre":rn8azfin]In fact, I recently graduated from a Journalism degree - which probably explains my motormouth posts here. :roll: :P [/quote:rn8azfin]

Heehee, I noticed I’ve been posting longer posts- I think you’re starting to rub off on me. :wink:

I admit that I think about this type of thing little to none. I mean, I look at the tag on clothes for the size and the price. I [i:rn8azfin]never[/i:rn8azfin] look at where it’s made and I truly feel bad for that. :oops: Most American consumers are the same thing and although it’s wrong, blaming the consumers is the wrong way to go. If someone is going to blame someone else, they should blame the companies, the government (who the companies have wrapped around their finger), and the leaders in those third world countries who don’t take care of their people. But as [b:rn8azfin]Netbug[/b:rn8azfin] mentioned, as consumers we do need to take part of the responsibility and I’m completely onboard with this boycott idea. :)

I think another reason for why Americans, for instance, are not thinking about this problem is that we as a country are so introverted right now. We’re trying to make sense and think about what needs to be done here- our school systems need to be fixed, our environment is ruined, our economy has loads of problems and those are only long-term situations. In just the past two weeks, natural disasters have ruined parts of our states. It’s not that we’re not focused on what’s going on around the world. Oh, we stick our noses in wherever we can. 8D It’s just we’re so much [i:rn8azfin]more[/i:rn8azfin] focused on us- we can’t help others without helping ourselves. And whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I personally don’t know and is up to the eye of the beholder. :|

[quote="thedriveintheatre":rn8azfin]Would it make you feel better if the kid who made that Cars toy you’re thinking of buying was in a factory somewhere in rural China where you won’t see her face-to-face? Out of sight, out of mind? [/quote:rn8azfin]

Sadly, most would say "yes". :x Humans are notorious for pouting when they see or hear of something with a cause then they say "Aw, that’s so sad. Someone needs to do something." then they move on with their lives- leaving that [i:rn8azfin]someone else[/i:rn8azfin] to fix the problem.

[quote="thedriveintheatre":rn8azfin] Well, see… the thing is, it’s impossible to be a 100% clean consumer. But it is an ideal to aim for. [/quote:rn8azfin]

It is impossible and it gets more impossible everday. I would love to see the day where America can be sufficient by itself. It has before and I think that day is coming but in the present, we rely so much on other countries for our products- same way other countries depend on us for the global economy. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head that America mass produces by itself is cars (like Ford, GMC, Chrysler) but that’s not really legitimate considering the more prominent numbers of cars that aren’t manufactured in the USA. (Toyota, Mitsubishi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, etc.). For example, We very scarcely make our own clothes, so most likely my jeans (whether they’re $50 or $10) were made in China by an exploited worker who gets paid 20 cents a day and it’s a horrible thought but for most people, there’s really no way around it. There used to be a time (like our grandparents time) where people were outraged about the "Made in China" concept but that was mainly because of the loss of American manufacturing and factory jobs.

It’s interesting to know that some products that say "Made in USA" are technically [i:rn8azfin]not[/i:rn8azfin] made in the USA. They’re made in US territories- US Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, which all work under completely different (and very weak) work and labor laws but again, because it’s a territory, it’s technically not illegal to slap the "Made in USA" label on it and call it a day. :-\

Like I said earlier, I think the day is coming where America will be manufacturing again, not like it was before, but close. CNN gives this article which explains why: [url=http&#58;//finance&#46;fortune&#46;cnn&#46;com/2011/06/29/return-of-american-manufacturing/:rn8azfin]Made (again) in the USA: The return of American Manufacturing[/url:rn8azfin]. Ahh, I love CNN. <3

#19

This is disturbing. I hope that the conditions in that factory are improved, and that companies like Disney and Mattel start taking more responsibility for the way their merchandise is produced. I don’t really buy any Disney/ Pixar toys, so I can’t exactly boycott them, although when buying toys for my younger cousin this Christmas I’ll avoid these ones.

Maybe we could start an online petition or something? Maybe a Facebook group? In addition to sending letters. An online thing would be a good way to raise awareness amongst people who haven’t seen the news story.

#20

This is definitly a problem, but doesn’t surprise me much even though I didn’t know about it until now.

Call me a bit of a cynic, but honestly I think that Pixar does have an inkling of this (or know it’s possible this sort of thing is going on), but perhaps doesn’t want to know- but if the evidence is there, then the evidence is there. And if it’s put right in front of them perhaps they will actually do something about it or speak up.

If Disney is more involved in this than Pixar I won’t be surprised at all (and not just because of course, they handle the merchandise end anyway). Disney is HORRIBLE to its workers in parks and a lot of merchandise in general depends on such labour- not just Disney. It’s why I’m not going to ever go to a Disney park again until they treat them more fairly or I am 100% sure that that specific park treats their workers better. I had fun the last time I went to a park (California last year), but heck if I ever have kids and they’re still doing what they’re doing- they’re not going until they can earn the money to go on their own or if (I have one) my partner wants to pay and I stay at home. Don’t care if that makes my some sort of tyrant. I won’t be throwing ANY of my own money into such a place until they get their act together. I’m just not comfortable myself going somewhere she aludes dreams and happiness and good winning over evil and then grinds employees under foot, taking advantage of them.

I don’t really tend to buy much Disney merchandise anyway though I was considering buying my cousin’s son some Cars 2 merch for his birthday in October. Looks like I’ll need some other ideas in that department. A petition is an idea, but also some letters might be an idea too- not too long obviously but statements of facts and sources involved so they can’t be ignored- and they should be sent to BOTH Pixar and whoever handles that end of the merchandise area in Disney.