Inside China's Slave Labour Toy Factories

[Mord]

I haven't been in a Walmart in years and don't plan on ever returning. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for American made goods, if they were made available . The assertion thet unions are too blame is absolutely ridiculous. They are always the easy target for every ill. Are American workers expected to work for the same wages as those poor souls working in sweatshops in 3rd world countries? The only thing protecting the middle-class in this country is the union job. It is simply naive to think that the American workforce is better off without them. Some nuts out there want to eliminate minimum wage laws. Are we all supposed to live in poverty so billionaires can afford their 7th private jets?

[Anton Phibes]

I didnt see the names Sideshow, NECA, Mattel, etc, listed in that video. Yet all their products are made there too. I guess they didnt want to go on record. Unfortunately the world has made a deal with the devil. But it really isnt keeping the prices low any more. Have you seen what the prices are these days for a 3 3/4 inch action figure? $9.99 usually. But the new Mortal Kombat figures in that scale are $14.99 at Toys R Us.

[MONSTER JOE FROM CHICAGO]

I must say that if it wasnt for the union of which I have been in for the past 20 years with no breaks in service might I add that I wouldnt be able to have had the freedom to provide for my family, save some money and be able to purchase vintage toys that hold such a special place in my heart . God bless the unions and all the people that help build this beautiful land. Ask a non union worker how much money it costs him just to purchase insurance for his or her family, most cant afford good insurance these days on slave labor income! I am the proud father of twins and without our insurance payed for mainly by my employer I would have had the  burden of a 60k bill to worry about paying a big chunk of.  Happy New Year to all and a prosperous 2012!   

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Okay, all sides of the politics involved have been very well expressed.  Thanks to all for sharing opinions on the topic.

Before this thread gets heated (and it seems political ones always do), let's move on.

[klempo]

Okay, all sides of the politics involved have been very well expressed.  Thanks to all for sharing opinions on the topic.

Before this thread gets heated (and it seems political ones always do), let's move on.

Totally true. I have put this topic here just to show you  how some toys are made not that we would talk about politics. We all know that politics and moral do not go together and is only good if you want to get in the fight.

So guys. Be happy and positive 

And Happy New Year to all from Slovenia (this is in Europe  )

[The Drunken Severed Head]

Happy New Year!

[monsterphile]

Rabbit season!

[Toy Ranch]

I went to China in 1987.  It was before most of the factories that are now making toys existed in China.  There were factories, and I visited some of them.  Conditions were not great, but they were better than conditions for the road building crews I saw, which consisted mainly of women and children who were laying rocks by hand to build roads.  Now the people who were laying rocks work in factories.  They get paid better, and the conditions are not as bad as they were building roads.  Not good, but better.  Perhaps in another 25 years, we'll be making stuff in factories for them. 

Yes, the conditions are bad.  They have been worse.  They get better.  Before, we didn't care because they weren't making stuff for us.  Now they are, so we feel bad for them.  They are better off than they were before they were making our stuff.  I saw that with my own eyes.

[Monster Kid]

I decided last month that I would never buy from Wal Mart again... I started shopping there again for about a year  in 2011 because I had a lot of bills and their prices were lower.. but finally I decided to get off the Wal Mart merry go round because it made me feel bad to shop there.

[Hepcat]

I've been informally boycotting Wal-Mart on the basis of aesthetic principle ever since the stores popped up their toadstool-like heads in Canada twenty years ago. I'm a downtown shopper. I don't like suburban big box stores and i don't like the way they turn the downtown areas of small towns into boarded up ghost towns.

[Dr.Terror]

Without sounding cold, I don't care where the toys are made, so long as they are.    Thats why I try to steer clear of the ins and out of the toy industry, ignorance is bliss.    I just want to see a cool toy on a shelve without worrying who made it.   

[Paul L]

Monster Kid & Hepcat, I admire your integrity.

[Scatter]

And Dr Terror, I admire your honesty. 

[TomlandMummy]

Hey!  I was made in that factory!  No wait, I was made in Hong Kong.  But it looked very similar.  I should go back there someday and say hello to the guys on the assembly line.  "Remember me?" 
But if they are still there, they will be so old!  Let's see, by now they must be at least 35.  They probably have forgotten me.