8 Dates in Toy Sweatshop History

For the people who make plastic toys, some years were worse than others.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28876688@N03/2697297098/">marissaorton</a>/Flickr

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Read also: The Good, the Bad, and the Snuggly, MoJo’s gift guide for the little ones on your list. 

Low points in recent toy-sweatshop history, as documented by the National Labor Committee.

1996: Haitians earn 7¢ for each Pocahontas T-shirt sewn; Wal-Mart sells them for $12.

2002: 80% of US toys now made in China.

2002: Guandong workers making toys for Mattel, Sega, and Wal-Mart use bare hands to handle toxic paints, glues, and solvents.

2004: Wal-Mart gives its Chinese toy factories 20 days’ advance notice of inspections.

2007: Chinese workers earn 53¢ an hour making Mattel’s Barbie Hug ‘n Heal Pet Doctor kit.

2008: Chinese teens found working 14 hours a day making Sesame Street toys.

2008: Employees of the Yongsheng Toy Factory spend 93 hours a week making Bratz dolls, with no extra pay for overtime.

2010: The International Council of Toy Industries, toy makers’ “social responsibility” group, still condones the use of 14-year-olds to make toys.

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2024 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate