On December 19th, the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights posted an article on their website accusing Hasbro of poor working conditions and less than adequate pay for workers at the Jet Fair Factory in China. The article can be read here.
In a press release last week, Hasbro addressed the claims of dire working conditions in their Jet Fair Factory stating they have taken the allegations very seriously. They deployed a team to work with I.C.T.I (International Council of Toy Industries) to examine the conditions of the facility. After an unannounced, nine hour inspection, both Hasbro and the I.C.T.I. determined the facility met "Hasbro's rigorous requirements."
The press statement goes on to say "While Hasbro is committed to continual improvement in all facets of corporate social responsibility, including continued ethical product manufacturing at Jet Fair and all factories that produce Hasbro products, the inflammatory allegations made by the NGO in their report were unsubstantiated by our investigation. As a matter of course, Hasbro will continue to monitor conditions at Jet Fair and all of our factories."
Click here to read the entire statement.
As soon the article surfaced, Seibertron.com members began discussing it in the forums. We immediately contacted Hasbro and they sent the following message to Seibertron.com in response to our inquiries to this matter on December 19th, 2011:
"Thank you for checking in with us on this matter. Hasbro takes all claims involving working conditions very seriously, and we are immediately investigating. The Company has a strong track record and has had long-standing policies and processes in place for years to help ensure good working conditions, including health and safety, at factories making our products. We strive to conduct business throughout our supply chain in accordance with the highest ethical standards, and we utilize not only ICTI-- but also our own on-the-ground workforce-- to monitor social compliance. For more information about Hasbro’s comprehensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities, including more detail regarding Hasbro’s policies and practices related to ethical product manufacturing, please visit Hasbro.com/csr.
