I often get down about buying toys, and I thought you guys might like to read this. from the nytimes online, an article about an older business professor who's been working for years with mattel to improve conditions in its factories. it's somewhat enlightening, and the last page talks about the differences between mattel and some of the other toymaking companies.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/23/magazine/23Mattel-t.html

 

A fascinating read.

 

Enlightening indeed.

I always knew the conditions for these workers were bad, but I did not quite realize the extent.

...I suppose there are worse jobs though.

 

I knew the conditions were lousy. I didn't know that Mattel was doing anything about it. Hasbro's response disappoints me. And the cheap toys at Wal-Mart are even worse. (See Robert Greenwald's Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.)

 

While Hasbro may be lagging behind Mattel here, this is only half of a story. I don't think we should immediately criticize Hasbro.

For the sake of argument (i.e. this is hypothetical, I don't know one way or the other), if Hasbro is already working to ensure that conditions are good in their Chinese factories, they wouldn't need to pay an independent consultant to tell them what they already know.

We do know that Mattel has had to recall toys and Hasbro has avoided that so far. Is this an indication of better oversight by Hasbro, or just dumb luck? And if Hasbro is doing a better job at oversight of materials, does this same oversight apply to working conditions as well?

These are just some questions that I'd like to see answered before jumping to any conclusions.

 

Sethi is the man