A disturbing report.

 

This is probably the last thing anyone here wants to think about, but with all the recalls pushing the toy industry at large into the spotlight I've been thinking about it a lot. I'm finding myself feeling guilty about the fact that the toys I buy are made by kids in filthy, often dangerous conditions, often kids who are the same age I was when I first became a fan of Transformers. I've often wondered about Hasbro's sourcing, and I'm not buying anything anymore, but I'm curious how the rest of the fandom feels about it. Is there a way to verify conditions in Hasbro's factories? If Hasbro is using abusive labor practices, is there anything we can do to change it? Does anyone besides me even care about this, or give it a second thought? I'd like to hear what all of you have to say.

do you want the politically correct honest response or the incorrect one (read as appropriate)

 

incorrect one: OMF! so that explains the QC problems as of late

 

my honest one: it's cheap labour and as long as it's there that won't change. Hasbro (along with TakaraTomy) will no doubt react to these claims themselves and change factories (unless they ignore it) personally, i don't buy many transformers any more but it is unacceptable for people to be forced to work in these conditions nowadays. (i haven't felt the need to for over a week now. i think i burnt myself out, can't blame me though, over 10 figures in a month does that to ya.)

Honestly it would be nearly impossible to live the life style most Americans are accustomed to with out buying something made in this fassion.

 

It would take sweeping global socio economic change to change this.

 

We all leave a little bit of our soul behind every time we shop at walmart. If we all stopped buying toys, that near slave labor would be put back to work polishing bullets for us to shoot at each other, cheap.

 

I'm just making excuses. The world is a horrible place and our species is insane.

 

I just want my toys...

 

Preferably on clearance.

Honestly it would be nearly impossible to live the life style most Americans are accustomed to with out buying something made in this fassion.

 

It would take sweeping global socio economic change to change this.

 

We all leave a little bit of our soul behind every time we shop at walmart. If we all stopped buying toys, that near slave labor would be put back to work polishing bullets for us to shoot at each other, cheap.

 

I'm just making excuses. The world is a horrible place and our species is insane.

 

I just want my toys...

 

Preferably on clearance.

QFT

 

Capitalism and Social Consciousness are all but incompatible on a mass scale. The entire point of Capitalism is to free the markets so that companies can do whatever they can to get a head and make a profit - unfortunately for the Humanists, this system inevitably results in the exploitation of those most vulnerable, i.e. the bottom of the socio-economic barrel.

 

Sorry. Do I wish that small children didn't have to apply paint to Optimus Prime to eke a meagre existance? Yes.

 

Do I wish that people would, you know, maybe do something about Darfur? Yeah.

 

Unfortunately, I live in a world where the attorney of a 25 year-old teacher accuses a 13 year-old boy of "grooming" her for a sexual relationship, and exploiting this poor, helpless, female adult. Reality dictates that if it isn't small children in China being exploited, it'll be small children somewhere else.

 

Unless, of course, you'd like to pay extra for your toys.

Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with P-C and Hypocrite. I wish these third world children weren't forced to work in sweet shoppes, but realistically I'm not going to boycott Transformers products over it. Why? If I do that then I have to look at everything else. It's not just the toys we buy. It's shoes, t-shirts, pop, almost everything these days are made by people forced to work in these appalling conditions. So if you're ready to boycott Hasbro over it you better be ready to boycott almost everything else in our modern world.

 

As for Wal-Mart, P-C is right. Honestly, I feel like I'm betraying my principals every time I set foot in there. If we're just looking at TF toys alone, what else is there? There are three Wal-Marts in my immediate area, five if I feel like a drive. Outside of that my only other options are the local TRU and the local comic shoppe. The comic store is obviously in the comic business first, and the toy business second, so their selection is limited. TRU usually has a decent selection, but it can't compare to the selection of 3-5 Wal-Marts combined. Besides, I doubt TRU's labour practises are that much better then W-M's.

True, I could order stuff online, but realistically I'm a university student. Why would I waste money on shipping fees, plus wait a week to get the figure, when I can just drive to any of the local W-M's, get the toy that day for a reduced price?

 

That's just in regards to TF figures. Factor in videos, games, clothing, food, and Wal-Mart with its prices seems very tempting.

If this despicable problem is to be solved it is at the free balot box (wich out monotocracy does not have). Not in the check out isle at a toy store.

 

(I'm glad others understood what I was saying)

If this despicable problem is to be solved it is at the free balot box (wich out monotocracy does not have). Not in the check out isle at a toy store.

 

(I'm glad others understood what I was saying)

 

I understand exactly what you're saying, and I can also sympathize with the thoughts expressed by all here. But, I think you guys are also limiting yourselves by assuming I'm asking for an all-out boycott.

 

I'm not really boycotting TFs. I'm not buying because part of me feels guilty doing so. As for other products made under the same conditions, the reason I've concentrated on toys is because A) they're a total luxury, something I don't need to survive/function in society (unlike the aforementioned shoes, T-shirts, food, etc.) and B) because toys are usually bought not by children but by adults FOR children, adults who have (I hope) the education and maturity to understand the situation and make informed choices.

 

I know boycotting by a few scraggly fans will have little to no effect on Hasbro's corporate strategy. However, a concentrated campaign of letter-writing, email, phone calls, etc. from hundreds, maybe thousands, of people whose disposable income Hasbro relies upon for its very existence, might be a better tool. Word-of-mouth can make or break most companies (Wal-Mart has direct corporate support from Lucifer himself so they don't count). Just think about it. Talk about it. Consider the real price of your Classics Megatron. If you have kids, imagine them working under the same conditions. Know that not everyone who works in Chinese factories like this has a choice-China is well known for using political prisoners as corporate slave laborers. Understand that had you spent your childhood in such a place, your chances of living through it mentally and physically intact would be very low, and you likely wouldn't be here to tarry over the sculpt and action features of toys you could never have afforded anyway.

 

So just think about it. And should any of you choose to take action, don't stop with Hasbro-go after Mattell too. And while you're at it write George Lucas--Imagine what Hasbro would do if he threatened to pull the Star Wars license. Next time you get into a Q&A session at a 'con start asking inconvenient questions. If you stop buying toys fine. If not I find no fault with you. We are creatures of choice guided by our respective philosophies and conscience.

If this despicable problem is to be solved it is at the free balot box (wich out monotocracy does not have). Not in the check out isle at a toy store.

 

(I'm glad others understood what I was saying)

 

I understand exactly what you're saying, and I can also sympathize with the thoughts expressed by all here. But, I think you guys are also limiting yourselves by assuming I'm asking for an all-out boycott.

 

I'm not really boycotting TFs. I'm not buying because part of me feels guilty doing so. As for other products made under the same conditions, the reason I've concentrated on toys is because A) they're a total luxury, something I don't need to survive/function in society (unlike the aforementioned shoes, T-shirts, food, etc.) and B) because toys are usually bought not by children but by adults FOR children, adults who have (I hope) the education and maturity to understand the situation and make informed choices.

 

I know boycotting by a few scraggly fans will have little to no effect on Hasbro's corporate strategy. However, a concentrated campaign of letter-writing, email, phone calls, etc. from hundreds, maybe thousands, of people whose disposable income Hasbro relies upon for its very existence, might be a better tool. Word-of-mouth can make or break most companies (Wal-Mart has direct corporate support from Lucifer himself so they don't count). Just think about it. Talk about it. Consider the real price of your Classics Megatron. If you have kids, imagine them working under the same conditions. Know that not everyone who works in Chinese factories like this has a choice-China is well known for using political prisoners as corporate slave laborers. Understand that had you spent your childhood in such a place, your chances of living through it mentally and physically intact would be very low, and you likely wouldn't be here to tarry over the sculpt and action features of toys you could never have afforded anyway.

 

So just think about it. And should any of you choose to take action, don't stop with Hasbro-go after Mattell too. And while you're at it write George Lucas--Imagine what Hasbro would do if he threatened to pull the Star Wars license. Next time you get into a Q&A session at a 'con start asking inconvenient questions. If you stop buying toys fine. If not I find no fault with you. We are creatures of choice guided by our respective philosophies and conscience.

The thing is, as has been made clear over and over, the adult collector is a very small portion of Hasbro's customer base. First and foremost these are for kids. Kids who's parents buy them. So you have to think of it this way.

Is Hasbro going to listen to the adult collectors who may be willing to pay a little extra for a product produced in an ethical working environment, or parents who want the toys cheap for their kids?

 

I get what you're saying about toys being a luxury, but even then, if we start to avoid buying toys for that reason we pretty much have to discard everything else that's considered a luxury. Almost everything's made in sweat shoppes these days.

 

I'm siding with P-C here. This is an issue that goes much deeper then how Hasbro produces its toys. We need a large socio-economical change on a global scale. Once that happens then Hasbro's questionable labour practises will be dealt with. What I'm saying is you need to think bigger, because the problem is much bigger then just Hasbro.

The thing is, as has been made clear over and over, the adult collector is a very small portion of Hasbro's customer base. First and foremost these are for kids. Kids who's parents buy them. So you have to think of it this way.

Is Hasbro going to listen to the adult collectors who may be willing to pay a little extra for a product produced in an ethical working environment, or parents who want the toys cheap for their kids?

Right you are, which is why I would urge anyone who shares my concerns to educate those very same parents. (I think I implied that.) Which may not be too difficult, since all the safety recalls and the hassles they bring already have parents looking twice at what they buy. Lead poisoning from Barbie's eyeshadow can be a real Starscream.

 

I'm siding with P-C here.

There aren't any "sides". No "wrong" opinions, no arguments. This post is not intended to begin a flame war, only to bring an issue forward for people to consider and discuss.

 

This is an issue that goes much deeper then how Hasbro produces its toys. We need a large socio-economical change on a global scale. Once that happens then Hasbro's questionable labour practises will be dealt with.

And until then, we do nothing? Go about our lives without thinking about it, hoping someone else will make it go away? Be good, quiet little consumers? Seriously, I'm not fighting with you, just curious to know if that's what you really think. And besides, how do you expect "a large socio-economical change on a global scale" to begin? Someone with a beret and an Uzi leading armchair commandos on a raid of Wal-Mart headquarters?

 

What I'm saying is you need to think bigger, because the problem is much bigger then just Hasbro.

True. But I have to start somewhere.

well, these kids can either toil away for $0.25 a day in a factory, or toil away for $0.10 a day on a farm, or in a ditch.

the sweat shop situation is similar to the textile mills during the industrial revolution in america. we had cildren losing hands and fingers in machinery, just so a few wealthy americans and brits could have fancy pants to wear to parties. that eventually stopped, through various processes, like unionization, among others.

the problem to overcome nowadays, however, is that governments of industrialized nations "depend" on these cheaply made goods. that is, after all, the argument behind all this "illegal immigration" flap these days.

we, as citizens of a global economy, have to realize, that shutting these "sweatshops" down, or pushing for these countries to have labor laws similar to the western world, means having to pay more for our luxury goods.

and, since money talks, the various lobbies will see to it that these "sweatshops" stay open.

It's gonna take a lot of action, but we can eventually change this.