International Toy Industry
ICTI CARE Process A Guarantee for Good Working Conditions in China by Jan Sinke, editor, Speelgoed en Hobby, the Netherlands
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he International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) CARE (Caring, Awareness, Responsible, Ethical) Process celebrates its 10 year anniversary this year. The inspection system has created a revolution for the well-being of workers in the toy industry. The Process has been implemented in China, and now there are many more countries where it has been applied. Christian Ewert, from Germany, is president and CEO of the organization. We sat down with him to better understand what has been achieved with the ICTI CARE Process.
Mission Statement The mission of the ICTI CARE Process is to enable the worldwide children’s products industry to ensure that its products are manufactured in an environment of the highest standards of safety and humane conditions. As a not-forprofit operation, the ICTI CARE Process works to share best practices in effective factory monitoring and capacity building in an open and transparent manner.
What were the original intentions of the ICTI CARE Process? “We have to go back 15 years,” says Ewert. “The toy industry was facing significant pressure from consumer groups and the press about alleged abuses in the toy factories in China. It was clear from the toy industry perspective that something had to be done. Several western producers began to define their requirements in terms of safety and working conditions at their Chinese manufacturers. Mattel and Hasbro were among the first manufacturers who began monitoring the factories, but every producer had its own demands. I was on the board of Zapf Creation and I had a supplier who was audited 64 times because everyone wanted to inspect his factory. There was a need for universal rules for the industry, with just one inspection, by ICTI. In 2002, at the general assembly of the ICTI, the global toy association members were comprised of 22 national toy
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Christian Ewert, president and CEO, ICTI CARE Process
associations, which introduced the original Code of Business Practices. This was a standard checklist that factories had to follow. At that time, the requirements of major retail customers were not included. In 2004 we started by monitoring the factories. After two years, however, we had to conclude that it simply did not work, because the factories constantly deceived us. For example, they provided false documentation. The manufacturers were concerned with the working hours and the consistent use of overtime, impacting the factory workers’ working conditions. This led to a large number of improvements. We said to the producers, “We want transparency from you, and we will give you enough time to meet all of our requirements.” That meant, among other things, the payment of the minimum wage and overtime compensation at 150, 200, or 300 percent. After a three-year transition period, the working hours per week should not be more than 66 hours. In the interim, the ICTI CARE Process proposed this standardization: • Class A: up to 66 hours • Class B: up to 72 hours • The interim independent class of more than 72 hours, but within 12 months was reduced to Class B. • We proposed that for Class B, factories would have three years to achieve the 66 hours goal.
MAY/JUNE 2014