Fair toy production: New seal awarded for the first time

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Cuddly bear with Fair Toys seal

Photo: Daniel Karmann / dpa

For the first time, the so-called Fair Toys Organisation (FTO) has awarded a seal that is intended to make it more transparent under which conditions products were manufactured. It is intended to reward manufacturers who assume social and environmental responsibility in their supply chains.

FTO is an association of civil society organisations, churches, municipalities, the Association of the German Toy Industry and toy companies. It was founded in the summer of 2020 in Nuremberg.

Since then, two member companies, Heunec from Franconia and Plasticant Mobilo from the Black Forest, have been audited. Both passed the exam.

Other companies are to follow soon, said FTO board member Maik Pflaum. Among other things, Fischertechnik and Faller are checked.

Seals for fair trade products such as clothing and chocolate have been around for a long time. Until now, these have been lacking in the toy industry. Although there are certification systems such as the Ethical Toy Program and Amfori BSCI, they focus on inspections of toy factories, FTO said.

These often only document known grievances and do not include the purchasing practices of the clients. In addition, they are mostly initiated by industry. Such controls and audits make sense, Pflaum said. But only in addition.

The FTO seal does not mean that everything is going 100 percent well at the companies, Pflaum said. "It also doesn't say that the entire supply chain is clean." This is not possible with such long supply chains and is therefore not credible. "The seal indicates that the company is doing everything possible to ensure that labor and human rights are respected."

If companies want to receive the seal, the FTO first checks the location. Companies and auditors then work together to develop an action plan. Finally, it is checked how well the manufacturers comply with the measures. According to the FTO, the companies only receive the seal for about one year at a time. After that, they have to be checked again.

lpz/dpa