Corporate Social Responsibility

This report raises a reasonable question: Do MNC's have an obligation to ensure that their suppliers follow labor and wage requirements of the host country? Wal-Mart uses its best efforts to do so and still gets slammed by groups like this.

A report by China Labor Watch, a US-based workers' rights group, found "brutal conditions" and labor violations at eight Chinese factories making toys for multinational corporations, Reuters reported. It accused several of the world's top toy brands, including Disney, Bandai and Hasbro, of paying "little heed to the most basic standards of the country," with low wages, no benefits, dangerous work environments and humiliating living conditions.

From a social responsibility standpoint, I think it is a wise move, as long as everyone realizes that only the US will be doing it. Japan, Korea, India, Europe, forget it.

I haven't read the underlying report, but the article fails to mention how many Chinese factories it surveyed. If it surveyed 150 and only 8 were a mess, that's a pretty good track record for the toy brands.