For more than a decade, ICTI Care has worked with the global toy industry to ensure that toys are manufactured responsibly and ethically, protecting the rights and well-being of millions of toy factory workers.
ICTI Care and the Toy Association have announced a new collaboration to support the continued development of the ICTI Care programme for the benefit of workers in global toy factories, toy companies, licensors and retailers.
For more than a decade, ICTI Care has worked with the global toy industry to ensure that toys are manufactured responsibly and ethically, protecting the rights and well-being of millions of toy factory workers.
ICTI Care’s new strategic collaboration with the Toy Association is the first in a series of new partnerships that will see ICTI care work with other national toy associations around the world to further develop, scale and promote responsible sourcing collaborations that will result in additional support for small and medium sized toy companies.
The Toy Association will now directly fund and support ICTI Care’s work, wjile offering its range of services to its SME members. Benefits will include access to ICTI Care’s Ethical Sourcing Database and monthly bulletins.
Toy Association members will also be offered an exclusive discount for individual membership in the ICTI Care Committed Brands Plus programme.
The Toy Association made $100,000 grant to ICTI Care for 2017 and committed to an association-level Committed Brands Plus membership for 2018.
“We know that small and medium sized toy companies are committed to responsible sourcing, but they sometimes lack the resources needed to actively engage the ICTI Care programme,” said Carmel Giblin, president and CEO of ICTI Care.
“Our exciting new collaboration with the Toy Association will extend the reach of our programme, enabling more toy companies to source ethically, reduce costs ad drive efficiencies.
“We hope this starts the journey for many to become full Committed Brands Plus members. We thank the Toy Association for this investment and its support since our founding.”
Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Toy Association, added: “Our members are steadfast in their commitment to product safety, regulatory compliance and responsible sourcing through codes like ICTI care.
“As an association, we seek to help our members understand that ICTI Care goes well beyond their excellent Code and work in factories to offer range of invaluable services making them the programme of choice.
“This new collaboration provides access to industry-leading tools and support for our members, regardless of size, saving them time and costs.
“As toy manufacturing becomes even more global, we are proud to continue our support of ICTI Care as they grow beyond their established roots in China.”
The partnership also provides Toy Association members with access to ICTI Care’s on-the-ground expert teams in China, Hong Kong and India, as well as immediate alerts on factory incidents and terminations to enable proactive management of risk and minimisation of supply chain disruption.
