Mulan's Sisters: Working Conditions in Chinese Factories Making Disney Products

There are hundreds of Disney licensees in China producing Disney toys, garments, and footwear. Between July 1998 and February 1999, researchers from the Hong Kong Christian Industrial Committee (HKCIC) visited four of the factories in China producing garments illustrated with Disney characters. The detailed survey of workers in those factories reveals that the Walt Disney Company's Chinese subcontractors consistently violate Chinese labor laws regulating wages, overtime and workplace conditions. The interviews with workers also found that factories regularly violate Disney's own corporate Code of Conduct, which is designed to guarantee that workers are being treated fairly.

Despite the Walt Disney Company's publicized commitment to a code of conduct that seeks to guarantee that the company's overseas workers will be treated fairly and enjoy safe working conditions, it is clear that garment workers are still losing out to the pressures of maximizing profits. This new research shows that the Walt Disney Company is failing many of its workers and that its code of conduct is virtually meaningless. [authors]