Monday 6 February 2012

What's Love Got to do with It?

It stands out clearly in my mind and even now I wish I'd been there to say my piece; shortly after opening The Canterbury Toy Shop I attended the Christmas Fair at Leeds Castle with a very talented jewellery designer friend of mine, Lady Muck. We shared a rather quirky half jewellery/half toys stall, complete with taxidermy magpie, sandwiched between a helicopter and a lady selling expensive ponchos. This bit is not of great interest to my online customers, so, to cut a long story short, after a lot of standing around in the cold clutching a polystyrene cup of surprisingly palattable mulled wine, I decided to go off and explore the fair, leaving my half of the stall in the more than capable hands of my fiance John. He was most successful in selling some of our fantastic toy concertinas to passers by, but when I returned, he was jittery and annoyed by one particular customer, and I can totally understand his reaction.

I hope I tell this story correctly and perhaps I should have asked John to open this blog post for me to ensure factual accuracy, but here we go! A couple visited the stall and began perusing the wooden toys - and who can blame them, our wooden toys are fabulous, I know so because I choose each and every one myself based on what I, as a Mother, would want to encourage my son to play with. The gentleman lifted from the table one of our adorable pull along toys by eco-friendly toy experts, EverEarth. His partner was obviously taken with the toy and began to comment on how lovely it is (and it sure is!) and so the gentleman asked John where it was made.

And so came an honest reply.

CHINA.

At this point, unfortunately, the man pulled a face (I have only seen the reinactment of the face - but if that's anything to go by then it was one of disgust), put down what might have been the perfect Christmas gift for a little person in his family, and promptyly escorted his wife away from the stand.

The curse of the "Made in China" toy.

And that is where I want to start this blog, not only by introducing one of our largest and lovliest suppliers, but by giving you an insight into WHY I choose to stock the lines that I do (it's not just willy-nilly you know!)

EverEarth factories in Asia are, first and foremost, pleasant places to work. Is it cheaper to outsource work to these countries rather than keep your manufacturing in the UK? Yes, I'm certain that it is. Does this therefore mean that those working in such factories live and work in appalling and dangerous conditions? Certainly not. And that is why I wish I had been on The Canterbury Toy Shop stall when that customer decided that we "weren't his cup of tea" because we stock products made in China, I would loved to have taken a few minutes of his day to tell him all about EverEarths factories, their ethos and their love for the people who make the toys we love. As they quite rightly point out, their employees are their lifeline, and here's what they do to keep the heart of their company beating:



  • Audits carried out on ALL factories by independent third parties to ensure an enviroment which nurtures the physical and mental wellbeing of workers.
  • No prison labour.
  • No child labour.
  • No forced labour.
  • Meals and hot water for washing, provided to all factory workers.
  • On site medical care for all factory workers.
  • A dormitory with solar power available to all factory workers.
  • Social Insurance provided for all factory workers.
  • Firedoors installed to segregate every building.
  • 150% of normal wage paid for overtime, rising to 200% at weekends and 300% for national holidays.
  • Team building activities for all factory workers.
  • Ongoing high level leadership and communication classes to encourage progression.
  • An on site farm growing fresh vegetables.
Does this sound like the sort of factory you'd object to having goods produced in? Of course not, in fact, the benefits on offer to factory workers in China working in the EverEarth factories often outweigh what's available to British factory workers.

I would never go so far as to say that we should stop supporting local and British companies (I ought to add that my wonderful EverEarth account manager Mike is based in Telford, in Shropshire, or as he affectionately refers to it "Farmer Country", and not from overseas at all). On the contrary I think that it's important that we allow our own craftsmen to flourish, and there are a number of companies making beautiful wooden toys in the UK, but more about them later. However, there is nothing wrong with supporting the International market either, and if you buy the odd toy with a "Made in China" stamp, it's best to know the background of where that toy first took shape, and I hope that some of my customers find this blog post reassuring.



I don't object entirely to that mans attitude at Leeds Castle; I want my customers to care about where their purchases are coming from, and the working standards in some overseas factories are appalling, and if we, as a global community, can do something to lessen the demand for the products created under such conditions then yes, lets unite and bring about change. If you would like to know anything about where your new toy has come from then that's what I'm here for (I have other uses but for more on that you might like to read my other blog). But I wish that gentleman at Leeds Castle could realise that the Chinese manufacturing industry is not a demon in its entirity.

EverEarth are leading the way, not just in the production of eco friendly wooden toys (and I'll be going into more detail of their other eco-credentials in a later blog post), but also in changing opinions and norms. THIS is the way that we should be trading with the rest of the world - with a little bit of love, and The Canterbury Toy Shop will continue to get in on the action where we can!

1 comment:

  1. It is indeed a shame that you weren't there to explain the ethos & values which are the foundation of your business, but hopefully with this blog you will be able to reach out to many more people like him and really make a difference.

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