Special Feature

and management technology platform. Data collected from the Helpline is gathered, analysed and housed in Connect, allowing users to gain an understanding of the situation on the ground in their associated factories. Connect features include data on the number and type of calls made by workers and the number of calls escalated. Data can be exported easily enabling further analysis, reporting and informed capability-building planning.

In addition to improving workplace conditions, the Helpline provides data for reporting and enables companies to meet regulatory requirements all over the world. In recent years, there have been various due diligence acts introduced globally with varying requirements for transparency and complaints procedures. These include: the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act, the Proposed EU Supply Chain Regulations and the US Forced Labor Prevention Act. Effective grievance mechanisms are known to help identify and remediate the most serious of human rights issues. Matt Friedman, CEO of the Mekong Club said: “Worker helplines and grievance mechanisms are essential tools for improving the lives of supply chain workers. By providing a safe and confidential way for workers to report issues and concerns, these mechanisms can help to identify and address systemic issues within supply chains. We are very impressed with the impact of IETP’s Helpline and the impressive outcome of this work in addressing worker issues.” The Mekong Club works with the private sector to bring sustainable practices against modern slavery across the globe, and IETP is a proud member.

100% of IETP program members utilize the Helpline and have access to monthly Helpline analytics, because the Helpline is a mandatory feature of IETP’s certification platform. If you are a member of IETP this is independent, and so is trusted and transparent. For IETP program members there is no additional cost for the Helpline. The IETP Worker Helpline is, however, available to non-member companies also and can be deployed as a standalone service. (Interested parties should contact join@ethicaltoyprogram.org).

In 2022, IETP’s Helpline received around 1,500 calls from 800 factories in China and Vietnam. Each case was fully investigated, escalated (where required) and closed. It is reassuring to note from the Helpline data that only around 10% of the cases received related to labour standards non-compliance. IETP sees three types of cases or calls generally: callers who have a misunderstanding of their obligations in the workplace; callers who have a personal concern, unrelated to their work, but nonetheless looking for support or advice; and finally, callers who are experiencing a breach of their workplace contract or conditions.

2022 Helpline data showed one of the top reasons for calling the Helpline was to discuss personal issues. In addition to identifying non-compliances and labour standards issues, worker helplines and grievance mechanisms help to improve the overall well-being of supply chain workers.

By providing access to support and resources, these mechanisms can help workers address issues such as financial stress, mental and physical health. This also benefits businesses, leading to improved job satisfaction, higher productivity, a more engaged workforce and improved worker retention rates. Wendy Chu, Compliance director at The Marketing Store, Asia says “IETP’s Helpline is an effective grievance mechanism providing workers a safe, confidential space for their voices to be heard. Importantly, 100% of cases are remedied and IETP’s on-the-ground teams play a vital role in helping us to ensure workers' issues are companies and deploy worker surveys or host worker in-person discussions on specific topics, for example, gender equality in the workplace. Regular reporting allows organizations to identify recurring issues which can be used for remediation and to inform factory and working training priorities, such as improving management skills and the behaviors of supervisors.

Amita Lam, director, Global head of Governance, Risk Management & Compliance at Mattel, adds: “Together with IETP and insights gained from the IETP Helpline data, we are able to enhance our training for factory management and teams, resulting in improved working environments. IETP is committed to enabling greater access globally to the IETP Helpline and is planning further deployments in Mexico, Thailand and Malaysia. Carmel Giblin, CEO of IETP, confirms that IETP will continue to respond to companies' needs by expanding the on-the-ground Helpline teams wherever they are needed. “As we continue to grow and work with new industries globally, we will ensure the expertise we have is used to increase the accessibility of the IETP Worker Helpline”.

The success of the IETP Worker Helpline can be attributed to the awareness that workers have of the Helpline and their trust in contacting the team. IETP provides materials to factories and workers to ensure every worker in the factory knows about the Helpline, how to contact the team and how it operates. Many companies have in-house processes for raising a grievance, but these are not always trusted or effective. The IETP Worker Helpline provides an alternative channel, trusted by workers and management alike.

Contact us at join@ethicaltoyprogram.org to learn more about responsible supply chains and how to efficiently deploy an effective, low-cost worker helpline at scale. Visit www.ethical.toys for more information.

Hands up if you’ve been on Twitter today? What about Instagram or TikTok? You’re certainly not alone: there are more than 330m monthly active Twitter users (exact figures vary wildly depending on whether or not Elon Musk is behind them) while Instagram sees around 2.35b. TikTok, a much newer platform, is forecast to approach 1b monthly users by 2025.

Toy companies have known for some time that certain brands and categories go with social media like paint goes with paintbrushes, and it seems the same can be said of Arts & Crafts. Sambro’s own-IP beauty crafting range, Love & Hugs, has been inspired by viral trends seen on social media, and David Fynn of John Sanders department store in Ruislip told us in his Talking Shop interview (the feature starts on p. 31) that creative play products have to be ‘TikTokable’ these days. This is a sentiment Grant Gie, UK MD at Creative Kids, agrees with.

“Platforms like TikTok absolutely have contributed to the ongoing popularity of this category,” he tells us. “Its format is perfect for showcasing Arts & Crafts in short, quick digestible content, the go-to video being 'before and after' or sped up clips that show the entire crafting process in a condensed timescale. Bold bright colours, such as those of our products, lend themselves to attention grabbing content.”

Damien Collett, head of Sales and country manager,

UK & Ireland at SES Creative, also believes social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok are playing an increasingly important role in shaping the Arts & Crafts category. He says: “Consumers are using these platforms to discover new products and trends, as well as to share their own creations and connect with other like-minded individuals.”

However, he adds: “It's important to note that not all Arts & Crafts products need to be ‘TikTokable’ to be successful. While social media can be a powerful marketing tool, there are many other factors that contribute to the success of a product, such as quality, price and availability. Ultimately, the decision of whether to focus on creating TikTokable Arts & Crafts products will depend on the specific retailer's marketing strategy and target audience. Some retailers may find success by leveraging the popularity of social media platforms like TikTok, while others may choose to focus on different marketing channels.”

Within the social media space, Food is a favourite Arts & Crafts theme. MGA’s Miniverse, which is available in two themes - Make it Mini Food Café Edition and Make it Mini Food Diner Edition – has been enjoying huge success on TikTok, with the hashtag #makeitminifood racking up 78m views at the time of writing. However, Food is a popular crafting theme regardless of whether or not kids intend to share their creations online. Hasbro is expanding its Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Range with the Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Magical Mixer Playset and Play-Doh Picnic Shapes Starter Set. Creative Kids is also eating into the Food theme, combining it with the still relevant trend for all things ASMR to create its new licensed Play Doh Air Clay Crunchy Clay range, in which a hard shell is created over slime or clay and then cracked and mixed into the soft compound within. The hero Crunchy Clay Café is accompanied by Donut and Cake Pop sets.

Creative Kids isn’t the only company bringing out air clay products this year. Brainstorm’s new My Very Own Fairy Cottage set includes air clay for sculpting, while Make It Real is likewise tapping into increased demand for the compound - as well as a big trend towards miniatures (the other reason MGA’s Miniverse is doing so well in the Arts & Crafts space) and the ongoing strength of the Collectibles category - with its new Mini Pottery Studio. Tomy’s Hey Clay range is set to expand in 2023 with new sets including Forest Animals, and new packaging to complement the creatures featured in the sets.

Craft Buddy, which produces the popular Crystal Art line of ‘diamond painting’ sets, says that while collectability is a relatively new consideration for the Arts & Crafts category, it is allowing the company to expand and diversify its range. In November 2022, the company launched the first series of Crystal Art Buddies (‘Buddies’), featuring 25 fan-favourite characters from