Jultomtens verkstäder - en svensk rapport

Two months ago I met Kristina Bjurling from SwedWatch to learn more about the social aspect of toy production in China. Kristina took part in the research work and spent some time in China gathering information for the Report "Billig, snabb och lydig - en rapport om kinesiska leksaksarbetare och företagens ansvar"" and for a Documentary "Santa's Workshops" which takes us to the real world of China's toy factories. The Report is one of the very few (in fact the only one which I know about) report on toy production done by Swedish organisations.

In the documentary and the report (based on over 100 interviews in nine toys factories), Chinese workers tell us about long working hours, low wages and dangerous work places. Those who protest or try to organise trade unions risk imprisonment. Low labour costs attract more and more companies to China. Today more than 75% of our toys are made in China. But this industry takes its toll on the workers and the environment. European buyers blame bad conditions on the Chinese suppliers. But they in their turn say that increasingly hard competition gives them no option. Who should we believe? And what can you do to bring about a more fair and more humane toy trade?

Santa's Workshop is a film by Lotta Ekelund and Kristina Bjurling. Research by SwedWatch. Produced by Fair Trade Center and LottaFilm, with the support of the Swedish Trade Union Confederation’s cultural fund, the Study Promotion Association / Studiefrämjandet, the Swedish Consumer Agency and the consumer cooperative societies Svea, Stockholm, Norrort, Väst and Solidar.