News Flash

                                   March 2014

Events

10-Year ICP Supporters Honored During Hong Kong Toy Fair Seminar

At the “10th Anniversary of the ICTI CARE Process: Retrospective and Outlook Seminar” held January 7th during the Hong Kong Toy Fair, ICF CEO Christian Ewert thanked long-term ICP supporters and presented to each a commemorative plaque. Honorees included: Alan Hassenfeld, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of Hasbro, Inc. T.S. Wong, Chairman of Jetta Company Ltd., Honorary President of Hong Kong Toys Council Lawrence Chan, Honorary President, Hong Kong Toys Council Xiaoguang Shi, Non-Executive Director of Goodbaby International Holding Ltd. (China), President of China Toy & Juvenile Products Association May Liang, Executive Vice President & Secretary General of China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (CTJPA) Strategy XXI Partners, who operate as the ICF Secretariat.    Christian Ewert presenting May Liang with ICP commemorative plaque The seminar, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong Toy Council, was followed by a panel discussion, “Has the ICTI CARE Process Made a Difference?”, moderated by Christian Ewert. Panelists included toy supplier, brand and retailer representatives Lawrence Chan (Honorary President, Hong Kong Toys Council), Peter Handstein (CEO, Hape International), Dr. William Lo (Vice-Chairman, Lovable International Holdings Ltd), and Jens Hansen (Group Director- Operations, TOP-TOY Hong Kong Ltd). Over 80 participants attended this popular program leaving standing room only.

ICP Seminar Panelists

ICP CEO Presents at CEO Roundtable Meeting, Attends International Toy Fairs On January 16, Christian Ewert presented at the ICTI CEO Roundtable Meeting held in conjunction with the 111th American International Toy Fair. The presentation focused on buyer transparency, future expansion of the ICTI CARE Process and funding for its education and training programs. As part of ongoing stakeholder outreach activities, Mr. Ewert also met with major brands and national toy associations to exchange information about recent developments. During the Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg Mr. Ewert attended an informal meeting of the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) membership where he highlighted progress made in 2013 as well as future plans. Individual meetings were held with many brands and national toy associations during the course of the toy fair. “The foundation’s participation at this event was a success, thanks in part to the German toy association, DVSI, which generously allowed distribution of ICTI CARE materials from their exhibit booth to the more than 75,000 visitors attending the toy fair,” noted Ewert. ICF Executive Committee Meets in Hong Kong Members of the ICP Executive Committee met in Hong Kong on January 9-10. Deliberations focused on progress made in 2013, strategic planning for the next three years, expansion of the education and training programs and brand engagement with the ICP Commitment Program. The Governance Board meeting will take place May 2014 in Munich. Meetings were also held with stakeholder group representatives from the ICP Technical Advisory Council, Hong Kong Toys Council, Toy Manufacturers Association of Hong Kong, the China Toy and Juvenile Products Association, Labor Action China and the ICFAL team. The meetings enabled ICF Executive Committee members to better understand stakeholder issues.

Education and Training

First ICP Factory Management Systems Training Held in India  On January 20 and 21, ICTI CARE Process (ICP) hosted its first training course in Bengaluru, India. The program was sponsored by Hasbro Ltd. and took place at the Fortune Select JP Cosmos Hotel. Since 90% of the attending factories were new to ICP, the two-day ICP Management Systems Training focused on introducing the ICP program and its objectives, providing a comprehensive overview of key ICP policies and audit procedure requirements, and using a Code of Conduct to ensure a sustainable management system. The training was led by Mr. PW Ip (General Manager, Operations, ICFAL) and attended by 22 senior factory managers from ten factories, plus an accredited ICP auditor who was invited to participate in the training as a refresher course on ICP standards and requirements. Factory Management System Trainees The attendees noted that the sessions helped them gain greater understanding and insight into the ICP Process and took advantage of the sessions to freely exchange ideas with their fellow participants. Announcements about future overseas training programs will be posted on the official ICP website. ICFAL and Local Experts Work Together to Develop Local Specific Guideline for India On January 22, after ICP’s first factory managements systems training program in Bengaluru (India), representatives from ICFAL, Hasbro, Bureau Veritas (BV) and ten local factories met to begin the process of drafting the local specific guideline for India.

Meeting participants draft local specific guideline for India

The guideline will take into consideration the audit scope, focus, available audit time, industry practice, etc., with criteria that may be more or less stricter than India law, or eliminate the need to check compliance with certain laws altogether during the audit. Nevertheless, each factory will still be responsible for complying with all applicable laws. The full-day meeting resulted in intensive and fruitful discussion about the development of the ICTI CARE Process in India. ICFAL is currently summarizing the feedback and will draft the local specific guideline during Q1 of 2014. ICP Team Visits Factory in India  On January 23rd, at the invitation of Pals Plush India Pvt. Ltd., ICTI CARE Foundation Asia Ltd. (ICFAL) team members Christian Ewert, PW Ip, Alex Cheung and Jacob Lam visited its factory located in Sri City, Andhra Pradesh Province, India. The purpose of the team visit was to exchanges ideas and Code of Conduct experiences with factory management, to identify the key differences between Chinese and Indian factory practices in operations, management systems and workplace culture, and to enhance understanding of India’s toy industry.

Pals Plush India Pvt. Ltd. Factory

The ICFAL team toured the factory to observe the work flow and facilities, and spoke with approximately 30 workers to understand their daily activities in the workplace. ICFAL team and CEO meet with Pandur Village locals The visit to “Pandur”, a local village farm at which nearly all workers are female, was a most memorable experience. The team interacted with the villagers and gained deeper understanding about their local life and culture.

Auditing and Monitoring

ICFAL Announces New Helpline Number, Updated CARE Cards for Purchase Updated CARE Cards and CARE posters are now available to order from asia@icti-care.org at $65HKD/set. Auditors are implementing the new practice of distributing 50 free CARE Cards to managers and workers at factories undergoing Initial Certification Audits (ICA) and Initial Annual Audits (IAA). The new toll-free Helpline mobile phone number (4008-169580) in China went into effect as of January 2014. The Helpline continues to be a popular and effective education and support mechanism that enables workers to successfully manage their professional and lives.

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Upcoming Events

26-27 March - ICP Management Systems Training (CHIN) - Dongguan 28 March - ICP Senior Management Roundtable (CHIN) - Dongguan 4 Auditor Refresher Training in April 10-11 April - ICP Management Systems Training (CHIN) - Nanjing 7-8 May - ICP Management Systems Training (CHIN) - Shenzhen 13 May - Brands Orientation

To apply or to see more upcoming events, please click here.

Toy Brand and Factory Data

Factories Registered in the ICTI CARE Process: (representing approximately 700,000 factory workers) 1433 Factories with an ICP Seal of Compliance: 1107 Companies in the ICP Committed Brands Program: 902 Countries represented (19 national toy associations, plus 9 other countries): 31 Total