The Toy Business
Children's Toys > History of Toys • Toy Collecting • Toy Manufacturers • The Toy Business
Because toys play an important role in developing a child's imagination,
creativity, coordination, and ability to solve problems, the
toy industry
actually plays a very important role in our society. One of the toy
industry's biggest challenges is to keep up with the changing world and
crank out toys that appeal to today's modern children.
As a result, the toy industry is constantly changing. Today the $21 billion toy business isn't just about making products that entertain, educate and engage kids. Instead, the toy business has turned uncharacteristically corporate, driven by concerns about stock prices as well as social and demographic changes. This means that kids of increasingly younger age are being targeted by advertising and branding campaigns, as well as other selling techniques that were formerly reserved only for adults.
It is estimated that about half of all the commercials that an average child sees are for toys, and many of these commercials are designed to influence what kids want next.
As kids grow older faster and abandon their toys earlier, the toy business struggles to keep up by introducing toys that rival electronics products such as MP3 players and cell phones. Unlike the toy business several decades ago, today's toys are not necessarily designed to encourage creative play. In fact, many are designed to perform at the touch of a button, thanks to embedded computer chips and scripted storylines. In addition, many of today's toys are designed to entertain rather than to be played with. Also popular among the large toy companies are toys based on television programs and movies. Many of these toys are companions to toys and accessories in the same line, which means when children grow tired of them and discard them, repeat buying is assured.
Today's toy business is not necessarily made up of manufacturers, as most of the toys sold in America today are made offshore in places like China or Hong Kong. Instead, many toy companies in the toy business today concentrate on research, marketing, and advertising.
But as the toy business has become more commercial, more and more smaller toy manufacturers are coming on the scene. These manufacturers are interested in bringing back the original integrity of the toy business, and are doing so by inventing toys that are once more designed to stimulate, entertain, and educate.
Toy Production in China
When it comes to the largest toy sellers, most toys — in fact, about 80% of American toys — are produced in the Pearl River Delta of China. This allows toy manufacturers to get their toys made at a minimal price so that they can concentrate their efforts — and budget — on advertising, marketing, and branding. As a matter of fact, about 50 million Chinese migrants have been involved in toy manufacturing. At any one time, there are 8,000 toy factories that employ up to 3 million workers.
The story of Chinese toy production began in the 1980s when British-owned Hong Kong began to shift its manufacturing to the mainland of China because of tax advantages, low-cost land, cheap labor, and a system that allowed workers to live on-site. While many types of factories dedicated to different types of manufacturing were erected, toy making, because it is a low-skill high-labor industry, was one of the earliest industries.
American companies choose to manufacture their toys in China because, in addition to the cheap and plentiful labor, it means that American manufacturers don't need to build and maintain their own factories. The supporting industries and services, such as plastic molds, parts, and textiles, are also currently in place in China.
Most Chinese toy factories make several different products for several different brands and companies. The factories are supplied with toy designs and raw materials, leaving them only to produce the products.
While Chinese factories earned the reputation of being "sweatshops" and their cheap labor practices were criticized and scrutinized by a public that was becoming more educated, the International Council of Toy Industries launched the CARE monitoring process. This worldwide auditing program is designed to ensure that Chinese toy factories comply with a code designed to ensure that working conditions are reasonable and humane. To date, almost a hundred U.S. brands and more than 200 companies worldwide have signed a CARE statement stipulating that they will only accept products from factories that adhere to the code.