ICTI Ethical Toy Program has revealed plans to support 30,000 children by expanding its Family-Friendly Factory programme outside of China for the first time and into Vietnam by the end of this year and Mexico by 2024.
The Family-Friendly Spaces programme was originally launched in China in 2016 to support ‘left behind children’ – the children of parents migrating domestically to major cities for work but are unable to bring their children to live with them.
It’s estimated that in China there are 31 million ‘left behind children.’
The programme acts to create factory-based, safe, educational spaces for the children of workers to play and learn while their parents are able to work. A Family Friendly Factory is therefore a factory that has considered the needs of its workers and engaged with them to develop responses to those needs.
This can include the provision of childcare by implementing a Family Friendly Space or the development of new policies which offer parents benefits such as flexible working or enhanced parental leave.
IETP has now set out its ambition to scale and support 30,000 children by the end of 2025 by creating 100 new Family-Friendly Spaces and formally recognising factories who participate in the FFF program.
Data from the not-for-profit shows that thanks to the provision of a Family-Friendly Space, 91% of workers intended to stay working at a factory for over two years. Meanwhile,90% of managers said more workers were attracted to work at their factory also saying Family-Friendly Spaces improved worker retention rates.
To assist its efforts, IETP has secured funding with giants in the international toy industry, including the LEGO Group (named its primary funder) and Spin Master.
The LEGO Group has supported the Family Friendly Spaces programme since 2017.
This tranche of funding will enable IETP to further develop workplace policies and open childcare spaces all over the world. Initial growth plans focus on expansion from China to Vietnam in 2023, and to Mexico in 2024, with the ambition to announce more locations as the program develops and needs are identified in other geographies.
Anne-Mette Lehm Laursen, senior director, responsible sourcing at the LEGO Group, said: “We are extremely excited to support the globalization of the Family-Friendly Factory program and work with IETP and expert partners on program content development.
“Learning through play is an essential part of child development, enhancing social, physical, emotional, creative, and cognitive skills. We look forward to embedding our Learning through Play activities into the Family-Friendly Spaces Teacher Training program, and seeing the positive impact that the program will have on children, parents, caregivers, and worker well-being.”
Tammy Smitham, Spin Master’s vp communications and corporate citizenship, added: “IETP’s Family-Friendly Factory program will provide valuable programming to improve the lives of workers with family responsibilities, which in turn can have a positive impact on their children and their work life.
“Much like the Family-Friendly Spaces program, it is a win-win for both factory workers and management, strengthening the factory culture and engagement. Given our commitment to helping children grow and learn through play, we are thrilled to be supporting the expansion of this program which is at the epicentre of where play experiences begin and look forward to seeing the positive impact it can have.”
