BJD sweatshops?

Wow, where do you get your clothes? Even cloth comes from sweatshops. Oh and most of EVERYTHING we own... Just to throw that out there.

But no, I doubt any of them work in a large enough facility to be considered sweat shops. Your conscience is somewhat clear... except for those underwear you're (hopefully) wearing...

 

I imagine it's still going because people still have thoughts & questions on the matter, & because some, like myself, may be new to both BJDs & this issue in regard to the industry.

After reading this entire thread, I find it frustrating that a final verdict has not been established. It is obvious that a great many of those in the BJD community would like to know more regarding the manufacturing of the dolls, yet so much seems as-of-yet unknown.

Have there been any new or recent revelations in this area?

 

Intersting. I can't think of any goods that I own where I ever saw photos or discriptions of the "Factory Floor." I don't know how we can arrive at a verdict because companies are going to try to hide their manufacturing techniques from each other and as a result it is hidden from us.

 

I know that the Japanese factories as well as most well known Korean factories do not use sweatshops to produce their dolls. I know Volks wouldnt get in such trouble really. Sweatshops are usually referred to huge factories that produces thousands of units per minute. I would be very surprised that BJDs factories fall into that category. ~Gus

 

Oh, I totally agree the reason there is no verdict is because the companies aren't in the business of showing & telling all their behind the scenes operations. Just out of fascination I would love to see the magic of dollmaking behind those curtains.

As for working conditions, though, a quick google search is all it takes to discover sweatshops are alive & well over the planet, including a factory in Columbus, Mississippi, which manufactures U.S. Military uniforms. Without human rights watchdog groups actively investigating BJD makers & reporting their findings to the public, there's really no way for any of us to know for sure what goes on from one company to another. Due to the skills required & small production numbers of BJDs, as has been discussed on this thread, it does seem unlikely that the industry is involved in sweatshop practices. But I suppose anything is a possibility.

My mother is a painter & sculptor. She was once approached by a company that manufactures resin 'busts' - as in musical composers that you might display atop a piano. They were interested in having her design & sculpt other figures/figurines for their large-scale productions. She would be paid well, especially for a working artist, but after the models left her hands she would have no participation in how or where the production took place - sweatshop, no sweatshop, who knew?

I suppose I am just concerned that this sort of thing 'could' become a practice in the BJD industry, especially as it grows, much like what has happened with the majority of worldwide toy production. Perhaps the warning signs to look for would be onslaughts of cheap dolls, which doesn't seem to be the current situation. Really, there are only two things any individual can do - either make it a personal campaign to find out, or rely upon the watchdog groups to reveal any dangerous practices.

For me, if nothing else - this thread has certainly increased my desire to learn more regarding the artistry & creation of these special dolls. Previously I didn't think much beyond the fact that they are beautiful, very well made, & I want some.

edited to add: Isenn, your dolls are lovely. And if I look at your Sayo too long, she might send me straight up the ladder of wanting larger dolls than the tinies, lol. Sooo pretty.

 

There are lots of "how this is made" shows on tv. I was flipping throw channels and found a show about a factory that makes john deer tractors. They where showing how they use robots to paint them. In these show if there's something they don't wont there competition to seeing they simply say its secret and don't show that part. I think a documentary on bjd doll making would be amazing.

 

If I find out that workers are mistreated, it doesn't matter what it is, I'm not going to buy it. If it's Nike brand shoes and they have children working in the factory, I'm not going to buy Nike shoes. If I see on the news that Levi jeans factories in China have dangerous working conditions, I won't buy Levis.

Resin is toxic. When I buy my doll, I hope that the workers are protected from the toxins and that no one is harmed during production. I haven't made my purchase yet, but I'm willing to let my purchase decision be influenced by that factor. I don't want to be a part of a corporation that mistreats people. People always come first.

Also, I'm having difficulty believing somebody back there made a comment about hamburgers in this thread. Are we that Victorian? Are we willing to compare factory workers to cattle?

 

I highly HIGHLY doubt that is true. Like a bunch of people have already said above, resin is really hard to work with and the amount of work and detail put into the doll can speak for itself. It really isn't easy to make a BJD, with the joints and making sure everything is flawless. Sweatshops usually mass produce items in order to make them cheap, and BJDs are very exspensive compared to the shirts or toys you normally find that are most likely have their orgins in a sweatshop. The person that said that comment probley just wanted a lot of people to be like OH MY GOODNESS!! and buy their doll instead of BJDs and probley doesn't know a thing about the detail put into the dolls to make them speical.

 

I hesitate to use the word sweatshop in relation to any product. I don't feel that the American term can necessarily define working conditions in another country. Every country will possess different labour regulations so good versus bad is relative to the region.

I have lived in Japan for nearly six years and am NOT an expert or even close, but Japanese work ethics are VERY different from those of Canada. There are always exceptions but in general terms it's important to understand that people tend to (but not always) strive for sameness. As a result complaints are rare even when people are treated badly.

In my experience it's not uncommon to see starting wage at small to medium sized companies in the $1200-1400 range in Japan even with a university degree, especially for women. In fact that was what I was offered at a Japanese company. Add to that a full-time scedule with few to no breaks because if one person keeps working so does everyone else. Add to that that many people are afraid to ask for days off because they don't want to upset their boss. Add to that that companies that are smaller have few upward opportunities. Add to that that many companies are contract only which doesn't guarantee employment especially if demand increases in particular seasons.

I'd say working conditions here are good on the surface but one can only truly understand what it's really like behind closed doors. Some are great. Some are good. Some are alright. Some are bad. And some are ugly.

I can't comment on Volks. I don't know. And that's likely true for any Asian company. We can't know and even if we did I'm not sure we would completely understand due to the culture gap.

 

It would be odd to think "heads" of BJDs are mass-produced, to me anyway. But other parts? The hands? Legs? S-hooks? Arms? The strings? They are "parts" after all. Then again, I don't think these are manufactured in sweat-shop conditions anyway -- most likely in air-conditioned small manufacturing plants that has fully mechanized the process.

 

I don't think that could be true. Like many others who have said above, these dolls are not mass-produced and could not possibly be made in sweat shops hiring unskilled workers.

The same can also be said of Chinese BJD clothes makers (those on Taobao), many whom I've spoken to while on my wardrobe expansion quest reveal that they have very limited fabric and materials for each item, and know a great deal about their own items, which makes me think that most of them make the items themselves just like their western counterparts instead of outsourcing the work to factories and sweatshops.

 

Don't know if anyone mentioned this already, lol

But I don't think the dolls are sweatshopped/mass produced. They're limited in number and they have special artists doing the face ups and wigs.

However I'm not too sure about the clothing, websites that sell non limited clothing or just doll clothing in general I can imagine them to be mass produced? You'd also have to have small and nimble hands to work out such tiny clothes and shoes. That's just my guess I really have no idea. Let's just hope all bjd makers and clothing/accessory makers are happy and well paid.

That and if they have such experience they can probably make custom clothes and auction it, not to mention having access and knowledge of where to find materials and tools for it, so maybe it's a bonus too =)

 

I really do not know about other doll making companies status even I am really closely relate with them. Well, as a person design and make professional level outfits and own a shop name TTYA, I would like to say that most people who making goods in this industry are started working because they interested and like dolls in Korea. I do started making outfits for dolls because doll stole my heart right away. Again, I do not know about other countries internal affairs of doll company. I just hope them making prouct with fun and love like me. I have personal philosophy that good outfits come with artisan who have passion and love for their dolls.

 

Machined parts, like magnets, s-hooks, or even elastic, probably aren't manufactured under the same working conditions as the resin components of our dolls -- that is a pretty good point. Realistically, those items are probably bought, likely in (the smaller side of) bulk, from either a manufacturer or distributor. When getting to that level, it's like looking more at the manufacturing conditions for raw resin, however -- not the pieces of the doll. Don't get me wrong, I do think it's important to consider these steps, since looking at only the most recent step of any process only gives you the tail end of the story of how it came to be rather than the whole process, but at the same time, it is usually only practical to go so far back this way.

 

I have to agree with the majority, it is highly highly unfeasible for the majority of bjds to be done in sweatshops- the labour involved would be reflected in the quality--- the whole many hands make light work thing is true, but would diminish the quality in this scenario- plus the costs would be so much cheaper. This would have to be a pretty elaborate cover up!

 

I do feel a need to speak up here.

How many of you have gone to the various countries where the dolls are produced and had a tour of the facilities? How many of you have done the research into the policies and practices of each manufacturer?

If the quote was from Paulette Goodreau, she would have based that information on her own experience. I know for a fact that she traveled extensively and looked a many different manufacturers before choosing the one to cast her dolls. If she made a statement of this nature, it would be based upon the research that she did.

I object to the word "sweatshops", both in this thread and in the original quote. It is too vague a word without a proper definition. Everyone finds the word objectionable, but different people define it different ways.

Is a sweatshop one where the workers are underage, overworked, and paid little?
How about a company that pays a competitive wage for the area, but the wage is less than half of the minimum wage for a country like the United States?
Is a sweatshop a place that trains its employees on one specific manufacturing detail, then works them harder and for less money than a worker in, say, Japan or Germany?

Every manufacturing process has steps that can be taught to any able-bodied person, even our dolls. Yes, the sculpting requires artistic talent and great skill. Yes, the mold-making and resin mixing duties require skill and precision.

But there are plenty of steps along the way that *could* be managed by underskilled, underpaid, poorly treated workers. So a company could employ, say, a dozen artisans and chemists and technicians who are all very well paid for their work as sculptors, face-up artists, mixers, pourers, and the like. It doesn't mean that the finishing elements, packing duties, sanding (if they offer it) jobs, and the like couldn't be done in a more mass-production way, with lesser-paid workers.

The bottom line is that we, the consumers, do not know nearly enough about how these dolls are produced. As a doll manufacturer and artist who has produced her dolls in Asia, Paulette Goodreau actually DOES know what the heck she's talking about. By saying "Sweatshop" she might simply mean that the conditions were not up to her standards. But I guarantee you that she's actually DONE the research.

The Goodreau dolls are forbidden here, and everyone seems to be against the dolls and the artist behind them. I find that extremely disappointing, because I have gotten to know Paulette, and I find her to be a charming, talented, generous hearted person who works very hard to make sure that she leaves the world a better place than she found it. Her charity work is amazing and her connection to her doll collectors is astonishing.

Eek, Sorry about the OT rant.

My bottom line is: If you don't know the conditions of the factories in other countries, FIND OUT. Don't just make assumptions based on your own good wishes and guesses.

 

I picked out the parts of this post that I felt reflected my own opinion on the matter. This was probably as close as it got throughout the entire thread. It could very well be that there are unsafe BJD factories, or even "sweatshops." It could also very well be that such a factory doesn't exist. The fact is that no one has yet to stand up and say they've done the (proper) research to verify whether or not these unsafe factories do in fact exist. As far as I know, and I encourage you to correct me if I'm mistaken, no BJD company, as of the time of this post, has yet offered a behind-the-scenes look into how the dolls are manufactured from start to finish. Are they obligated to? If law permits these companies to omit from offering any tour of their facilities (physical, virtual, or otherwise), then I would neglect to say yes.

Regarding Paulette, I can't seem to view the original post that stated her findings after researching the process of producing BJD's. Regardless, she would need some hard evidence if she wanted to convince anyone that the BJD production process involved unsafe, unfair practices. Seeing as how she has apologized, I doubt she'd want to elaborate any further. Because of this, I'd say she's irrelevant to the topic at hand, however, if anyone wanted to finish what she seemingly started and actually search out an answer as to whether BJD manufacturing is safe/fair or unsafe/unfair to the employees assigned their respective task(s), I'm sure more than a handful of us hobbyists would be delighted to condone such action. I would myself if I had the time and resources.

 

EDIT: Just decided not to add to this too much.

 

I don't think sweatshops produce things like bjd's. I haven't heard any concrete evidence on this matter. If it came out that this was in fact true then I would definitely not buy them.

 

I highly doubt that BJDs are made in sweatshops. First of all, there's a lot of effort and skill that goes into making these dolls. Which isn't really a deterrent for sweatshops–look at Foxwood. But more importantly, there is a very limited, currently saturated market for BJDs. It simply wouldn't be profitable enough to merit having a sweatshop. Driving down the cost of a doll with cheaper labor wouldn't get the head honcho much at all–there's not enough of a market base to make up for the cheapness of a doll.