[Walt Disney Company sent this statement to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in response to “Disney sweatshops alleged; Anti-sweatshop advocacy group charges that workers make books under oppressive conditions”, CNN, 18 Aug 2005, available here: http://www.business-humanrights.org/Links/Repository/603822]

The Walt Disney Company’s response to the NLC accusations (08/18/05):

The Walt Disney Company takes claims such as those raised today by the National Labor Committee (NLC) very seriously. We have a strong International Labor Standards (ILS) Code of Conduct for Manufacturers and conduct regular social compliance audits of the independently run factories that produce Disney branded merchandise.

The Walt Disney Company has contacted Verité, a non-profit social auditing and training firm, to conduct an investigation of the claims regarding the Hung Hing and Nord Race factories. Disney and its various licensees, which have retained the services of the Hung Hing and Nord Race facilities to produce Disney branded products, have conducted approximately twenty ILS audits at these factories since 1998. These audits reflect instances of noncompliance followed by remediation. However, these audits at no time revealed the severity of the violations reported by the NLC today.

Disney and its licensees will work closely with Verité to ensure a thorough investigation of these claims and take the appropriate actions to remediate violations found. Disney will also work with local civil society organizations in China with which we maintain an existing relationship to determine whether a role in the investigation or any subsequent remediation efforts would be appropriate.

TWDC and ILS

The Walt Disney Company is committed to the promotion and maintenance of responsible international labor practices in its licensing and direct sourcing operations throughout the world. Toward this end, we have implemented a wide-ranging International Labor Standards (ILS) program that includes policies, practices and protocols designed to protect the interests of workers engaged in the manufacture of Disney merchandise, whether for licensees or for direct sale at Disney properties.

At the core of our ILS program are the principles set forth in the Company's Code of Conduct for Manufacturers, which was established in 1996. The Code sets forth our requirements for manufacturers of Disney- branded merchandise with respect to working conditions, compensation and benefits, working hours, nondiscrimination, health and safety, association, environmental protection, compliance with law, monitoring of compliance and publication of the Code itself. The Disney Code has been translated into 50 languages and distributed to tens of thousands of licensees, vendors, factories and individual workers.

We recognize that simply promulgating a statement of principles is not enough and that a code must be rigorously enforced. We do that with an independent office of professionals based in the US and throughout the world. To date, over 40,000 audits in more than 50 countries have taken place at factories making Disney products. Our ILS office also works closely with non-governmental organizations that are involved in these issues and follows up on subjects of potential concern that are brought to us regardless of the source.

When factory audits, or information otherwise brought to us by third parties, reveal noncompliance with our Code, we seek to work with the factory and, if appropriate, the vendor or licensee concerned to develop a remediation plan to bring its operations into compliance with our Code. In cases where the operators of a particular facility do not develop such a plan, or fail to implement it, we will terminate our authorization for use of the factory.

For more information about Disney’s Code of Conduct and ILS program, visit: www.disneylaborstandards.com.