Asian Mattel Plants Found to Meet Standards

Mattel Inc. generally complies with global labor standards at its factories in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, an audit by independent monitors showed. The audit was conducted by the Mattel Independent Monitoring Council, which examined eight factories that handle about 70% of the toy maker’s production. El Segundo-based Mattel set global manufacturing principles in 1997 in response to criticism of the way U.S. companies treat overseas workers. There were problems, particularly at three Chinese plants making Barbie dolls and toy tools, the monitors said. Some issues, such as exhaustion, dormitory spaces and access to medical facilities, were being addressed. The payroll system in China was too confusing to determine if the factories complied with wage standards, said council head S. Prakash Sethi, a professor at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business in New York. Another audit of the plants will be conducted by March.