Disney’s best-selling “Cars” toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation by The Guardian.

“One worker reportedly killed herself after being repeatedly shouted at by bosses. Others cited worries over poisonous chemicals. Disney has now launched its own investigation.

It is claimed some of the 6,000 employees have to work an extra 120 hours every month to meet demand from western shops for the latest toys.

The factory, called Sturdy Products, makes toys for the giant Mattel company, which last month announced quarterly profits of £48m on the back of strong sales of Barbie dolls and Cars 2 toys. Sturdy Products, in the city of Shenzhen, also makes toys for US superstore chain Walmart. Among the brands produced are the Thomas the Tank Engine range, Matchbox cars, Cars, Toy Story, Barbie and Fisher Price products, Scrabble and the Hot Wheels sets.

The undercover investigation was carried out with the help of human rights group Sacom (Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehaviour), which helped to expose abuses in Apple’s Foxconn plant in China this year.

Sacom’s accusations against the factory include:

■ The employment of a 14-year-old. Staff also reported the presence of other child workers, according to the investigator.

■ Routine excessive overtime. Employees produced a “voluntary” document they said they had to sign agreeing to work beyond the maximum overtime legal limit of 36 hours a month, along with wage slips that suggested they were averaging 120 hours of overtime a month.

■ A harsh working environment in which workers complained of mistreatment by management. One worker injured on the production line was shouted at and ordered back to work despite needing medical treatment.

■ Concerns about the chemicals in use and poor ventilation. Employees claimed three workers had fallen ill. They said they had to hide pots of adhesive and thinners during audits of the factory by its client companies.

■ They also claimed that they were paid by the factory to give misleading answers during audits and that they were fined for failing to hit targets. The calculation of wages for different workers was described by Sacom as arbitrary.”

I’m fully aware that this has little to do with Pixar, as it is a film production company. The onus lies with Disney, Mattel and Walmart, who owe a duty of care to ensure they have a responsible and law-abiding supplier. But I thank God that I didn’t support this despicable practice by buying any Cars merch. I had half a mind to get a Finn miniature from K-Mart the other day, but this horrible expose just put me off completely.

I’m not saying that all toy suppliers are free from guilt. I bought a Rio and Kung Fu Panda Happy Meal toy of Rafael and Mr Ping respectively, and I’m not 100% certain they came from an ethically-responsible source. I’ve looked at the labels of some of the spoof T-shirts I’ve bought and they mentioned they were made in Mexico and Vietnam.

But we should all be aware of where our products come from, and do our best to ensure that they were made in a workplace which respects human rights and dignity. There’s an ongoing controversy in Australia over cattle abuse by Indonesian meat suppliers. Again, when these unsavoury practices come to the surface, we must do everything we can to ensure these horrible acts do not happen again.

In the case of Cars merch, I am not buying a single product from now on until I receive news that Disney, Mattel, and Walmart are not using Sturdy Products as a supplier and have taken steps to properly assess their manufacturers. Essentially, if the parties responsible are gonna sweep this under the carpet, I am going to boycott their product line, and encourage other fans to do the same (I’m telling all my friends on social media and RL too).

If we truly care about human rights and are abhorred by the idea of children working years before they should, or workers suffering ill treatment and abuse by their employers, then not showing our support until things change is the least we could do. I’m even considering writing in to Disney Australia. It truly hurts me as a fan to know that merchandise of one of my favourite Pixar movies is part of a disgusting systematic abuse of human rights in China.

We all need to speak out against injustice, no matter where it takes place.

Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims - The Guardian