A New York-based labour rights organisation, China Labor Watch (CLW), has reported evidence of worker exploitation at a Chinese factory producing Labubu toys, the popular furry creatures manufactured by Pop Mart. The investigation, conducted over three months in 2025 at Shunjia Toys in Jiangxi province, found that workers aged 16 to 18 were employed without the special protections required by Chinese law, including prohibitions on dangerous or strenuous work.
According to CLW, underage workers were assigned to standard assembly line positions with the same workload and production targets as adults. The report also stated that workers routinely signed blank labour contracts, with details such as contract term, salary, and social insurance left unfilled. Employees were given less than five minutes to complete the process and were told not to read other sections.
CLW researchers interviewed over 50 employees, including three under 18, all working exclusively on Labubus. The factory, which employs more than 4,500 people, set unrealistic production targets, requiring teams of 25-30 workers to assemble at least 4,000 Labubus daily. Workers often exceeded the legal monthly overtime limit of 36 hours, with some working over 100 additional hours per month.
Shunjia Toys has an official annual production capacity of 12 million units, but CLW estimates that two teams alone produce over 24 million units per year. Li Qiang, executive director of CLW, noted that such discrepancies are common when demand surges, with the pressure falling on workers. Pop Mart, which reported 4.8 billion yuan (£511m) in sales for the Labubu line in the first half of 2025, stated it takes worker welfare seriously and is investigating the claims.
