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In the documentary, produced by ZANDLAND for Channel 5, journalist Isobel Yeung delves into the hidden world of Mattel, home to over 200 brands, including the beloved Barbie. While Barbie has been celebrated for its message of female empowerment, Yeung uncovers disturbing allegations about Mattel’s operations from its factory floors to its legal tactics.
In the last four years, NGO China Labour Watch has twice sent investigators into a Mattel-owned factory in Dongguan, Southern China, that produces Barbies and other products. They found evidence of bullying, excessive overtime, sexual harassment and unsafe working environments. The documentary features footage from inside a Mattel factory, revealing the harsh realities faced by workers. The film captures the dangerous working conditions, with employees given no safety briefing and forced to handle scalding hot plastic for Barbies without proper protective gear; workers struggling with excessive production quotas; a Mattel manager threatening workers on the factory floor; workers forced to sign agreements for mandatory overtime; and more.
The footage was shown to to Thulsi Narayanasamy, director of international advocacy at the Worker Rights Consortium, an NGO that specializes in investigations into the supply chains of major corporations, who said the footage revealed “a workplace in which the workers themselves are being treated to be just as disposable as the dolls that they’re making. I think what the working conditions illustrate is that this pink and joy and female empowerment is nothing but a facade for the exploitative conditions in which the women that are making the dolls are having to live.”
Beyond the factory, Barbie’s Dirty Secrets: Dispatches also investigates how Mattel allegedly uses its legal might to intimidate small businesses and artists. In the past five years, the company has filed 268 cases against other businesses, claiming trademark infringement.
