China Labor Watch (CLW) has released the findings of an in-depth investigation into Shunjia Toys Co., Ltd., a major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) producing Labubu designer toys for Pop Mart, revealing widespread labor rights violations at a core manufacturing facility in Xinfeng County, Jiangxi Province.
Labubu, a fang-toothed designer toy created by artist Kasing Lung and licensed by Pop Mart, emerged in 2025 as a global cultural phenomenon, selling out rapidly across Asia, Europe, and North America. The toy’s popularity has driven explosive growth for Pop Mart, with the company reporting a 370% increase in overseas revenue in the third quarter of 2025, and the “The Monsters” series—of which Labubu is a flagship product—generating USD 670 million (RMB 4.81 billion), or 34.7% of the toy brand’s total revenue during this period.
Despite this commercial success, CLW’s investigation, conducted through 51 in-person worker interviews and document review between summer and fall 2025, found that workers producing Labubu toys face excessive overtime, wage penalties, insecure employment arrangements, and inadequate protections. Specifically:
Key Findings
At the time of the investigation, the Shunjia Toys Xinfeng County factory employed more than 4,500 workers, many of whom reported:
- Overtime exceeding legal limits coupled with high production demands, including six-day/week work schedules and insufficient daily rest;
- Extensive misuse of labor dispatch, with dispatched workers performing core production roles identical to regular employees;
- Opaque and irregular labor contracts, including blank or incomplete agreements;
- Low wage and wage deductions, particularly affecting dispatched workers;
- Lack of paid leave, including sick leave;
- Evasive practices in mandatory social insurance enrollment;
- Inadequate occupational health and safety protections, fire safety gaps, and insufficient training;
- No labor union or effective grievance mechanism, alongside reports of bullying by management and verbal sexual harassment;
- Unhygienic living and dining conditions.
Using conservative assumptions, CLW estimates that the direct labor cost per Labubu toy is approximately USD 0.70 (RMB 4.95), underscoring the extreme cost pressures placed on frontline workers in Pop Mart’s supply chain.
While no child labor was identified, CLW found that workers aged 16 were employed as long-term production workers under the same conditions as adults, without the special protections required under Chinese law.
Brand Responsibility
As an OEM manufacturer, Shunjia Toys produces Labubu toys under commercial terms set by Pop Mart. CLW emphasizes that labor conditions at OEM facilities are closely linked to brand sourcing practices, production timelines, and pricing expectations.
CLW believes that Pop Mart is the primary beneficiary of Labubu’s global success. With that success comes responsibility. The labor violations documented at Shunjia Toys raise serious concerns about whether Pop Mart’s supply chain practices align with its public ESG commitments.
Call to Action
China Labor Watch calls on Pop Mart to:
- Immediately investigate and remediate labor violations at Shunjia Toys and its subcontractors;
- Implement corrective action plan regarding wage deductions, and remove fines and penalties driving down workers’ wages;
- Ensure full compliance with Chinese labor law and international labor standards, including limits on overtime, lawful use of labor dispatch, and mandatory social insurance coverage;
- Establish effective grievance mechanisms and independent monitoring throughout its supply chain.
As Labubu continues to dominate global markets, CLW warns that failure to address these labor issues risks exposing Pop Mart to growing legal, reputational, and regulatory scrutiny.
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