Hasbro Toy Inc.

s Social Responsibility Examined 1

Corporate Social Responsibility of Hasbro Inc.

Examining the Ethics of Your Childs Toymaker

Christian Filsouf

The University Of Texas At Dallas

Hasbro Toy Inc.s Social Responsibility Examined 2

Introduction: A Childs Plaything Can Shape an Individual

Perhaps my fondest memories stem from my vast toy collection as a kid. From Gi Joes, to

Star Wars, to Marvel Superheroes, to toy guns, my assortment of wonder invigorated me every

day in endless hours of play and happiness. As time has passed, that wonder has never escaped

me as I continue to build on my collection of action figures. The time I spent playing as a child

helped mold me into the individual I am today, for playing with World War 2 themed action

figures prompted me to study history, then business and politics, and spear-headed my interests

which drive my academic career today. Reflecting upon all of this, I began to understand how

important a childs play is to their personality, individuality, and even their future. The toy

companies tremendous influence over children, though unbeknownst to them. Thusly, I find it

paramount to examine the corporate social responsibility of these highly influential corporations.

In this essay we will examine the corporate social responsibility of Americas most prominent

toy company, Hasbro Inc., and determine if the same company which makes our childrens toys

is giving back to society in as equal a positive manner.

Section I: CSR in the Toy Industry: Hasbros Blend of Safety and Quality

The safety of our children is perhaps the absolute most important thing in the world to us

as businesspersons, ethical adults, and those with children. The toy industry plays a

magnanimous role in the lives of our children, partially because our childrens safety. Producing

toy packages with clearly labeled warnings of small parts which could enable chocking are just a

few ethical practices which should be observed. Producing safe, quality products free of led-

based paint is another enormous must for todays toy manufacturers. In 2007, according to the
Hasbro Toy Inc.s Social Responsibility Examined 3

New York Times, Mattel recalled over 967,000 toys which contained over six times the legal

amount of led-based paint. The toys led to the sickening, and even subsequent death of several

children across The United States. With such a catastrophic error taking place, Hasbro vamped

up its safety standards in 2008 to ensure that its consumers would not be at the same risk its

competitor Mattel put their consumers at. According to investor.hasbro.com, Hasbro has not had

a single toy recall since 2008, of which several toys were recalled due to defectiveness, not a

safety hazard.

According to csr.hasbro.com, every Hasbro brand product, wherever it is manufactured,

must pass two tests, meeting all relevant national and international standards, and our own safety

and quality control standards, which are often tougher than legal requirements. Hasbro has

developed a five stage process to ensure the safety and quality of each of its products. This

process involves 1)Product Concept: once a toy is thought up, Hasbros specialist engineers

specify a Test Plan to the design and the manufacturing safety and reliability criteria (SRS) the

product must meet. 2) Design and Development: products are designed according to the test plan

and then are subjected to intense scrutinization and analysis. 3) Production: all items are subject

to frequent audits to ensure quality in production, proper manufacturing, and safety is maintained

throughout the products creation process. 4) Market Monitoring: Hasbro audits the retailers

selling their products to ensure that safety and quality are maintained during the selling and

distribution process. 5) Continuous Improvement: Hasbro analyzes each of the four proceeding

processes to screen for efficiency, and strives to enhance the quality and safety of its toys in

future product cycles to come.

Hasbro Toy Inc.s Social Responsibility Examined 4

Section II: Ethical Toy-making, Hasbro Achieves Global Recognition

In March of this year, Hasbro was recognized as a 2016 worlds most ethical company by

the Ethosphere Institute, a global leader in standardizing, defining, and advancing international

business ethics. The Worlds Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes those companies

which align their businesses principles with action, work tirelessly to make trust an integral part

of their companys culture, and ultimately shape future industry standards by introducing best

practices. Hasbro has been designated as a World's Most Ethical Company for the past five years

According to businesswire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, The World's Most Ethical

Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institutes Ethics Quotient (EQ) framework

developed over years of research to provide a mean to assess an organizations performance in an

objective, consistent and standardized way. The information collected provides a comprehensive

sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate

governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. Through Hasbros commitment to

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corporate social responsibility, including safe work environments, toys made from

environmentally sustainable materials, hazard free building materials, and philanthropy, the

company is crafting a stable, safe, and sustainable world which impacts the lives of millions of

children and families.

Section III: Environmentally Friendly Factories

A paramount aspect of Hasbro Toy Inc. is the ability to manufacture its products with the

upmost environmental consciousness. At Hasbro, the focus on environmental sustainability

efforts remains in two primary and complementary areas: minimizing the environmental

footprint of operations in the supply chain, and reducing the environmental impacts of their

packaging and products. The days of tediously unwrapping toys from numerous plastic seals,

twists, and safety plastic adhesive is no longer common practice. According to csr.hasbro.com,

At least 90 percent of paper and board packaging used by Hasbro has come from recycled

material or from sources that practice sustainable forest management. Hasbro has continuously

sought to reduce the waste in its packaging, opting instead to implement security measures in the

transportation of its products, rather than the packaging of the products themselves, to ensure that

it arrives in one piece to the consumer while still being conservative in the amount of resources

that has gone into the products packaging. Hasbro remarked in a recent press release This

change also saved approximately 34,000 miles of wire in the first yearmore than enough to

circle the Earth. We have also eliminated the plastic bags that toy and game instructions had been

wrapped in, removing 800,000 pounds of material worldwide from our waste stream annually.

From action figures, to Barbie dolls, to Playdough sets, to board games and more, Hasbro has cut

down its overall use of wasteful packaging resources by 68% in the past ten years. That ensures

that once the product is opened from its packaging, it can be recycled or thrown away in a
Hasbro Toy Inc.s Social Responsibility Examined 6

manner that remains friendly to the environment, with a plus of being safe around small children

(plastic twists which once were industry standard in holding toys in place in their boxes were

attributed to numerous incidents of choking, and even the unfortunate occasional fatality).

According to Hasbros environmental sustainability reports, the company also engages

employees, consumers and communities to promote a culture of environmental responsibility.

As is evidences in the packaging of their products, Hasbro strongly encourages the recycling of

its boxes, and the eventual recycling of the toys themselves should they ever become broken or

dysfunctional.

Hasbros CSR Report Examined

What motivated you to select this company? My main motivation in selecting Hasbro Toy

Inc. is the fact that I am an avid toy collector, and I truly believe that families can bond around a

board game, deck of cards, or building a set of Legos than they can over a TV screen. As

millennials, we live in an age of incredible busyness, and technology overload. Many of us are

taking fasting periods from our work schedules and busy lives, are putting the remote down, and
Hasbro Toy Inc.s Social Responsibility Examined 7

are engaging in hobbies to free our minds from stress. Hasbro was the first company (more so

than Starbucks or McDonalds) I really felt excited to buy products from because it made me

feel good and gave me an opportunity to bond with my family. What attracted me in their CSR

report was the fact that they have done away with the tedious packaging, and now offer products

which are very environmentally friendly and easy to open. This intrigued me because I vividly

recall opening heavy, plastic infused packages with numerous plastic wiring. This makes the

most practical, green sense to me and it seems like a marvelous way to stay sustainable. I

would love to work for this company on an international level, because I believe their

sustainability practices could be integrated cross- culturally.

Conclusion: The All American Toy Company to be Proud Of.

Hasbro Toy Inc. has surpassed all other toy companies, both in the United States, and

around the globe in its commitment to safety, sustainability, and responsibility. The hefty, bulky

toy boxes of my childhood (which were a pain in the rear to open) are no more, instead replaced

with smaller, easier to open boxes which are constructed with minimal resources. The safety of

our Children has also been enhanced with products containing zero to no led based paint,

drastically fewer choking hazards due to product enhancement, a bolstered quality in the shelf

life of Hasbros toys, and a commitment to ethical treatment of its employees have all proven

why Hasbro is constituently ranked in the very top of socially responsible corporations. Hasbro

will certainly be one of the first companies and corporations that our children will be exposed to

and know by name, it is a definite blessing that the company is one of the most ethical and

responsible ones out there to set an example for their young, impressionable consumers. Whether

it is a child playing with their favorite action figure, to the avid toy collector, to the family
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gathering around a board game, Hasbro Toy Inc. truly cares about the consumer, and incorporates

the upmost quality, safety, and sustainability in all of their products.

Citation

Business Wire. Hasbro Named as a 2016 World's Most Ethical Company by the

Ethisphere Institute for Fifth Consecutive Year. (2016). Retrieved December 03,

2016, from http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160307006274/en/Hasbro-

Named-2016-Worlds-Ethical-Company-Ethisphere

Hasbro Toy Inc. (n.d.). Products and the Environment. Retrieved December 03, 2016,

from http://csr.hasbro.com/sustainability/packaging-process

Hasbro Toy Inc. (n.d.). Our Approach. Retrieved December 03, 2016, from

http://csr.hasbro.com/en-us/sustainability/our-approach

Story, L. (2007). Lead Paint Prompts Mattel to Recall 967,000 Toys. Retrieved

December 03, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/02/business/02toy.html

Web Design & Development by Fuzz Productions & Singlebrook. (n.d.). CSR Profile of

Hasbro, Inc. Retrieved December 03, 2016, from

http://www.csrwire.com/members/17514-Hasbro-Inc-