Feds offered this image from an unspecified Build-A-Bear location. It shows two Hispanic minors knee-deep in snuggly fluff.ST. LOUIS - Federal investigators today released evidence of child labor violations throughout the national Build-A-Bear franchise. According to a preliminary government report, the retail chain, known for its hand-made stuffed animals, endorses and encourages the use of children as young as two in its manufacturing operations.
Key findings from the 18 month investigation include evidence that:
- Company documents, one entitled "It's All About the Kids", outline specific methods for attracting and retaining an underage workforce.
- Individual factory floorplans are tailored almost exclusively to diminutive laborers; low countertops, station indicators in bright primary colors, and simple machinery facilitate their remarkable output (nearly 1 million bears in 2006).
- Due to wage loopholes, a near total majority of Build-A-Bear's underage laborers work for free; most are even lured into arrangements where family members must pay a "ransom"to liberate their child from servitude.
Gloria Harmon, director of the investigation and federally appointed secretary of the Child Labor Prevention League, expressed deep concern that the violations are the most pervasive in recent U.S. history and fears that the ongoing investigation will uncover even more heinous violations.
"Build-A-Bear? I don't think so. From what I've seen, it's more like Build-A-Nightmare."
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