The Oompa Minute v50
Oompa Visits Plan Toys: 7 Steps to Making a Toy
Hi my name is Milanie Cleere, I’m the CEO of Oompa. I am in Trang, Thailand which is where Plan Toys is located. The very wonderful and generous people at Plan Toys have invited me here as a part of their Green Ambassador Program, and I am actually at the international headquarters for Plan Toys. In this video we are going to show you some employees and where the toys are made. We’re going to take you on a tour of this facility and show you how they demonstrate their commitment to being an eco-friendly company.
When we arrived at the Plan Toys factory, we were delighted to find that we could join all of the employees for lunch. Their cafeteria is a wonderful open air pavilion which is just a short walk from their factory. In keeping with the philosophy be to social and employee friendly, Plan Toys heavily subsidizes employee lunches. They offer free rice and they also have a small employee owned and operated convenience store on site.
Once their lunch break is over, it is back to work. Inside the factory, we were able to see the 7 step process Plan Toys follows to create each toy. Step 1 involves cutting and shaping each piece of raw material to more closely match the size and shape of the toy. During step 2, the wood is further sanded and refined. Step 3 is where the soy based dyes, inks and paints are applied to bring color and life to each toy. During step 4, technicians inspect each piece, remove excess glue and further smooth rough edges if needed. Step 5 is when the toys are assembled. Some toys are assembled in an assembly line environment, and others at tables by individuals, some with special needs. Plan Toys is proud to be one of the few employers in Thailand to offer jobs to handicapped and special needs adults.
Final testing for safety and heavy metals occurs during step 6. Plan toys has a team of professionals who’s sole job is to test toys and ensure that they are safe. Finally in step 7, the newly assembled Plan Toys are ready to be shipped to children all around the world.