Corporate Responsibility

Playing Responsibly

Mattel's Corporate Responsibility mission is to positively impact our people, our products and our planet by playing responsibly. This commitment resonates in our actions and through our company values each and every day, as we:

• Play Fair by continually encouraging the Mattel organization to align decision-making with the company's values.
• Play Together by working with employees, partners, vendors and regulators to bring the world safe toys that grown-ups trust and children love.
• Play to Grow by committing to a sustainable future through efforts to work smarter and reduce our impact on the environment.
• Play with Passion by volunteering in our communities and helping underserved children experience the joy of play.

Mattel is recognized among the "100 Best Corporate Citizens", as one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" and as one of FORTUNE Magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For."

In 2009, Mattel launched its third Global Citizenship report. Titled "Playing Responsibly", the report reflects the evolution of Mattel's global Citizenship efforts. Go to the report.

Product Safety

At Mattel, the safety of our toys is our number one priority. We create and produce some of the world's most beloved toys and brands for children, and we know that with this comes the responsibility to ensure quality and safety. We strive to sustain the trust of consumers by employing strict standards that extend from product design to manufacturing and through distribution.

Mattel applies internal operating procedures designed to meet or exceed compliance with regulations and laws enforced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and their regulatory counterparts around the world.

If questions ever arise about a product, consumers can contact Mattel directly at our Consumer Relations Call Center. In addition, consumers can make contact 24 hours a day via the company's Consumer Relations Answer Center website.

Learn more about our approach to product safety: Go to the 2009 Global Citizenship Report

Get more information about toy safety:

Responsible Manufacturing

As a global leader in the toy industry, we believe that how we achieve success is just as important as the success itself. We strive to ensure that our toys and licensed products are manufactured in a responsible and ethical manner, and we have continued to evolve our standards and oversight process to reflect those expectations for labor practices and environmental stewardship.

Launched in 1997, Mattel's Global Manufacturing Principles (GMP) represents the company's ongoing commitment to responsible manufacturing around the world. Mattel's GMP have remained some of the most detailed and comprehensive standards in the consumer products industry by addressing a spectrum of social compliance issues, from employee health and safety, environmental management and ensuring that employees are treated fairly and with respect, to the cultural, ethnic and philosophical differences of the countries where Mattel operates. Independent monitoring was launched in 1997 to evaluate compliance with GMP. For more than a decade the Sethi International Center for Corporate Accountability (ICCA), conducted independent audits of Mattel owned-and-operated facilities in all countries where we manufacture toys, as well as vendors, and publicly reported its findings.

In 2009, Mattel transitioned its social responsibility independent audit program to the toy industry's ICTI CARE Process (ICP). The ICP is the product of an approach that Mattel has long supported, and through the ICP, the toy industry is working together to address social compliance issues and improvements at factories that make toys. The ICP is based on a code of ethical operating practices similar to GMP. Designed to promote safe and just working conditions in toy factories around the world, the ICP provides toy companies with a unified approach to responsible manufacturing, promoting safe and humane workplace environments. Find more information about responsible manufacturing practices across the toy industry: International Council of Toy Industries.

Sustainability

Mattel's sustainability strategy is focused on helping the company minimize its footprint throughout the value chain—from design to manufacturing through disposal of products and waste, and illustrates the importance of personal commitment in business and everyday practices.

• Design it with the end in mind. Historically, our sustainability efforts have focused on the manufacturing process, but we recognize that opportunity also lies in how we design our products and packaging.
• Make it with eco-efficiencies. Beyond design, we are always exploring opportunities to gain efficiencies and reduce environmental impacts through the manufacturing and distribution of our products.
• Live it with personal commitment. Fostering a culture of sustainability begins with personal commitment, and many of our sustainability activities are employee-inspired grassroots initiatives.

Through this strategic approach, the company is able to continually find ways to minimize the company’s impact on the environment and implement policies and procedures that support these efforts – to "re-imagine the way we play."

Learn more about our sustainability efforts Go to the 2009 Global Citizenship Report