Exclusive: China Labor Watch says people aged 16-18 employed without required special protections

A labour rights NGO says it has found evidence of worker exploitation in the supply chain of Labubus, the furry toys that took the world by storm last year and which are expected to continue to grow in popularity in 2026.

Labubus, toothy gremlins made by the Chinese toy company Pop Mart, have become one of China’s hottest cultural exports. In the first half of 2025 alone, “the Monsters” line of toys, which includes Labubus, generated 4.8bn yuan (£511m) in sales for the Hong Kong-listed company. In August, Pop Mart’s chief executive, Wang Ning, said the company was on track to reach 20bn yuan in revenues in 2025.

According to an investigation by China Labor Watch (CLW), a New York-based NGO, one of Pop Mart’s suppliers for Labubus has engaged in exploitative workplace practices. They include workers being forced to sign blank contracts, 16- and 17-year-olds being employed without the special protections for young workers required by Chinese law, inadequate health and safety training and other labour rights violations at the factory in south-east China’s Jiangxi province.