With their creepy smiles, beady eyes and garish fur coats, Labubu dolls have become the latest must-have toys for millions of children.
When the collectible dolls went viral, riots broke out in overcrowded toy stores, stores around the world were raided, and the market was flooded with fakes. But we can reveal the shocking truth behind this trendy toy – with armies of underpaid children being exploited in filthy, disease-ridden Chinese factories.
Struggling to survive on meager wages in prison conditions, the underage laborers sleep in overcrowded dormitories and are ordered to chant ominous slogans.
They are forced to work six days a week, complaints are ignored and they are heavily fined if they dare to take too many toilet breaks or try to quit.
A chilling new investigation has uncovered chilling practices linked to Shunjia Toys Co. Ltd. in Xinfeng District – one of the largest manufacturing plants where 4,500 teenagers are paid a pittance to produce a staggering 182,000 dolls for PopMart every day.
Investigators have found that an army of child workers at a sprawling Chinese complex were forced to work long hours without breaks after signing blank contracts.
Responding to rising demand for the plush keychains, the young assembly line workers said they were given unrealistic production targets, with teams of 25-30 workers each expected to assemble at least 4,000 Labubuses a day.
China’s labor law limits monthly overtime to 36 hours, but a new investigation by China Labor Watch (CLW) found that workers often worked more than 100 extra hours each month, churning out the popular pocket monsters.
Shunjia Toys has an official production capacity of 12 million toys per year, with plans announced in late 2025 to expand to 33 million.
Labubus became a must-have toy last summer after being spotted hanging on designer handbags belonging to Rihanna, the Kardashians and Paris Hilton.
But Elaine Lu of CLW’s Labubu Unboxed report said: “There is probably forced labor at the factory.”
To add to the dystopian nightmare, factory workers were forced to arrive early for unpaid morning meetings that emphasized the importance of strict discipline and meeting production targets.
During these bizarre meetings, employees were ordered to chant together slogans such as: “Good, very good, extremely good, better and better.”
In the factory hall, four massive workshops run 60 high-speed lines to keep up with global demand.
Investigators interviewed 51 factory employees from the assembly, machine sewing, hand sewing and injection molding departments.
Exhausted staff, who work six days a week, said it was like being “in prison” due to the “extremely demanding work” and “low pay”.
Toxic fumes and diseases
Unfortunately, however, low pay is only one symptom of broader labor practices that systematically exploit workers to keep production costs low.
Desperate workers are so poorly paid – earning just £21.38 a day – that they are demanding overtime, which bosses are withholding as a form of punishment.
Workers as young as 16, who should be subject to special labor protection, were found to be working a whopping 100 to 145 hours of overtime per month.
Although the legal maximum for overtime is 36 hours, adults are subject to the same high-intensity regime.
If the bosses decide that the workers are slacking, they deliberately deny them overtime as punishment – they cut their wages.
In unsanitary factories, diseases multiply. Employees reported contracting tuberculosis – a serious bacterial infection – after only a month at the factory.
Employees believed it was spread by dangerous machinery, as injection, spray and packaging shops are particularly bad for inhaling toxic fumes.
Alternatively, dirty conditions in the employee cafeteria could be to blame.
Forced labor is probably occurring in the factory
Elaine Lu,
But despite many of its workers falling ill, the factory does not provide sick leave – or annual leave.
Workers also described food and accommodation as inadequate, overcrowded and unsanitary, with only two canteens serving 4,500 workers.
Some departments were given ridiculously short lunch and dinner breaks, with only 30 minutes to run to the cafeteria, queue for a free vegetarian meal, or pay extra for meat – on the rare occasion there was any left.
Overcrowded dormitories
Many workers live so far from the factory that they have no choice but to live in filthy, overcrowded dormitories where they have to share water and electricity bills.
In busy seasons, expedition workers, who make up 30 percent of the workforce despite the legal limit of 10 percent, are sent to even worse accommodation.
In addition, workers claimed they could not use the bathroom or drink water more than TWICE in a four-hour shift.
One worker reported being verbally reprimanded by a team leader for using the restroom twice in one hour, saying, “You’re the laziest of the lot.”
Dirty conditions
But it is almost impossible for workers to quit. And the withdrawal process seems unnecessarily complicated.
Employees routinely signed vague employment contracts where details such as salary and working hours were left blank as they were only allowed a few minutes to review the documents, and the entire onboarding process took no more than an hour.
A key concern for Elaine was that if staff wanted to leave before the end of the first three months of their contract, they would be slapped with a hefty fine or penalty.
She said: “If workers want to leave early, within the first three months, they would have to pay an $85 fine.
“It’s just that the workers don’t want to leave.
“They have no choice but to stay, especially because their wages are already so low. So any fine or penalty is considered a lot for the worker.”
She added: “Some workers mentioned that there were additional fines of up to RMB 2,000 (£213.15). So if they lost a small tool, they would be charged a higher amount, around $285 (£211.65). That’s ten times the daily wage of a regular worker.”
They have no choice but to stay, especially since their wages are already so low
Elaine Lu
Employees admitted they felt discouraged from even trying to quit or collect their back wages.
Any complaints of sexual harassment or verbal abuse were often ignored.
Elaine, who has conducted a dozen investigations, added: “We hope that PopMart will honor its ESG commitments and look at the labor laws in mainland China and comply with them.
“So that includes working hours, overtime hours, ensuring dispatch worker utilization is within the legal limit of 10 percent and then providing personal protective equipment for workers and managing fines and penalties.
“They [bosses] really, really hurt employee pay.
“And of course sexual harassment and complaint mechanisms need intervention when found and follow-up.”
Corporate boom
The toys created by Kasing Lung were licensed by designer toy company PopMart in 2019.
Five years later, K-pop idol Blackpink showed them off on Instagram and the domino effect began.
Now, the limited edition Labubus can sell for up to £7,422 on secondary markets. Otherwise, Labubus usually retails for between £14.80 and £22.30.
Meanwhile, PopMart was increasing its financial growth.
Overseas revenue grew 370 percent in the third quarter of 2025 alone, and Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning said the company is on track to meet its sales target of £2.65 billion.
There is no indication that either Kasing Lung or Wang Ning knew about the practices going on in the factory.
However, this would not be the first time factory workers were treated appallingly.
The whole line, you are the laziest
Supervisor to worker
Last year, Chinese fast fashion firm Shein found itself under scrutiny.
An investigation into the bomb claimed that workers at Shein’s supply factories were blistering from walking 30,000 steps a day and also working into the early hours of the morning to meet demands for “crushing stock”.
It shows how extreme competition in the Chinese market leaves suppliers with little choice but to comply.
A spokesperson for Pop Mart said: “At Pop Mart we are deeply committed to the wellbeing and safety of all workers in our supply chain.
“We conduct regular, standardized audits of our OEM supply chain partners, including annual independent third-party audits conducted by internationally recognized professional firms in accordance with common industry standards.
“We take the information brought to our attention seriously and are currently investigating the matter. Our commitment to responsible and ethical manufacturing remains unwavering and we will continue to strengthen oversight and engagement throughout our supply chain to address potential gaps.”
“Pop Mart is dedicated to operating transparently and continuously improving our ESG practices. We welcome ongoing feedback and oversight from all stakeholders as we strive to build a more sustainable supply chain ecosystem.”
Shunja Toys could not be reached for comment.
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