Ethical Sourcing

Ethical sourcing of Disney-branded products is an important focus of Disney’s overall corporate citizenship efforts. Disney promotes the ethical production of Disney-branded products by working to improve labor conditions in production facilities, testing the safety and integrity of products, and exploring ways to reduce the environmental footprint of the supply chain.

International Labor Standards: Disney’s International Labor Standards (ILS) program evaluates and helps address working conditions in facilities producing Disney-branded products. These facilities are not owned or controlled by Disney but are businesses engaged by the independent licensees and vendors with whom we do business. Disney has had a Code of Conduct for Manufacturers since 1996 that is designed to be consistent with the core conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO). In addition, a dedicated, global team of professionals–located in 12 countries–assists our licensing and sourcing staff to implement the ILS program. Learn more. 

Product Safety: The safety of products bearing Disney brands, characters and other intellectual property is of crucial concern to us. Disney requires that licensees and manufacturers comply with all applicable legal and regulatory safety requirements and conduct safety tests by independent, certified third-party testing laboratories or equivalent procedures. Our corporate Product Integrity group, staffed with experienced engineers and safety professionals in Burbank, Orlando, London, and Hong Kong, monitors licensees’ and manufacturers’ verification of their compliance. Learn more.

Product Footprint: Our long-term goal is to minimize our product footprint. In 2010, Disney came together as a company to develop some common approaches and targets around this goal. Our company-wide targets are focused on two areas in particular: the sourcing of raw materials, especially as it relates to sustainable paper use, and holding our manufacturing suppliers to a higher standard of environmental responsibility. In fiscal year 2011, strategic suppliers of key Disney product lines completed an Environmental Responsibility Index survey that will serve as a baseline for measuring future improvement. In 2011, Disney also identified apparel, accessories, plush, and toys as key product lines that will be measured for improvement. Learn more.