Stefan Mileschin

VTech is claimed to be using sweatshops to churn out children's toys, with conditions so bad that some workers are being forced to suicide.

However, the allegations have been met with mixed feelings by mothers, with some claiming that the economy has made practices such as this "a way of life".

According to the Sun, a report by the Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights found that the educational electronics toy maker was forcing staff in Hong Kong factories to work on production lines for 15 hours a day.

Claims of beatings and overcrowding sleeping areas were also made.

The organisation also claimed that staff were forced to eat rice and rotten potatoes, while those brave enough to try to flee had their wages taken away.

In a similar scenario to the notorious Foxconn, some staff were so unhappy that they "leapt to their deaths".

However, it seems as though some parents aren't overly concerned about where their children's toys have sprouted from.

One mother told TechEye: "Cheap toys and clothes come at the expense of child labour. It's sad but it's true and let's face it we all want a bargain".

Another said: "You buy most of these toys knowing in the back of your mind that it's not right but you can't afford to be picky if it's all you can afford".

However, some were more critical of the company, which produces toys such as the £80 Storio e-reader and InnoTab2, a tablet designed for children.

One mother said: "This is absolutely disgusting. Vtech make amazing educational toys for our British children but it seems at the expense of a much poorer desperate population. It doesn't sit right. What kind of education is that? What does this teach our kids?"

Another claimed she would "never intentionally" give her child a product that had been made under these conditions.

"I want to take all the products made by the company away from my little one," she said.

"However, would an item I bought from Tescos or Fisher Price be any better? I doubt it."

http://news.techeye.net/hardware/mum...oy-allegations