LEADING PLAYERS IN the toy industry have pledged from this year to use only manufacturers who comply with the CARE Process - a recently established global protocol aimed at ensuring products are made safely, humanely and in an environmentally considerate way. Among them are Hasbro, Mattel, Leapfrog, Lego and Radica. The protocol is a programme of the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI). The name CARE symbolises the industry's pledge to act 'in a caring, aware, responsible and ethical manner'. Under the United States' Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT), members must ensure their suppliers have taken all security measures against terrorism. Members complying with these measures can enjoy fast lanes for goods exported to the US and simplified customs inspections. The 'ICTI CARE Process & C-TPAT' seminar will update industry players on European buyers' acceptance of the ethical protocol, and discuss ways to comply with C-TPAT regulations. The seminar will be held next Tuesday at 2.30pm in room 201B at the HKCEC. Speakers will include ICTI CARE Foundation president Christian Ewert, Hasbro director of corporate compliance Malcolm Denniss, Hong Kong Toys Council chairman Lawrence Chan, Andrea Raghu, managing director of CSR Stream, Intertek, and Charles Winwood, senior vice-president of Border Security, STTAS. Russia is experiencing a baby boom, with 28.5 million children younger than 16 and a 14 per cent increase in the number of families with children. Imported toys make up more than 80 per cent of the Russian toy market, and 60-70 per cent of the imports come from Greater China. There is enormous demand for baby toys, educational toys, computer games, electronic and remote control toys. Poland, which joined the European Union in May 2004, is undergoing an economic boom. Hong Kong's total exports to the country surged by 21 per cent last year, of which 10 per cent were toy products. The seminar ''Tapping on the Poland & Russia Toys Markets' will discuss opportunities in the two countries. Speakers are Andrzej Pieczonka, Polish consul (commercial affairs) to Hong Kong and Macau, and Elena Kuznetsova, chief editor of Planeta Detstvo magazine. It will be held on January 12 at 10.30am in room 206-208 at the HKCEC.
