Toys Show Me What You're Made Of

These kids have more toys and clothes than they could wish for,

but do they know where their stuff comes from or how it's made

and what life is like for the workers who produce it?

We've brought five kids to the other side of the world to find out.

Can they swap places with the workers of Asia?

I can't touch bugs.

-Sleep in their homes?

-I think it's kind of disgusting.

A little hole in the ground and they don't even have any toilet roll.

Report to real bosses?

-I don't want you to ask questions when working.

-Sorry.

This is not a game. It's real work.

And when they see first hand what genuine hardship is...

They're humans and they have to eat this.

..will they think again about how easy they have it at home?

Maybe when she comes back she'll be just a little bit more grateful

for all of the things she has got.

They are fashion mad Milly.

I can't wear the same outfit more than a few times.

People will say, "She hasn't got any clothes."

Super-confident Jonas.

I see no reason why you shouldn't express your opinion.

Gadget-girl Nia.

I go on my Blackberry every day on the hour, except when I'm at school.

-Principled Nathaniel.

-If you wear it once, there's no point.

And have-it-all Emma.

Our house is decked out with pretty much every gadget you really need.

That sounds really spoilt.

My name is Stacey Dooley and I've seen poverty around the world,

but now I'm taking these five kids for a reality check

in the scorching heat of Asia.

It just makes me think what you've got is so good and you just waste it.

7:00am in West Java, Indonesia.

7,000 miles from the UK

and the streets teem with workers heading for factories,

which make the clothes, gadgets and toys

that kids in the UK hanker after.

This morning they have five new recruits.

Five pampered kids from the UK are about to find out

what it's like to work for a living in the factories of Asia.

There's just no health and safety whatsoever.

Oh, there's birds. Oh!

Oh!

I'm famous!

Why is Nia sleeping?

It says NIA. Gross.

Today is the very first day of our five kids' incredible journey

and right now we're on our way to a factory.

The factory we're visiting today

makes something that nearly every child owns.

Toys.

And where we're going they make millions of them.

'The kids are off to one of Asia's

'most successful factory, Royal Puspita.

'22,000 soft toys spill out of here every day,

'including famous brands such as Shaun the Sheep, toys for IKEA

'and Hello Kitty.'

Oh, my God! Look!

-Look at that.

-Oh my! Is it poisonous?

-Definitely poisonous.

The most disgusting thing I've seen in my life.

-Oh! Get away!

-I don't like it. I really don't like it.

So I'm going to bring you to meet somebody

that's going to help you over the next couple of days.

This is the lady who's like the boss figure.

So, Hartati, hello. I'm Stacey.

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-These are my friends, our five travellers.

-Hello.

-This is Hartati.

This is Jonas, Emma, Nia, Nathaniel and our Milly.

-Hi, do you know what factory we are?

-Toy factory.

-Toy factory.

-Have you ever been in one?

-No.

-No, OK. Are you all excited?

-Yes.

-OK, I'll give you a little tour.

-Thanks, Hartati. Bye, guys.

'Hartati Hartono is the managing director and owner of Royal Puspita.

'She has spent 20 years building up this global toy business.'

You can have a full view for the whole production.

'Her 1.600 workers make toys at the fastest of speeds

'and to the very highest standards

'in temperatures which can reach 30 degrees.

'A starting wage here is £3 a day

'and rises as a worker moves to more skilled jobs.

'Hartati runs a tight ship.

'Her working conditions meet all international standards

'and workers only talk when necessary.

'Plus, there's a strict dress code.'

It looks better like this.

You all right, gang? How's things?

Yeah, it's all right.

How are you finding the heat cos it is very, very hot?

It's really hot, but we're getting through it. Still alive.

-How did you get on Milly?

-I think it was OK.

But I was quite shocked how many workers there were.

-Is there 1,600? Is that right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that's lots and lots of them. Mostly ladies?

-Yeah.

Did you get a chance to have a nose at how the other workers work

and what do you think about their work ethics?

Well, it looks pretty tough, to be honest.

They're all just sitting there like doing their hands really quickly

and doing sewing and whatever.

At the risk of sounding completely heartless,

-I think the factory's what I expected it to be like.

-Right.

Just a lot hotter.

Emma.

'It's time to clock on and work without air conditioning.'

-OK, this is your card. Do you mind to...?

-Yeah.

I know it's not very stylish.

Most of the people are Muslim,

so you don't want to show any of your body part.

-Do you mind to take off all your accessories?

-OK.

Here we don't allow any accessories, because they sometimes get tangled.

OK, thank you.

'Next off the blocks is Jonas.'

And Jonas.

Yes, Mrs Hartati. Present.

'From Finchley, north London, this confident 14 year old

'comes from a privileged background where he wants for nothing.'

I definitely appreciate material things more than I should sometimes.

Over here I have my absolutely beloved laptop.

My Blackberry is my absolute life.

My camera, my iPod Touch.

But I don't think I'm abnormally materialistic.

West Ham training kit.

'Despite his head start in life,

'not everything's going perfectly for wealthy Jonas.'

We've just been warned we've got an atrocious school report on its way

and although he's very well liked,

they are very concerned about this attitude towards education.

'Always ready with an excuse, Jonas certainly isn't afraid

'of telling others what he thinks, no matter who they are.'

Penalty scored!

The fact I'm prepared to argue with people older than me

would mean that I am more willing to talk to those bosses

and to have a real conversation with them without them thinking,

kind of, "You immature little child."

'And now Jonas and the other kids

'are about to be set their first test by their new boss.'

Now we're going to start to have real work.

Now, we will teach you how to do the stuffing.

'Hartati wants to see what the British kids are made of,

'so she's given them a routine task, stuffing a toy pig.

'If they can do it, they will move up to a better job

'and if they can't, they'll go down to a worse one.'

You have to get all the fibre to the head and also the feet,

because later on you will have to do the paws

and while you're working please keep quiet because this is a factory,

We don't want anybody disturbed.

'Employees here work in silence

'and can complete 120 perfect pigs in an hour.'

'Can the kids live up to these high standards?'

I'd hate this to be my full-time job.

I've been here for 30 seconds

and already I feel like I could just curl up and sleep on this.

I thought you could put loads in at once, but it's a tiny hole.

There's so much more to stuffing a pig than you thought.

You thought you just get this and put it in.

'Then work turns to playtime in the training room.

-I'm floating on a lot of clouds.

-It's snowing.

'And the no-talking rule has gone out of the window.'

It's dry ice.

# And we're all out here in the deep blue sea... #

OK, right. Giving in to temptation.

-Let's go for it.

-Let's bury him!

Not going as swimmingly as one would have hoped.

You know, there's just the huge contrast

and that's becoming really apparent very quickly.

The girls in the factory here are very focused and totally switched on

and I think our five are struggling just a little bit.

You know, Jonas was rolling round the table

and they were singing five minutes after Hartati had left the room

and, you know, loud, loud, loud noises so.

They're hardcore pigs.

I'm made up they're giving it a go and it's great they're even here,

but I hope for their sake they're able to knuckle down

and try and work how the Indonesian workers work here.

We're stuffing pigs.

One, two, three, four, five.

I've lost my faith in you lot.

I'm usually really happy about things like this, but no.

-Why do you think you're struggling?

-It's just so boring.

I appreciate the fact that they do this every day,

-but it's just so hot and so repetitive.

-So boring.

And it's really straining on your fingers.

That's why it's boring because it's not challenging

and then you get bored and then you slack off.

Do you think it's worth giving it a try

just for respect for the other workers?

'But the local bosses are not happy at all.'

-I'm sure people can cope without toys for a couple of days.

-Very noisy.

So maybe we should go in and talk to them.

Being too noisy, compared to the other workers who are almost silent.

I feel like our English crowd aren't doing us proud. Oh no!

It's OK. It's all right.

And the general manager, Mr Ha, has heard the commotion too.

Reject. No.

You guys are not doing a good job.

I checked all of my feet.

Look, feel this one.

No good. No good.

Not good enough.

That's a bit disappointing.

Mine are brilliant.

OK.

Hartati, is there only one pig on this entire table

that the gentleman is happy with?

-Yeah, the one that Nia was making.

-That's the only one?

Well, so far...

Despite working for three hours, they've done one pig between them.

The bosses decide to put them on final notice.

Mess up and you're out.

The kids are given half an hour to prove themselves.

They must stuff four pigs properly,

with the stuffing evenly spread, in silence.

This is not a game. This is real work.

It's the end of the shift for the rest of the factory...

but the kids work on.

I'm shocked at the difference. It's huge.

They were all like that initially, really going for it.

Now they're very calm and they're very serious

and they're very focused.

I'm very proud of them. It's been a complete turnaround.

Eventually, Mr Ha and Hartati return to see who has made the grade

and who will move on to a better job in the factory.

Nathaniel is under the wire with one pig.

Nathaniel, well done.

Emma notches up two.

Amazing.

Next up is Nia.

All perfect.

Oh, Nia! Well done, good girl.

But Milly and Jonas only manage rejects.

At least you don't jump around any more.

OK, Nathaniel got one piece good and Emma got two pieces good.

Nia got all three good.

So the three of them will definitely move on to the next.

Well done, well done.

Fail.

So Hartati, our Jonas and Milly they are going to be demoted,

so they'll be doing something not as good.

It will take more discipline.

It's quite annoying because like all the others were like singing

and stuff and I was really getting my head down to work and then

like they got through and then they said that mine weren't good enough.

Well, it's hot and sweaty and stuffy and boring.

It's just so easy to stray off task and not really care that much.

So day one ends with two fails and three passes.

All have tomorrow to rise to the new challenges set

by the factory bosses.

But before that, I've actually arranged for the girls and boys

to go and stay the night with two Indonesian families

so they get a real feel for Indonesian life at home.

I got promoted.

So did I. High five.

I'm very proud.

Yeah, yeah, whatever.

Get in there.

The girls are staying with head of production Adi Rahmat.

Thank you.

Across town, Nathaniel and Jonas

are spending the night in a typical worker's home.

Welcome to my house. I am happy you are here.

Adi Rahmat is in charge of all 1,600 workers at the factory.

He lives here with his wife, Seliati,

his eight-year-old son Royhan

and 12-year-old daughter, Thea.

Thea has given up her room for the girls.

Will it live up to their expectations?

There's no bed. Where's the bed?

I don't think we're going to have a good night's sleep

if we're all sharing a mattress on the floor.

-I've noticed something else. There's no duvet on the bed.

-Oh, my God.

But I think it'll be all right,

but I don't think sleeping in that bed, all three of us,

it doesn't look comfortable.

One of us is going to have to sleep on the floor and it's not me.

Not me! I've already got a really bad back.

We're going to have to share the mattress,

otherwise I'm going to get like a cricked neck.

Over at the workers' house,

the boys get the first glimpse of their accommodation.

So here we are, lads.

Pure luxury.

It's quite nice actually. I really like it.

There's a gecko.

Don't worry.

I expected it to be a lot more kind of dingy but it's nice.

She's got it lovely.

Except for the ceiling which looks like it's about to cave in

but it's still good.

I expected it like really dirty.

And here we have a kitchen/dining area.

It's quite nice.

Isn't it?

But the toilet turns out to be the final frontier.

Squat hole. Great.

Oh, lord.

I don't think I'm going to be using the toilet tonight.

There's no flushing toilet. It's wet on the floor as well.

At the head of production's house, Milly heads to the loo too.

(God.)

That's disgusting.

In the toilet, it's got a square for a bath,

and in the toilet, it's a hole in the ground.

And they don't even have any toilet roll.

I'm prepared to give it a go.

I'm not just going to say, "Take me to my hotel",

cos that would be a bit princess.

Adi's facilities are a world away

from the life she leads back in Britain.

From Bromley in south London, 12-year-old Milly shares her home

with sisters Rosie, Tilly, mum Zoe and a lot of stuff.

I wouldn't say ALL my money goes on clothes.

Probably about 99.9% of it and 1% on sweets.

So, how CAN Milly afford

to buy thousands of pounds' worth of clothes?

In theory, from me Milly only gets £5 a week

and from her dad she gets £10 a week.

In practice, it's more than that.

I just say, "Can you give me a tenner?"

"Can I have a fiver?"

I probably estimate about 50, 60, 70 a month.

She doesn't have to do anything. She just pesters me.

-It sounds like someone needs a wake-up call.

-Oi, Milly.

Which is what Zoe hopes Milly will get from the experience.

Some of the things she's going to see when she goes to Asia

she might find shocking and maybe when she comes back,

she'll be a bit more grateful for all of the things she has got.

And as Milly is about to find out, she's considerably better off

than many adults in Indonesia.

How much money do you get, if you add it up?

-TRANSLATION:

-My daily allowance is 11,000 a day

which is...

MILLY AND EMMA: 80p.

If it was a really good month, I could get something like 60.

Your pocket money is similar to the monthly salary

of some factory workers.

A toy worker earns as little as £60 a month. This covers everything.

They have to feed their family

and we spend it on going to the cinema and buying clothes.

And they have to pay rent and food

and really like support their families, so it's pretty big really.

They're shocked by the comparison,

but I've brought them to Indonesia to understand these big differences.

I am just taken back by how you played up the first time.

-We were so bored...

-Do you think it was boredom?

The first time was a shock cos we went in with the mentality

of we want to experience the worker's life,

not fully realising that it is tough and boring.

-I passed, you failed!

-You DID pass.

-I don't think of it as a fail.

It's me being given the privilege of getting an easier task.

It's the morning of Day Two.

The boys are settling in well.

It'll be interesting to see how our girls got on.

I've not spoken to them just yet.

Hopefully it'll be a positive, productive morning.

'Milly and Jonas are about to begin

'a more unskilled task in another part of the factory.'

OK, today the two of you are demoted.

I'm sure you know the reason why you are demoted, right?

First, bad behaviour,

and when people start talking, they lose concentration.

This is what happens.

OK?

-OK.

-But maybe you can try to see what is your point here?

-OK.

-You are here to learn how it feels to work.

I am very sorry for my behaviour yesterday.

We thought it'd be more motivational to sing.

We distracted everyone. Sorry.

Thank you, but I hope it's not only sorry.

I want to see improvement.

Hartati has lined up one of the toughest jobs in the factory

for Milly and Jonas, in the foam room.

This room feeds the fibre to the production lines.

If there's a problem, the line goes down.

The factory rules are rigorously enforced.

They've been told to stay on their feet,

not to use their hands to feed the foam into the funnels

and not to talk.

Are there glasses?

-Glasses?

-Yeah.

-OK, I will fetch some.

-Thank you.

But as soon as Hartati's back is turned,

they return to their old tricks.

-Don't joke around.

-You came at the one bad moment.

OK. If it's bad for your eyes, you use this.

OK?

It seems they have learnt nothing.

We are going to do a real job.

Emma, Nathaniel and Nia are about to enjoy their promotion.

They're joining a production line.

Hartati is letting them work as part of the team

turning rabbits inside out ready for stuffing.

Yesterday I was just messing around, but now it's the real deal.

-We're like out here with the workers.

-I'm really trying.

I just can't do it and I wish I actually could,

because it's quite fun to do

because it goes from being right ugly to being right cool.

It is more under pressure here.

If you get a bit wrong,

it's like messed up all the work that's gone into it so far.

Did you think it would be so complicated?

I thought there was a machine that turned it inside out.

I didn't think there was people doing this.

How is it being away from the group?

-Good, cos I'm concentrating.

-Yeah.

-You find it easier to concentrate without them?

-Yeah.

And over in the foam room, Jonas is finally finding his focus.

-The same can't be said for Milly.

-Without a doubt, so far,

it's better than stuffing pigs.

-But it is nice to be...whew!

-Milly, you know she's watching you?

With Jonas, I feel like he has improved from yesterday,

so day two HAS been better.

Milly hasn't really improved from yesterday.

She was demoted and she said to me, you know,

"I'm going to try and do better today,"

There doesn't seem to be any indication that she has.

-I think you have to be a bit more serious.

-OK.

Try not to slide down and play.

Hartati doesn't seem pleased.

She said Milly's easily distracted and, you know,

to have Jonas and Milly together on a task is probably...

not a great mix.

And Hartati has had enough too.

Kids.

You are done for now and we are going up

Me and Mr Ha will have a talk with you.

-OK.

-OK? Follow me to the office.

They've been summoned to the boardroom

for a showdown with Hartati and Mr Ha.

-Please take a seat.

-Thank you.

Mr Ha is obviously in charge of everything

and he's very strict with all the workers here,

because here we are not playing.

We have to have a certain goal.

That means we have to achieve the best target that we can do.

-That needs discipline.

-Did we not reach that level?

According to Mr Ha, the two of you are not serious.

Not taking things seriously.

With all due respect, we couldn't disagree more.

HE SPEAKS HIS MOTHER TONGUE

Compared to the other three, the two of you play too much.

You don't take this chance to learn.

Is that based on the last activity or on this?

-This morning's session.

-OK.

Milly will do your last demotion activity with Mr Ha.

OK.

-But please be serious this time.

-Yeah.

-He doesn't like anybody to play around in the factory.

-Thank you.

I think you have shown a little bit of improvement in the attitude,

although sometimes you still get distracted.

But you are given a chance to follow the rest of the group.

-OK.

-But if you make distraction, you will be taken out right away.

And fired or demoted?

-Fired.

-OK.

Wait outside and we will see what you're going to do.

Thank you.

So, Jonas has scraped through.

-(Sorry.)

-But Milly has been demoted again.

You were the one doing it all.

Milly is doing one of the lowliest jobs -

moving the toys from the stuffing room

and separating them out to supply the finishing lines.

She's going to be watched every second by Mr Ha.

-Are you ready?

-We're ready.

'They only have this afternoon

'to convince the bosses that they CAN meet professional standards.

'They've been asked to stitch the trotters onto yesterday's pigs.

'Even Jonas is finally taking work seriously.'

-Is this more interesting?

-Yeah.

-It's easier and it's not so repetitive.

-Yeah.

-Ow!

-Oh.

-Yeah.

It's better, but it's only learning stage yet.

It can still get boring.

-Are you keen to win this task as well?

-Yes.

of course I'd like that.

-Who do you think's your main competitor?

-Nobody.

Fighting talk!

Without Jonas at her side,

Milly has thrown herself into her second demotion.

It's dawning on her how hard people have to work to earn a living.

I've only been doing it for half an hour,

and I'm sweating like a pig,

so if I did it like every day, five times a week or whatever,

I think I'd just be so worn out,

I'd go to sleep at four o'clock in the afternoon.

I AM sorry for like sitting down and not putting my all in

and I'm trying to just prove myself doing this job instead.

That's all I can do now.

And at last, her mentor, Mr Ha,

gives his blessing to the reformed Milly

before he gives his verdict on the rest of the group.

-Hi, how are you all?

-Fabulous!

-So, he said that you are handsome but your pig is not handsome.

-Ah.

-I know the pig is ugly!

-Have you learned anything?

We've only worked for two days

and already, we've seen how hard it is

for local people to do the job they do

and earn the money they get.

I thought everything came from machines, but now I've learnt

that people sit down and work hours to create a good toy.

I've got a better understanding

of how everything's made and all the work that goes into it.

Before, I didn't think about it.

It's not important for you to learn how to make toys,

but to understand the attitude that you have to have.

If you don't enjoy doing something that you are doing,

you will not be able to perform well.

Is there any members of the group that have really shone,

have really taken to the work?

Among the four of you here,

we have already considered who got the good attitude,

good disciplines, good dedication,

which is very important in whatever you do in the future.

But I think among four of you, Nia is the best one.

Well done, Nia.

-Thank you!

-So, Hartati, would you offer her a job?

-Of course.

-Yeah?

Would you offer me a job?

THEY LAUGH

I would offer you a job,

but I have to think where to put you so you don't play around!

Someone IS getting paid.

-And it's Nia!

-Thank you!

-There's your wages.

-Thank you! Oh, that's really sweet!

-So, that's £6.

-Thank you.

-For two days' hard graft.

-Well done, Nia. How are you feeling?

-Really happy and proud.

Hero! Hero!

Next time, they go on shift in a massive Indonesian clothes factory.

They think the bosses are being unfair.

I'm not liking the criticism. It's just insults.

-They find the poverty hard to stomach.

-Disgusting.

I don't want to touch anything.

Without sounding too snobby, this is really not good.

# It's not about the money, money, money... #