China is the world's largest toymaker, producing the majority of toys on sale in the US. On the underside of most children's toys in the US, you'll find the same three words – "Made in China". Nearly eight in ten toys (78.3%) imported into the country in 2024 came from China, according to US government figures. Last year, toys imported from China were worth $9.8 billion (£7.4 billion).
With Christmas on the horizon, the toy industry in the US and elsewhere is about to have its busiest time of the year. As retailers prepare their stocks for the festive rush, the BBC World Service's Follow the Money series traces how a toy gets from a factory in China to the US and where the money goes.
The Heart of Toy Manufacturing
Guangdong province, which neighbors Hong Kong in southern China, is the heart of the country's toy manufacturing industry. In the city of Dongguan, workers at the Mihox factory pop plastic toys out of steel molds and pile them into crates ready for painting. The company employs more than 800 people and makes around 55 million toys a year for the American market, which represents half of its business.
The Journey of a Toy
Every toy starts with a design from a customer, such as an American toy company. The factory then makes a prototype and builds molds from which plastic parts and other components are formed. Going from the first idea to a finished toy takes one to two years, according to Melanie Wang from the Mihox sales team. Much of that time is spent on design modifications:
“"They modified the design again, again, and again to improve it."
Once the design is signed off, production speeds up. A mold takes about a month to make, and the production run lasts about three months.
