Leah is a rescue bear. She, like thousands of other stuffed bears, was created in a factory.
The teddies made in plushie mills are neglected, stored in horrible conditions, only to be shipped off to chain stores as seasonal items. The bears receive no better treatment there, and those that are not sold are sometimes shipped back to their distributors to sit in dark, cramped storage for another year.
I found Leah on a Christmas clearance at a grocery store. I hate to support plushie mills, but she looked so starved for love that I couldn't bear to see her shipped back to storage. I paid for her, and brought her home. Like most factory-produced bears, Leah was nervous and easily frightened. With the help of my other stuffies, she has adjusted well, and is happy and carefree as any lovingly made toy.
Aside from the obvious harm to the plushie, factories like the one Leah was made in are usually harmful to the human workers as well. Many factory hands in various parts of the world are subjected to poor and hazardous working conditions, and are paid only a pittance for their labor. But because it is cheaper to hire workers in other countries, rather than US workers (who require a minimum wage and workplace safety measures), the majority of stuffed animal providers use such factories.
This is why I do what I do. And it's also one of the reasons I use all US-made materials when crafting my plushies, because US workers are far more likely to have their rights upheld. So, next time you buy a plushie, consider buying from a local, small business. Not only are handcrafted toys are routinely of a higher quality than those from plushie mills, you'll be supporting an artisan, rather than a conglomerate who couldn't care less about workers rights and safety.
