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In 2007, a workers' rights group investigated several of Hasbro's Chinese suppliers and found that, in one instance, a toy factory in China's Guangxi Province had hired 1000 junior high school students. The same group discovered other widespread labor violations, including unsafe working conditions, mandatory overtime, verbal abuse and sexual harassment of employees. Hasbro issued a statement, saying that it would "act swiftly and decisively in making any necessary changes" and had "increased the intensity of [its] ongoing safety review efforts." Critics counter that, as Hasbro has no official regulatory control of these factories, it responds to such investigations by acquiring independent auditors, who make unannounced visits to the East Asian subcontractors. Factory managers are then "coached" in how to fool the auditors.

Outside Asia, Hasbro owns and operates only two manufacturing facilities, one in Waterford, Ireland, the other in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, USA. In recent years, the company has cut jobs at both plants in response to increasing competition from lower cost locations in China. At the end of 2006, for example, Hasbro's Irish division laid off more than one third of its workforce.

Controversy and criticism
Gatorade has been criticized by health advocates for some of its ingredients. A high school student started an online petition in November 2012 asking Gatorade to remove brominated vegetable oil (BVO) from its products. The student cites initial concerns from an article published in Scientific American and has gained over 200,000 supporters. Additionally, news media has taken interest in Gatorade and the issue of additives such as BVO.

PepsiCo maintains that use of brominated vegetable oil is safe in the levels used in Gatorade and says federal regulators looked into concerns previously. The ingredient is widely used in beverages within the United States although it is not used in Europe or Japan and the Center for Science in the Public Interest's executive director told The New York Times "testing of B.V.O. is abysmal." Furthermore, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine told the Chicago Tribune that she believes BVO "should be examined more closely by the FDA" and calls bromine an "endocrine disruptor."

Health concerns also stem from the amount of sugar, salt, and calories in Gatorade. Some in the medical community feel that the quantity at which kids often drink sports drinks like Gatorade is contributing to obesity and diabetes from sugar. . Other critics feel that both Gatorade and its competitor Powerade unnecessarily add sugar, salt, and calories into people's bodies. . Studies have also linked the high sugar content of Gatorade to dental erosion.