France’s iconic teething toy is caught up in a manufacturing scandal. The investigative journalism website Mediapart has found that Sophie the Giraffe, or Sophie la Giraffe in French, is actually made in China and has been for decades. We dive into how the toy has been seen as a French-made success story for nearly 65 years and how Vulli, the company that makes it, is now under a fraud investigation.
Wait, so the iconic ‘French’ teething toy my kids chewed on was made in China all along? No wonder it didn’t actually taste like baguettes.
Globalisation isn’t dead but it’s definitely evolving into something different. (a70990)
I’m surprised Vulli kept up the French-made illusion for 65 years. Mediapart reporting another scandal—this time even Sophie the Giraffe isn’t safe from fraud.
My grandmother bought Sophie la Giraffe for every baby in our family because she thought it was authentically French. Now I have to break it to her that it’s made in China—she’ll be devastated.
Commodity price volatility is making long-term planning nearly impossible. (d0f88b)
Retail foot traffic is declining but experiential stores are bucking the trend. (a29268)
The wealth gap is reflected in diverging consumption patterns across income brackets. (5a2b8f)
Commodity price volatility is making long-term planning nearly impossible. (a29a5b)
Trade tensions create winners and losers but the net effect is always negative. (4f52c1)