Hasbro, Inc. | HRDD and Impacts on Children (Guns) at Hasbro, Inc.

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
HAS
Resolution ask
Conduct due diligence, audit or risk/impact assessment
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Human rights
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request Hasbro Industries, Inc. conduct human rights due diligence identifying the actual and potential impacts of Hasbro?s policies, practices, and products on children and publish the resulting human rights impact assessment.
Whereas clause
WHEREAS:   The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that, ?the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration,? and that every child ?has the right to life?(and to) survive and develop to their full potential.? The Children?s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP), based on the UN Convention, clarifies the corporate responsibility to respect the human rights of children, stating that companies will avoid infringement on children?s rights, address adverse impacts, and advance children?s rights through ?core business activities.? The CRBP states the following regarding the corporate responsibility to uphold children?s rights: ?Ensure that products and services are safe, and seek to support children?s rights through them.? ?Use marketing and advertising that respect and support children?s rights.? Firearms have become the leading cause of death of U.S. children and adolescents since 2022. Almost 75% of youth in the U.S. see gun violence as a significant concern. Lawsuits are increasing around inappropriate firearms marketing that targets young men with aggressive and hyper-masculine language and imagery. This marketing is believed to contribute to gun violence, including the lethal school shootings in Sandy Hook and Uvalde, TX.  Hasbro makes and markets toy guns under the Nerf brand that resemble AR15-style weapons, complete with magazine clips and names like Blasters, using marketing images that resemble firearm tactical gear and phrases like, ?Easy Hold! Easy Load! Easy Blast!? Online, there are multiple examples of Nerf weapons being misused, including replacing blaster pellets with liquid nitrogen, and ?Nerf Wars? have caused major concern for children's safety, with police departments issuing stern warnings about their potential misuse. Further, real AR-style firearms are now being designed to look like Nerf toys, and police have issued warnings about the dangers of a toy gun being mistaken for a real firearm with the potential for deadly consequences for a child playing with a Nerf gun. The US Surgeon General has named firearm violence as ?an urgent public health crisis in America.? Designing and marketing toy guns in manners that mirror the same designs and marketing used by retailers of real firearms carries tremendous risk for children. As investors, we believe Hasbro must conduct the requested human rights due diligence to better understand these risks. Disclosing the resulting human rights impact assessment will allow shareholders to assess Hasbro?s risks more accurately. We urge a vote for this proposal.

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