Cards Against Humanity — the popular party game business that pairs “adult” humor with a sometimes treacly side of social mission — bought workers at the Chinese factory that makes its game something they don’t normally get: a paid vacation.
The Chicago-based firm said in a blog post that it used the money from one day of its “Eight sensible gifts of Hanukkah” promotion to pay for the treat.
Noting that “most companies don’t like to draw attention to” the fact that they make their products in China and that “Americans often don’t see the labor that goes into the things they buy,” the company said it was “important to us to go above and beyond our obligation to the workers who make our game.”
Since the Chinese printer that makes the games didn’t have any formal procedures for paid vacations, Cards Against Humanity simply “bought 100% of the factory’s capacity and paid them to produce nothing for a week, giving the people who make Cards Against Humanity an unexpected chance to visit family or do whatever they pleased,” the blog post said.
The company said the factory has “excellent wages and working conditions” but that “Chinese working conditions are generally more strict” and that paid vacations are “very uncommon” in China. It acknowledged that the offer “doesn’t undo the ways that all of us profit from unfair working conditions around the world,” but said “it’s a step in the right direction.”
It did not disclose how much the vacation cost, nor did it say whether the vacation offer would become a regular right for its Chinese workers. It did, however, post “thank you notes” and photos from its Chinese workers.
Game co-creator Max Temkin — who in October paid $935,000 for a 4,500-square-foot brick house in Bucktown — did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday morning.
Founded with a Kickstarter campaign in 2010, Cards Against Humanity is known for its philanthropy, including donations to National Public Radio and the purchase of a remote island in Maine, which it dubbed “Hawaii 2” and vowed to keep as an unspoiled piece of wilderness.
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