Is Your Toy Factory Ready for ESCP? What Changed From ICTI
If your factory was certified under the ICTI Ethical Toy Program, the short answer is that the certification itself hasn't changed underneath you, only the name has. On 15 February 2024, ICTI Ethical Toy Program announced it was becoming the Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP), and the new branding was phased in through the rest of 2024. The audit checklist, the Seal of Compliance, and the accredited third-party audit firms carried over. What did change is who else the program now serves: ESCP has expanded from toys specifically to being applicable across any industry. This article breaks down what the rebrand actually means if you're a toy factory, and what's worth checking before your next audit.
The rebrand, in brief
ESCP's own announcement frames the change as a response to demand for its compliance and audit services from outside the toy sector. CEO Carmel Giblin described the move as one that would "increase the accessibility of our program, enabling us to work with more factories and expand into new industries," while Chair Edena Low framed it as extending the same standards the organisation had built up so that "more organisations globally will now benefit from more ethical certification and audit processes." The program today reports working with over 1,000 factories and more than 1,500 brands, retailers and licensors across 45 countries and regions, with offices including Hong Kong SAR, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Ho Chi Minh City and Indonesia alongside Vancouver, London and New York, several of which sit directly in the manufacturing regions most toy factories already operate in.
What actually changed for toy factories
For a toy factory already familiar with ICTI, very little changed operationally. The certification is still earned by passing a factory audit against the ESCP Audit Checklist, conducted by the same kind of accredited third-party audit firms, such as SGS or TÜV Rheinland, and a passing result still earns what is now called the ESCP Seal of Compliance rather than the previous ICTI mark. Registration and certification tracking still run through ESCP's Connect platform.
The checklist itself did get updated separately from the rebrand: Version 4.0 took effect on 1 July 2024, with changes to 15 checklist items described by ESCP as "new requirements, enhancements or additions to existing requirements, updates for practical considerations, and clarifications to provide clearer guidance." This update happened on its own schedule as part of ESCP's normal checklist revision cycle, not as a direct consequence of the name change, but it's worth knowing about regardless, since it means a factory whose most recent audit predates July 2024 is likely being assessed against updated criteria at its next audit.
→ See: ESCP Certification: What the New Ethical Supply Chain Audit Checklist Covers
What changed more broadly, even if it doesn't affect your audit directly
The more significant shift is in scope rather than substance. ESCP now positions its checklist and audit process as applicable to any industry, not just toys, which means the same organisation, the same audit firms, and largely the same underlying checklist structure are now being used to certify factories in sectors that have nothing to do with toys. For a toy factory, this mostly changes who else you'll see referencing ESCP certification, buyers and brands outside the toy industry, rather than anything about your own audit experience.
If you were ICTI-certified, what's actually worth checking
A few practical things are worth confirming rather than assuming carried over automatically. Check that any factory-facing documentation, supplier scorecards or buyer-facing certificates reference the current ESCP name rather than the old ICTI Ethical Toy Program name, since some buyers' internal systems may still be updating their own references. Confirm your assigned or preferred audit firm is still ESCP-accredited, since accreditation is managed centrally by ESCP rather than assumed to transfer automatically. And if your last audit was completed before 1 July 2024, expect your next one to be assessed against the updated Version 4.0 checklist rather than the version you were previously audited under.
Getting ready for your next audit under the current checklist
If it's been a while since your last ESCP or ICTI audit, it's worth reviewing your systems against the current checklist before booking the next one, rather than assuming what passed before still holds. If that would help, get in touch and we can walk through what's changed since your last certification cycle.
Frequently asked questions
Is ESCP the same as the ICTI Ethical Toy Program?
Yes. ICTI Ethical Toy Program rebranded as the Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) on 15 February 2024. The audit checklist, certification process and accredited audit firms carried over under the new name.
Do I need a new audit if I was already ICTI certified?
Not because of the rebrand itself. Your existing certification carries over under the new ESCP name. You will, however, be assessed against the current checklist version at your next scheduled audit, which may include changes made since your last certification.
Why did ICTI Ethical Toy Program change its name?
To reflect demand for its compliance and audit services from industries beyond toys. The program now applies its checklist and certification process across multiple sectors rather than exclusively to toy manufacturing.
Does the ESCP rebrand affect toy factories specifically?
Not in terms of the audit itself. The main practical items to check are that your documentation references the current ESCP name, your audit firm is still ESCP-accredited, and your next audit will use the current checklist version.