Hats off to Global Brands Group (GBG) and FIFA for putting their foot down as far as these companies that thrive off the necessity of people. There are corporative world was discovered yet once again at its most blood-sucking level when a Chinese firm was discovered using sweatshop techniques to earn a profit off the world's biggest sporting event. But let's not get too carried away just yet. There is still a long ways to go before we see an actual resolution to this problem.

GBG canceled an order of 2.3 million plastic official World Cup mascots that were being manufactured by Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products & Gifts due to sub-standard working conditions.

According to Reuters, the Singapore-based company ordered the Chinese company to stop producing the Zakumi figurines after audits showed that the company was paying their employees two euros (US$ 2.71) a day and forcing them to work 13-hour days among other violations that did not meet FIFA's contractor code of conduct.

This investigation came to be after a report by English daily News of the World in Janaury as well as a follow up by the Business Times in South Africa.

"A corrective action plan has been put together with the manufacturer to close the gaps and make necessary improvements. In the interim, approval for this factory to manufacture these figurines has been temporarily suspended, affording them the opportunity to put in place corrective actions and measures to ensure the factory remedies its non-compliance." -Paul Zacks. Spokesperson (GBG)

The Chinese company landed this World Cup-related subcontract last year; generating the ire of the South African Union Congress. The SAUC question why some of these industries outsourced instead of keeping them within the host nation in order to further bolster that country's economy.

From the looks of it this could end up being just a glorified slap on the wrist. Remember FIFA is always out to make an example of anyone that will help them maintain their "transparent" ways with out affecting their never-filling pockets.