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And you thought Barbie was dead. Not content with chalking up a one per cent rise in sales for maker Mattel over 2007, she's back with a 'Bcause collection' of girly accessories made with the leftover fabric from other Barbie toys.
The case against
Over one billion Barbies are reckoned to have been sold since their launch in 1959. According to auction house Christie's, Mattel flogs three Barbie dolls every second, creating a nightmare plastic mountain that'll probably take centuries to biodegrade and clog up our precious remaining landfill space. So who cares if Mattel sells a dozen bags and accessories that happen to have some reused materials? Shouldn't Mattel be doing that anyway? And even worse than all that plastic (and Mattel's recent toys recall), Barbie isn't the UK's own Sindy doll.
The defence
The new Bcause collection features bags, hats and pillows made from excess fabric and trimmings from other Barbie toys. Apparently those off-cuts would otherwise end up in the bin. The ten-strong accessory collection will spread the green word amongst young girls and may convince them to become climate heroes and eco campaigners when they're older (our words, not Mattel's).
What we think
Any eco step's a good step, but this one is so small we'd struggle to go as far as calling it green. The fact that Mattel reveals it'd usually dump off-cuts in the bin rather than reusing, recycling or donating them elsewhere is a pretty shameful admission.
Why not make an entire range of Barbie dolls from fully recycled plastic and offer a take-back scheme so kids could recycle them at end of life? How about some pledges to use more natural materials, such as organic cotton and hemp? We'd love to see a proper Al Gore Eco Barbie.
It remains to be seen whether the Bcause range will go on sale in the UK -- in the US, they'll be stocked at Toys "R" Us and cost from $5.99 to $19.99 (£3-10).
What do you think? Could the Bcause collection make young girls go green? Would you buy them? Are they just utter greenwash? And what would you like to see in an eco Barbie? Hit the comments below and let us know.
04 April 2008 01:12pm
purleeeasee! It's all about Bratz dollz these days anyway. I wouldn't mind seeing a Barbie dressed in a hemp and organic bikini, mind you
04 April 2008 01:25pm
I can't believe Mattel blithely admitted to tossing its leftovers. If they want to make girls more aware of green issues they should be making their dolls from 100% recycled materials and naming their next one "Eco Warrior Barbie." That would be awesome.
04 April 2008 02:02pm
If you'd asked me when I was nine wheter I wanted a fairt rade organic cuddly bear or a barbie there would be no doubt in my mind! I had about 10 barbies and they are not gonna end up in landfill. They'll be passed down to children and grandchildren. And yeah this barbie accessory thing is stupid. Why don't girls learn to make stuff for their barbies t hemselves? But who knows the idea of reusing fabric for accesories might inspire the little girls and then it's not all that stupid.
04 April 2008 06:02pm
She's plastic, that's not fantastic (with apologies to Aqua). I'm not sure these accessories even count as recycled, since it sounds as if they are made from offcuts. The fabric hasn't actually been used once, so it's not really being reused.
A cynic might suggest that someone looked at the materials being wasted at Mattel and figured out a way to get some value out of them, then added a 'green' angle to help sell them.
05 April 2008 11:03am
It's just jumping on the bandwagon and trying to grasp even more money. Thank god my daughter's past the Barbie stage now (and the Bratz one too....hideous things).
22 April 2008 04:58pm
Although it may not be green and the advertising for them could have been better, I think that using this is a better use of the materials than just tossing them in the garbage and doing nothing with them and if this happens to boost their sales as well, then good for Mattel. I went and bought one of the bags. I would like to hear of them being more eco-friendly though.
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