Mattel to go plastic-free with ‘EcoWarrior Barbie’ modeled on Greta Thunberg
Children who play with Barbie dolls will quickly have local weather activist Greta Thunberg staring again at them by eyes constituted of algae, bamboo and clay as an alternative of plastic.
Mattel introduced Tuesday it’ll go plastic-free by 2030, beginning with a brand new restricted run of EcoWarrior Barbies to be launched Oct. 1.
The dolls constituted of all-natural supplies may have the options of “environmental heroes” akin to Ms. Thunberg, Julia Butterfly Hill, Phoebe Plummer, Neimonte Nenquimo and Hollywood actress Daryl Hannah, who’ve donated the usage of their names, photographs and likenesses to the toy firm.
The dolls kick off Mattel’s marketing campaign to desert recycled plastic supplies, foyer for a federal ban on nonessential plastics and go plastic-free by 2030, the California-based toymaker stated. The firm plans to transform all of its amenities to non-plastic manufacturing.
“We have made more than a billion plastic Barbies, and enough is enough,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz stated. “With our plastic-free commitment, we denounce the empty promises of plastic recycling and take a bold step towards real ecological sustainability. Only sustainably produced toys can provide sustainable joy.”
In addition to Barbie, Mattel makes the toy manufacturers American Girl, Fisher-Price and Hot Wheels.
All plastic elements in Mattel toys will probably be changed with “only compostable natural materials like mushroom mycelium, algae, seaweed, clays, wood cellulose, and bamboo” over the subsequent few years, stated Pamela Gill-Alabaster, Mattel’s head of sustainability.
“It will revolutionize the industry and set new standards for conscientious play,” Ms. Gill-Alabaster stated.
In addition to Ms. Thunberg and different residing activists, Mattel stated the brand new MyCelia Barbie: EcoWarrior Edition dolls will probably be modeled after “more than 2,500 dead activists from around the world who have been tragically lost while protecting nature in the last decade.”
Ms. Hannah, who starred in “Splash,” “Steel Magnolias” and “Kill Bill: Vol. 1,” will function the model’s ambassador for world sustainability along with modeling one of many new Barbies.
“Barbie has changed in many ways since I was a girl, but under the surface, she’s still toxic,” stated Ms. Hannah, 62. “Now, when she’s done being used, instead of persisting forever as a poison Barbie will be able to return to the earth, just like all living things.”
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