I have a confession. I played with Barbie and Ken dolls well into 8th grade, until the very threshold of high school. Pathetic, I know, but I liked my fantasy world of happy endings, perfect blonde hair, and makeshift clothes I sewed by hand. I had no idea my secret little doll addiction was so detrimental. Apparently, Barbie is guilty for not only warping my body image standards, but now the big B’s been tearing down the rainforests as well.
Greenpeace activists are repelling off the Mattel building in downtown LA dressed as Ken dolls to protest Indonesian rainforest destruction. Greenpeace asserts the pretty boxed packaging used to highlight Skipper and her modern Barbie babes are responsible for the continued devastation of the world’s delicate ecosystems. They dropped a huge banner off the side of the Mattel building condemning this devious consumerist mentality.
I am all for green initiatives, but I have to wonder if this might be a tad extreme? Might it just be a fun excuse to dress up and get an adrenaline hit scaling buildings like Spidey? It reminds me of Legally Blonde 2, when the sorority gals storm the capital to make a statement against animal testing. “Bruiser, Bruiser, Bruiser…”
I guess now they are shouting “death to Barbie, Barbie, Barbie.”
Certainly, it has raised public awareness, but at what cost? I still like Barbie and will continue to purchase the dolls for my tots. And honestly, I would buy them in a 100% recycled box for a few more bucks, or even a fabric reusable bag (all the better to cut up for some more groovy outfits).
Mattel currently uses 95% recycled materials and has plans to be 100% by 2015, not too shabby as far I am concerned. And while I empathize with Greenpeace, I also tend to agree with John, who commented below on the fiasco.
“When these groups do things like this, the focus instantly turns away from their cause, and it becomes about THEM. Their work ends up being all in vain. Their cause gets overshadowed by their antics, and the spectacle they create.”
In my opinion, isn’t the bigger issue to create a world where each person takes personal responsibility as a steward of the planet? Simply because, as humanity, we are all intertwined and deeply connected in a world with limited resources.
Maybe they should make a PC Green Barbie and she can be an activist who get’s arrested to save the planet. A little toy bulldozer in the box would be cute!
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-greenpeace-mattel-20110608,0,2905499.story
