BCause I Told You So

Eco-parents unimpressed by 'green' Barbie accessories

Posted at 1:09 PM on 12 May 2008

Barbie BCause, toymaker Mattel's attempt to appeal to the green-minded tyke, has turned out to be not so popular with green-minded parents. The line of patchwork-y Barbie accessories made from cast-off fabric has inspired a blogging backlash. "The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie," wrote Jennifer Lance on blog Eco Child's Play. "Truly green families will not be fooled by Mattel's greenwashing." Mother Jones blogger Jen Phillips agreed that touting Barbie BCause as green is "pretty ironic given that Barbie dolls themselves are made out of plastic and are packaged in even more plastic." And that's no insignificant amount of plastic: all of the Barbies sold since 1959, placed end to end, would circle the Earth more than seven times.

sources: The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer

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	Read more about: business \| green living \| green products \| greenwashing \| news \| parenting \| recycling \| shopping \| all of these topics Tools: print \| email \| write to the editor \| subscribe \| RSS Share: digg \| hugg \| stumbleupon \| reddit \| newsvine \| fark \| facebook Bookmark: del.icio.us \| google \| yahoo BCause I Told You So Eco-parents unimpressed by 'green' Barbie accessories Posted at 1:09 PM on 12 May 2008 Barbie BCause, toymaker Mattel's attempt to appeal to the green-minded tyke, has turned out to be not so popular with green-minded parents. The line of patchwork-y Barbie accessories made from cast-off fabric has inspired a blogging backlash. "The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie," wrote Jennifer Lance on blog Eco Child's Play. "Truly green families will not be fooled by Mattel's greenwashing." Mother Jones blogger Jen Phillips agreed that touting Barbie BCause as green is "pretty ironic given that Barbie dolls themselves are made out of plastic and are packaged in even more plastic." And that's no insignificant amount of plastic: all of the Barbies sold since 1959, placed end to end, would circle the Earth more than seven times. sources: The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer ADVERTISING POLICY < Previous \| Next > Comments: There are no comments. Be the first to post! You are not logged in. Thus, you cannot post a comment. If you have a Gristmill account, log in below. If you don't have a Gristmill account, well, by all means go make one! Meet you back here in five. Username: Password: Forgot your password? Enter your username and click: The comments of Grist users reflect the opinions of those individuals only, and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Grist, its staff, its board members, their psychotherapists, or their aestheticians. Got it?	Also in Grist The Death of Environmentalist How to green your funeral. If By Clean You Mean Filthy Is clean coal an oxymoron? Umbra clears up the confusion. iSave When you're not guzzling iBeer, conserve gas with new iPhone apps. Water on the Brain Author Elizabeth Royte spills about the bottled water boom and backlash. The Week's Most Popular Viewed Commented Emailed Ask Umbra on storing produce Ask Umbra on sea-level rise If you're going to eat meat, you can't shy away from the whole beast Blogosphere responds reservedly to Gore's call for 100 percent renewable electricity Author Elizabeth Royte chats about the bottled-water boom and backlash Are biofuels a core solution? Time to stop using the phrase 'renewable energy' Animal rights group called out for repeatedly exploiting women A conversation with energy guru Amory Lovins Ask Umbra on storing produce New Nature Conservancy prez chats about jumping from Goldman Sachs to the green scene As summer heats up, a tasting of six 'natural' white wines How to green your day job From the Archives Where the Lead Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain. Tornado ravages town already ravaged by pollution. Green Old Party? McCain to unveil new climate plan. In Brief. Snippets from the news. News Archives