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The Ultimate Greenwashing: Barbie Goes Green
ecochildsplay.com — lmost a month ago, we received a press release for Barbie ™ BCause, an attempt by Mattel to fool consumers into believing made in China, plastic, out-of-proportion dolls were green.
dagorret- 350 diggs
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- crushtheenemy, on 05/04/2008, -7/+28I'm sick of GREEN
- KMartSheriff, on 05/04/2008, -1/+22GREEN MAKE HULK ANGRY, LEAVING HULK IN AN INFINITE LOOP OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISMAY.
- raggles, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Hulk is a chargin his lazers.
- Jassman, on 05/04/2008, -1/+6Then smoke some GREEN and get over your sickness...
But yeah, I definitely agree with you. Everything is "going green". Goddammit.- Zandarrr, on 05/04/2008, -2/+3It's become a trend, a fad, and a fashion statement. If we don't take it seriously and challenge corporation's *****, we'll make so little progress.
- Jassman, on 05/04/2008, -0/+3Then people should really demand evidence to back their claims and feel completely indifferent to simple claims of "going green". The problem is that people are stupid, and little sound bites like this do have an effect on people.
- Zandarrr, on 05/04/2008, -2/+3It's become a trend, a fad, and a fashion statement. If we don't take it seriously and challenge corporation's *****, we'll make so little progress.
- Celeron, on 05/04/2008, -2/+6I love GREEN, since it's the color of ca$h.
- str1fe, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2You clearly haven't seen the new $5. The ***** is purple.
- rheaume, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5After 200 years of wasteful red white and blue, maybe its time?
- Gutterpunk, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Seeing as "Green" is used by corporation to make us believe that they care, I'd say that it's not better.
/This Message Brought You By Some Lame Eco-Friendly Subplot In Your Favorite TV Show!
- Gutterpunk, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Seeing as "Green" is used by corporation to make us believe that they care, I'd say that it's not better.
- KMartSheriff, on 05/04/2008, -1/+22GREEN MAKE HULK ANGRY, LEAVING HULK IN AN INFINITE LOOP OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISMAY.
- theeddyadams, on 05/04/2008, -1/+12Green is better than fake-tan-orange.
- sneedo, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3my friend's girlfriend looks like a ***** leather handbag, it's disgusting.
- Jassman, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3I hate those people for the color of their skin.
And this is probably the only scenario where that's not racist.
- chris86wm, on 05/04/2008, -1/+10Zombie Barbie FTW?
- DannySpace, on 05/04/2008, -8/+3"I do not like Green Eggs and Ham, I do not like them Sam I Am."
- kl78229, on 05/04/2008, -12/+7It's a toy. A toy that every little girl (including both of mine when they are old enough) has had or will have.
The author's slam on grandma for buying the child a Barbie is insane.
When do we go back to trashing the planet? This is getting annoying.- Yshinozuka, on 05/04/2008, -3/+1Yeah, makes me wonder who's doing the real "greenwashing"
- eatbeefjerky, on 05/05/2008, -0/+1My girls can have dolls if they want them, but not Barbies and DEFINITELY not Bratz dolls.
- styx31989, on 05/04/2008, -8/+0OGC
- stormspire, on 05/04/2008, -0/+18Just another PR ploy to appeal to people's "save the Earth" emotion. It is in the company's best financial interest to look green, but it is in their worst financial interest to be green.
- tresorArt, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3The branding of "Green" is annoying, yes. Realizing that it is a real problem and there are real repercussions, not so much.
- cnot3, on 05/04/2008, -0/+9Green Barbie? Must look like one of Captain Kirk's "girlfriends".
- drex8, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4Oh great, this is teh best news article I have come across all day!
I'm glad somebody finally got the guts to submit news articles on Digg which are on the very top of Myspace News Network. - drpleau, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3the barbie was wearing a "Free Tibet" shirt, or your daughter?
- Zandarrr, on 05/04/2008, -1/+8You can't green up a hunk of molded plastic. That makes about as much sense as labeling a form of pollution "eco-friendly."
- carpespasm, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1But what about legos? I was just thinking of how injection molded barbie heads can't really ever be environmentally good, then it dawned on me that my beloved Lego blocks can't be either. Sucks.
- izackcarson, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1They may not be green, but at least they are a useful toy in allowing your child imaginative play. You could try wooden blcoks or timker toy type of toys if you want building items not made of plastic though.
- carpespasm, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1But what about legos? I was just thinking of how injection molded barbie heads can't really ever be environmentally good, then it dawned on me that my beloved Lego blocks can't be either. Sucks.
- tavisjohn, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1I want to know where are all the green woman that we saw on Star Trek?
- PYroburner69, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I dont really see how this is going green
They are taking things they would have tossed out and reselling them.
wouldnt green imply that they are using things that are more inviromently friendly not just reusing what they consider trash? - apophenic, on 05/04/2008, -1/+7"The eco-conscious young girls I know of steer clear of Barbie. My daughter just gave away her Barbie that her grandmother had bought her (without my approval, of course) while wearing her “Free Tibet” t-shirt."
Yes, and I'm sure she really understood the issue, and wasn't just jumping on the FREE TIBET! bandwagon.- carpespasm, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1in that case you ***** win as a parent.
- Black6x, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1The "Free Tibet" shirt was most likely made in China. Seriously.
- CarbonAndroid, on 05/04/2008, -1/+7Green! The goddamn bitch is plastic.
- fxu1989, on 05/04/2008, -2/+5Tired of everything going "green."
*in cartman's voice* ***** you guys, I'm going blue. - dupems, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2Enough of this green *****. ***** green, I'm going brown.
- wipis, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2You go Green gurl!!! *three snaps*
- interrelate, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Hippie Barbie?
- MaybellineSP, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4I used to work for Mattel as one of their engineers, and believe me, they are doing whatever they can to make their products more green with their packaging. It's just that research has shown that in order to sell their products, they need fancy packaging. Also, since everything is coming from sweatshops in china, they have to make their packages extra strong to make it to America. What they really should be working on is their lead paint. They've knowingly been getting kids sick for years now. They only just recently started doing something about it when they got caught for it because they put out way too much tainted product in such a short period of time that they couldn't cover it up in time.
- zeitgueist, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Hah, they have not been knowingly getting kids sick for years. Show me one case. That was a minor incident, and only because the factory violated Mattel's own regulations. Do you really think that a company that relies on it's good name with parents would knowingly do something like that? Also, don't forget that they voluntarily recalled twice as many toys due to small magnet regulations that they created themselves.
- pandikukka, on 05/04/2008, -1/+0good to be a guy
need not care about barbie going green- carpespasm, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1GI Joe already wears green.
- GreyColumbus, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0Doesn't matter much, anyways. Mattel can manufacture a line of "Goin' pregnant Barbie's" and consumers will still eat it up.
- 808ethan, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2***** Barbie!! Oh yeah, ***** her good :)
- toph2223, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1barbiefilia is hot
- Myztry, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2Soylent green is the only green thing likely to come out of China.
They can only make things so cheaply because the people are treated as being so expendable and disposable..- fenris6644, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2.. and because China's cost of living is very low relative to the Western world.
- Myztry, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1You mean standard of living. If cost of living was cheap, they'd be living like kings on their low incomes...
- fenris6644, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2.. and because China's cost of living is very low relative to the Western world.
- fenris6644, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2Green vodka... green Barbie... zzzzzzzz
- Dgen_X, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4Making clothing out of the remnants? Sounds more like cost cutting than 'going green'
- carpespasm, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1the two aren't mutually exclusive.
- aladrin, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4Paper gets recycled and is 'green'. Barbie dolls get recycled and when they are called 'green' every gets up in arms. Guess what? It's the same thing!
Recycled paper means fewer trees were cut to make it exist. These new Barbies mean less plastic was created to make them exist.
They never tried to say that their plastic was eco-friendly. They were very clear about what they meant by 'green' and it fits the existing definition.
Will I buy a Barbie doll? Hell no. I never understood why girls like them in the first place. But I dislike them no more than I ever did. - partrow, on 05/04/2008, -2/+1Why don't you paint yourself green and go into a crowd and see if people think you are normal? No child is going to play with a Barbie that is all green unless they have nothing else to play with. Why the sudden popularity for everything being green. If you want to see green, just go hiking after Spring springs.
- LeeSoong, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1If you live in California - the Barbies are only out of proportion because now real women have much larger proportions than the dolls do.
Bring back the original Barbie to match the real world, and make her body out of
100% American grown, corn based polymers:
http://www.natureworksllc.com/ - natdg, on 05/05/2008, -0/+0Sustainability or going green has become a cliche but we should know what it really means and how to achieve the goals of saving our resources.
- lastminute, on 05/06/2008, -0/+1how about this for greenwashing: BP has built a "green gas station"
http://www.laist.com/2007/02/23/the_poshest_gas_st ... - tortor54, on 06/29/2008, -0/+0Mattel has produced tens of millions of lead-contaminated toys and aggressively lobbied against bans on other highly toxic chemicals. Vote for Mattel in Corporate Accountability International's 2008 Corporate Hall of Shame! Google Corporate Accountability International to lean more about Mattel's abuses and the other nominees.
- tacnic, on 08/15/2008, -0/+0Niche as long tail theory.
http://astore.amazon.com/barbie.house-20
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