Can a doll teach about the environment?

by Kim, March 11, 2009 at 11:12am

Continuing a thread about teaching kids about the environment:

Everyone has an opnion about Barbies, but dolls have been used to teach kids greater acceptance--and self-acceptance of disabilities, so why not use dolls to impart environmental awareness?  Planet Pixies are a new line of enviro-friendly dolls--not just because of their non-toxic organic parts but because they represent three of the planet's endangered habitats (the Amazon, Everglades, and Arctic). It's hard to tell from the photos but they look rather on the pale side, which may not provide the most diverse set of role models for every little girl. How important are doll choices anyway?

They're very important to parents, as the recent update to Dora the Explorer shows. Dora  is the much-beloved Latina who has taught children they can get by on their brainpower. Now Dora's look has been changed to age with the children who have grown up with her, and some parents are so mad at the result they started a petition.

Doll factories also have an environmental impact, which the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at the University of Massachusetts is working to reduce. Keep in mind that BPA and PVC are also present in some dolls, so choose toys for the small children wisely.

Overall it seems like doll choices are important enough that the Planet Pixies register as relatively harmless compared to other options. There's no TV program associated with them (yet) so parents may find it less objectionable to buy one doll that doesn't mean buying in to an entire franchise.