Posted on 08/07/2023 1:49:55 PM PDT by nickcarraway
It was an extraordinary corporate pledge — a promise that not only fit the zeitgeist of an increasingly climate-anxious society, but also sought to reconcile pent-up guilt over mounting plastic waste.
In videos featuring Hollywood star Daryl Hannah, press releases, website testimonials and telephone calls with reporters, one of the world’s largest toy manufacturers had apparently vowed to go plastic-free by the end of the decade. It’s iconic Barbie doll — whose smiling polyvinyl chloride face has brought joy to generations of children — would eventually be made of such natural materials as mushrooms, seaweed, clay and bamboo.
One of the reasons for the change of heart, the press blitz said, was that the company had come to recognize the “empty promises of plastics recycling.”
In reality, however, none of it was true.
The plastic-free promise that had gone viral on social media was an elaborate hoax intended to shame the El Segundo-based toy manufacturer Mattel Corp.
“The press releases published on Tuesday are fake; they were not issued or authorized by Mattel,” the company told The Times in an e-mail.
On the heels of Mattel Films’ blockbuster “Barbie” movie, the company has been taking heavy criticism over the toy’s environmental footprint. It has also been selling out of movie-related products, according to CEO Ynon Kriez.
Each year, Mattel produces roughly 60 million Barbie dolls using a variety of plastics, which are derived from crude oil and manufactured in facilities in China and Mexico. A recent study by DePaul University estimated the production and transportation of Barbie dolls generate about 3.4 million metric tons of climate-warming carbon dioxide — the equivalent of burning 381 million gallons of gasoline.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Oil is always the villain to them.
Make Barbie out of Impossible Burger
That will get rid of the inedible fake burger
Until they have to be treated in hospital using a crap ton of plastic products.
No plastics? Introducing new Lead Soldier Barbie! Yeesh...
I have a confession....
When I was a kid my sisters had a lot of Barbie and Ken dolls. A lot.
One night I took the heads off the Barbies and Ken dolls and switched them. I put the Ken heads on Barbie dolls and the Barbie heads on the Ken dolls.
Yes, it was me, I started the tranny movement.
Sorry.....
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