To the Toy Industry

Do childhood toys shape the woman?  The Building Our Future: Girls, Toys & Media conference, hosted at Mattel Headquarters in El Segundo, CA, spotlighted the opinions held by some that the toy industry shapes the choices that girls make by marketing Girls’ toys that nurture, such as dolls and play sets, rather than challenge, such as science kits and construction sets.  Experts from inside and outside the toy and media industries participated in discussions that both illuminated and brought greater understanding to the question.

Three students from Marlborough School participated in a question and answer session at the conference, and following are questions for the toy industry posed by students at Marlborough School. I have attempted to group them by concern. We would appreciate your responses to any of them in the comment section.

Body Image:

1. Are you aware of the unhealthy body ideals that dolls can create and how do you plan on combating this?

2. Do you plan on creating dolls with a range of body types?

3.  Who is the target audience, demographically speaking?

Sustainability:

4.  Why do you use so much packaging?

5.  How come toys don’t have a recycling code?

11. What percent of your products are made from recycled materials?

12. Do you have programs to dispose of broken toys?

13. Do you have plans to increase sustainability of your manufacturing and environmental consciousness of your toys?

14. What percent of the energy used in manufacturing your toys comes from renewable resources?

Other concerns:

6.  What percent, if any, toys go to charity annually?

7.  What are the most popular toys you sell?

8.  Why do you use such small parts in certain pieces?

9.  Why don’t you make toys for adults that are kid type toys?

10.  How come dolls come with shoes and clothes, while there are many children in the world without such things?