Mattel To Make Bald Barbie Doll, Will Donate New Toy To Children’s Hospitals

A campaign asking Mattel to produce a Bald Barbie for young girls who have lost their hair due to illness has paid off. Mattel announced today that it would start producing a new bald barbie doll that kids will be able to decorate with wigs, scarves, and hats.

A spokesman for Mattel said that the bald barbie wouldn’t be hitting to store shelves. Instead, the toy company would be donating the dolls to children’s hospitals around the country. CBS reports that several dolls will also go to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation.

This won’t be the first hairless doll for Mattel. The company created a one-of-a-kind bald barbie for a four-year-old girl who lost her hair due to cancer last year. The single doll inspired Jane Bingham to create the Beautiful and Bald Barbie! Let’s see if we can get it made Facebook group. Bingham said:

“We thought it would be popular with plenty of people, but we did not expect it to balloon the way it did across the world and throughout the media… It’s been great, we couldn’t have done it. They wouldn’t have heard us if it was just a couple of people writing to them.”

Bingham and her friend Rebecca Sypin were invited to Mattel this February where they talked about their ideas for a new doll. Mattel said that they liked the idea but they didn’t want to profit off of sick children. The company decided the best option would be to donate the dolls to hospital.

Bingham said:

“(We want girls to know) they’re not dependent on their hair for their self-worth and their beauty. Women and children, it’s looked down upon that you would go out without your hair. People would automatically assume that you’re sick and you should stay at home in bed. We wanted to change this stigma especially for girls because they don’t have many people to look up to.”

Mattel hasn’t announced when the dolls would be hitting stores.