A Plea to Boycott Mattel
I would like to start off by saying that this post is not meant to shame any particular person. I am trying to appeal to your morals and empathy for other human beings who share this world with you. What I am discussing is a collective problem that requires organized action to end.
Mattel does not care about you the collector, the mother buying for her two daughters or the workers making their toys. They have a long history of abusive labor practices at the factories that manufacture their products. Your doll looks the way that it does because the worker who made your doll is being abused.
Here I have compiled a list of articles in chronological order of whistleblowers informing the public of Mattel’s unethical manufacturing practices.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-nov-26-fi-mattel26-story.html (November 2004)
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/26/business/26toy.html (July 2007)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-475640/Mattels-real-toy-story-slave-labour-sweatshops.html (August 2007)
https://freebeacon.com/issues/chinese-supplier-factories-for-mattel-depriving-workers-of-wages-benefits/ (October 2013)
https://observers.france24.com/en/20131025-worker-conditions-mattel-suppliers-china (October 2013)
https://inthesetimes.com/article/dont-feel-guilty-about-chinese-worker-abuse (December 2013)
https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/the-other-side-of-black-friday-price-tags/tnamp/ (November 2015)
https://www.ibtimes.com/chinese-workers-making-barbie-dolls-frozen-costumes-mcdonalds-happy-meal-toys-alleged-2194730 (November 2015)
https://fortune.com/2015/11/22/hasbro-mattel-china-labor/ (November 2015)
https://learningenglish.voanews.com/amp/chinese-toy-factories/3611587.html (november 2016)
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/dec/04/the-grim-truth-of-chinese-factories-producing-the-wests-christmas-toys (December 2016)
https://www.brut.media/us/videos/international/asia-pacific/this-interview-reveals-the-truth-behind-mattel-toys (December 2019)
https://chinalaborwatch.org/workers-in-misery-an-investigation-into-two-toy-factories/ (December 2020)
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/barbie-mattel-labor-manufacturing-18273210.php (August 2023)
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/barbie-mattel-factory-6q8jq38gt (October 2024)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/barbie-dolls-china-factory-mattel-investigation-b2627062.html (October 2024)
https://chinalaborwatch.org/the-hypocrisy-of-barbies-feminism-labor-conditions-of-working-class-women-in-a-mattel-factory-in-china/ (October 2024)
https://www.bigissue.com/news/employment/christmas-gifts-sweatshop-child-labour-factories/ (December 2024)
None of these articles mention Monster High explicitly but they are still relevant because they are about the parent company. It’d be kind of naive to assume that the factories that produce MH somehow have labor practices differing from Mattel’s other factories.
Sure… maybe some of you don’t care about their labor practices. Do you care about getting a quality product? All the things that are commonly complained about such as quality control, wonks, factory errors and the designs themselves are the way they are because of Mattel’s rapacious business practices. These problems would stop being as widespread as they are with the implementation of fairer business practices.
Imagine if one of these workers was you or your mother. Would you put the upmost effort into your work when you are subjected to sexual harassment, bullying by your superiors, exposure to toxic chemicals and being shafted out of your paycheck? And if Mattel is willing to cut corners so blatantly with their manufacturing practices, it’s likely that their artists are not being paid fairly either and the designs they create are cut down during production to “save costs”(ie: increase the annual bonuses of the CEO and their board members). It’s clear from the degradation in quality of the art and the designs of many G3 dolls’ clothes and box art that the aesthetic of the product itself has been put on the back burner in the pursuit of higher profits.
Mattel’s business practices also contradict Monster High’s progressive and moralistic messaging about acceptance and embracing differences. What is the difference between you and I and the 20 year old woman working in a Mattel factory besides our luck of the draw of where in the world we were born? Suddenly its okay to treat people differently and less than you because you really want that new Draculaura doll? If Frankie Stein existed in this world, she would organize boycotts against Mattel herself. She would never stand for the way that Mattel treats its workers.
It’s time to put your money where your mouth is and stop financially supporting Mattel. Please stop buying directly from the brand. There are thousands of second hand listings(new and used, g1 through g3) for monster high merchandise all over the web. To continue financially support their new releases communicates to Mattel that you don’t care about their unethical labor practices and consent to them potentially ripping you off with a poorly made and poorly designed doll. You can’t act surprised that they release low effort dolls and use sweatshop labor when they continue to receive your money.
Boycott Mattel to end their unethical labor practices. Boycott Mattel for better quality dolls. Or continue to accept whatever they present to you… the choice is yours. How else will positive change occur if we don’t demand it? Corporations only respond to money… so hit them where it hurts.
PS: “No ethical consumption under capitalism” is a flawed argument that people use as a get-out-of-jail-free card to over-consume and support avaricious corporations in exchange for instant gratification. Not every unethical purchase can be avoided but dolls are one category that definitely can be avoided.