This Inspiring New Doll Comes With its Own Chimpanzee and a Mission
A Jane Goodall Barbie doll was just launched that will inspire girls to grow up and live their dreams. The doll that comes with its own chimpanzee came out just before World Chimpanzee Day on July 14 and was based on David Greybeard, the first chimp that trusted the world renowned conservationist and primatologist, reported Euro News.
Goodall is thrilled about the Jane doll that was made. She told Euro News: “When I heard that Jane Barbie doll was going to be made, I was really happy because actually, I’d been suggesting it for a long time. Girls don’t want just to be film stars and things like that; but many of them, like me, want to be out in nature studying animals.”
Mattel, the toy company behind the Barbie Doll line, launched the Jane Goodall doll as part of their Inspiring Women series. According to a press release from the toymaker, the line includes famous women like former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, athlete Billie Jean King, astronaut Sally Ride, and civil rights leader Rosa Parks.
Jane Goodall
Goodall, 88, is best known for her 60-year study of the social and family interactions of the wild chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream park in Tanzania. She arrived at the park in 1960 equipped with little more than a notebook and binoculars – just like the Jane doll –, according to Euro news.
She was only 26 when she entered the forest and began to study the chimps in their natural habitat. She found that they had distinct emotions and showed compassion to one another, Goodall would go on to become the world’s leading authority on chimpanzees.
In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) that supports Gombe research and she is a global leader in the protection of these amazing primates and their habitats. Today, she travels the globe speaking about the environment and urging the world to take action against climate change and the destruction of species.
“When I was growing up, you know, there weren’t any female role models,” Goodall told Euro News, “I was helped by a mother who supported my dream, but my heroes, my models, were Tarzan and Dr Dolittle.” She hopes the Jane doll will inspire girls to get involved in conservation and environmental action.
Recycled Plastic
The Jane doll is made from 75 percent recycled ocean-plastic and was launched along with the 2022 Barbie Career of The Year Eco-Leadership Team which includes a chief sustainability officer, conservation scientist, renewable energy engineer, as well as an environmental activist.
“Kids need more role models like Dr Jane Goodall, because imagining they can be anything is just the beginning – seeing it makes all the difference,” Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel said in the press release.
“We hope that this collection and homage to a groundbreaking pioneer for women in science and conservation inspires kids to learn more about green careers, how they can protect the planet, and act out sustainable stories through doll play,” Lisa McKnight, executive vice president and global head of Barbie and Dolls, Mattel said in the press release.
Mattel plans to use 100 percent recycled, recyclable, or bio-based plastics in all of its toy manufacturing and packaging by 2030. Some of the other sustainable toys includes the Barbie Loves the Ocean doll that was made of recycled ocean-bound plastics, the first fully recycled UNO deck, and the green line of MEGA BLOKS.