By Jamie Martina

Whoever said Moxie Girlz, or a major conglomerate like MGA (yep, think Bratz) for that matter, couldn’t be an agent for change?  I am in no position to delve into the basic economic incentive behind consumer capitalism, but I know enough to notice when it is at play and working for the people.  This corporate saga began back in January when Jane Bingham, a 42-year-old lymphoma survivor and a mother of a 12-year-old daughter battling cancer, petitioned Mattel to produce a bald Barbie as a way to show support to children who face hairloss as a result of illness. Originally the request was turned down on the grounds that Mattel does not accept consumer suggestions; but once Bingham’s proposal to create “Beautiful and Bald Barbie” garnered thousands of supporters on Facebook, the company had no other choice but to play along or get tossed aside as heartless.

Their concession, however, was to produce just 10,000 bald Barbies to be distributed only to children’s hospitals. 

Bingham found that while their support was appreciated, it was not enough.  Forbes’ April issue quotes her saying, “Each year, 12,000 kids are diagnosed with cancer, and no child without cancer will receive one. Plus, this limited quantity is bound to cause a high resale price. It’s basically going to be only a collector’s item.”