Costco discontinues doll collection
By Staff -- Playthings,09/01/2009
ISSAQUAH, Wash.—Costco Wholesale Corp. announced that earlier this summer it pulled from its shelves and subsequently discontinued a toy collection that some of its members found objectionable.The item is a doll set collection called Cuddle with Me, Doll with Plush Monkey. In connection with this decision, Costco explained that the discontinued items were part of a set that included six distinct iterations. One collection depicted a plush panda, and the other a plush monkey. Each of those was offered in a choice of three ethnic doll representations, Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic.
Shortly after the toys were offered for sale in Costco's locations on the East Coast, Costco received a complaint from a member in North Carolina, concerning the version of the doll showing an African-American baby in conjunction with plush monkeys. Based upon that complaint, Costco made the decision to pull from its shelves and discontinue all three of the versions of the collection that included the plush monkey. The discontinued items were carried only in the company's US Northeast and Southeast operating regions, and through Costco's website.
Once the company received complaints about the combination of an African-American doll in juxtaposition with the plush monkeys, the company apologized for any discomfort that the item had caused, and discontinued the item. The three versions of the item sold with the plush panda are still carried by the company, and can be viewed or purchased on www.costco.com.
Jim Sinegal, Costco CEO, stated: "We are sensitive to any complaint that a product we carry would cause discomfort to any segment of our membership. As soon as it became clear to us that this toy item was offensive to some of our members, we decided to remove it from our warehouses. We don't believe there is room for argument in matters of this type, even though it was an honest mistake, made while we were attempting to do the right thing."
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| Submitted by: | Donna Austin (bladyblue@gmail.com) 10/16/2009 8:58:27 PM PT |
| Location: | New York City |
| Occupation: | Social Worker |
Costco did what they needed to do to keep their customers happy. It is disquieting to know that Magnus impacts any African American Child's life.
I do not want my child to relate to being compared to a monkey. It is a old negative stereotype that the new racists think the next generation is unaware of. I remember in 1991 after GhostBusters II waiting to see Ernie Hudson in a Saturday Morning cartoon - only to see a talking Ape.
When I see someone in the sea of ignorance and racism, I run down to the shore and throw them a safety line. If they respond by saying "What are you panicking about? The water is fine. I am happy out here". I just move on.
Magnus, Enjoy your swim.
| Submitted by: | Magnus Svensson 9/5/2009 10:29:15 AM PT |
| Location: | Maryland |
| Occupation: | Social Worker |
I would simply, and respectfully ask, did all three dolls come with the exact same hat?
In my work as a therapist, and in other work with families, I interact with a wide range of families. I regularly hear families of all kinds and colors refer to their children as monkeys.
Let me reiterate, I UNDERSTAND the cause for the sensitivity (and view it as completely valid!), and I have ended budding relationships with people over this type of ignorance being displayed by people who could otherwise be my friends. But, in this case, ** as long as all three types of dolls wore the same hat **, I think that the manufacturer, and Costco did nothing wrong.
| Submitted by: | Pamela Boone 9/3/2009 7:15:27 AM PT |
| Location: | NJ |
| Occupation: | Designer |
When I first heard about this incident, it seemed as though someone
may have over-reacted. However, in viewing the photo of the toy, I
noticed that the hat of the doll reads "lil monkey". This would not be a
problem either if society had not branded people of African decent as
being and/or having monkey, gorilla or ape-like features. We all know
that this has been an issue throughout time on a personal basis as well
as in the public eye. One large scale example is the original
Ghostbusters cartoon. The movie with Dan Aykroyd also starred an
African American man named Ernie Hudson as one of the
Ghostbusters. The original cartoon put out by "Filmation", depicted
three white Ghostbusters...and a gorilla. What was that all about?
Back in the 70's, I was one of millions of children desperately awaiting
this new cartoon series only to be immensely broken hearted and
embarrassed to see this gorilla instead of a black man being
represented. I was deeply and sincerely hurt!
We have constantly been portrayed as or referred to as monkeys,
whether looking like them, acting like them, walking like them or
speaking like them. We ARE quite sensitive about it now but not by our
own account. It was created and forced upon us by hateful people.
This is our REACTION not our action. There must be empathy or
sympathy as a result of it. As previously stated, a Black doll with a
monkey would have been no problem for me. I think monkeys are
really cute too, however, the "lil monkey" written across the baby's hat
was too much. Rabbits, kittens, fawns and puppy's are really cute too.
They would have also served the purpose.
| Submitted by: | Magnus Svensson (Magnus@albrogard.com) 9/2/2009 12:39:59 AM PT |
| Location: | Maryland |
| Occupation: | Social Worker |
It sounds like someone is way too sensitive for their own good, and Costco was too quick to act on a misguided complaint.
Had the series included only the doll that caused the person offense with the monkey, maybe there is a question; but since each animal was made available with each of the three doll types, it appears that the manufacturer went out of their way to not offend, and yet someone can't get their mind around the fact that perhaps a small child of ANY race might find a monkey charming. I understand COMPLETELY the issue behind the offense; it just isn't valid in this case.
While working as a therapist, I had a supervisor insist that I remove a clip art of a monkey or gorilla off of a contract that I had made for a child regarding behavior. Well, one facet of contracting for behavior with children is to encourage the CHILD to feel a piece of ownership in the process, and the eventual contract itself. I ASKED THE CHILD ABOUT THINGS HE LIKES, which included that animal, and incorporated many of these things into the artwork. I was accused of being insensitive for including the child's own interests on the paper. Aside from being offended by the insinuation that I was an ignorant person who equates that animal to ANY race of people, even after I explained why I included it, I was forced to remove it under threat of being cited for insubordination.
I acknowledge that there are ignorant people who do make this idiotic connection in their mind, and I would be at the forefront of people to strongly condemn them for their hate-based ideas. But there are also people of every race, creed and other variation who are just too sensitive for their own good.
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