Factory Conditions
Ruth’s Barbie was originally manufactured in Japan. When the first prototypes were received by Mattel after production had started there were some problems with the doll. The dolls had “oriental eyes” and they came with nipples (Wood, 2002). The Japanese did not understand the changes that needed to be made so an executive had to file down the nipples on one of the dolls and send it back as a visual of what they desired. Before production began Ruth herself searched for the perfect rubber to mold the dolls out of and settled on Chinese polystyrene (Boroughs, 1990). Not much else is known about the doll making process at that time, just that they were molded and manufactured in Japan.
In 1967 Mattel moved production to Taiwan. At the time Taiwan was an underdeveloped country and offered the cheap labor that Mattel needed. Factories were responsible for the “body shaping, spray painting, hair implants, and packaging” (Dmitri, 2005). Mattel then outsourced other aspects of the dolls. Many housewives in Taiwan made the clothes that the Barbie’s wore. This gave them the opportunity to stay at home and watch after the children while still making money to help out the family. Mattel paid the workers a dollar a day (the average worker in Taiwan made 60 cents a day at the time) and they provided free room and board for their single employees. Also available to the employees were language and math classes, an on-site health clinic, and overtime pay. Mattel gave the people in their factories an opportunity that they would not have had otherwise and many former employees are thankful for the experience because it gave them the financial means to provide for their families and it showed other companies that Taiwan offered a viable labor market (Dmitri, 2005).
In 1987 the plant in Taiwan shut down to move again to a country with cheaper labor, China. The people of Taiwan believed that the Mattel factory helped to industrialize and grow the country of Taiwan. The factory created a momentum in the area that made for a more productive country even once Mattel was gone. The town that the factory was in, Taishan, managed to adapt to the free market and thrive as a society (Dmitri, 2005).
