The War Against Plastic; What will Happen to our Dolls?

Modern Porcelains had their run.

Recently, Starbuck's announced it would be fazing out plastic straws.  In fact, a lot of restaurants and businesses announced the same.   I was in a panic.  I have to have a straw to drink my coffee, even hot.  The commuter lids, also plastic, drip all over everything.  They also pop off, dumping hot coffee all over me. That lady from the McDonald's coffee case?  Let's just say I've felt her pain.  I need my straw.

I asked for a straw at our local coffee shop, and was told as follows by the Mitchell from Modern Family Look alike that used to work there.  "I'd love to give you a straw for your hot Americano, but it will melt--they're corn!"  Said with such bravado, such obnoxious glee to disappoint the woman of a certain age making the request.

The coffee shop now uses paper straws.  They get soggy.  I started saving plastic straws here and there, just in case.   I have to have my coffee, and my cokes.  Hot or cold, I need my straw.

The whole thing got me thinking.  There is really a war against plastic, and it's everywhere.  There is a movie about the life of a plastic bag.  It is very poignant.  There are commercials about plastic objects being recycled, and Earth Day fashion shows feature clothing made from discarded plastics. 

For that matter, polyester fabric is a kind of resin based material, and resin is a kind of plastic.  Here's part of the definition:  "Polyethylene terephthalate (sometimes written poly(ethylene terephthalate)), commonly abbreviated PET, PETE, or the obsolete PETP or PET-P, is the most common thermoplastic polymer resin of the polyester family and is used in fibres for clothing, containers for liquids and foods, thermoforming for manufacturing, and in combination with glass fibre for engineering resins." (Wikipedia).

So, plastic is literally everywhere, and is used in every industry. Celluloid is a forerunner, Bakelite and Lucite are related.  Remember, Mattel got its start from Lucite novelties created in the Handler's garage.


And, what about Mattel and Barbie?  Literally millions of dolls around the world have been made in celluloid, plastic, vinyl, and resin.  Play dolls are predominantly plastic and vinyl.  Early Alexanders, including the breathtaking mystery dolls of hard plastic, the portraits, the Wendikins and more, are hard plastic.  Vinyl dolls are collector's dreams, cf The American Girls, Annette Himstedt, and more.


What will happen to Terri Lee, Miss Revlon, DyDee Baby, Toni, and so many more?  Billions of products besides straws and dolls are made of plastic.  What will our toys look like?  What will replace the durability of plastic?  Nothing is immortal, but we've tried tin toys, tin heads, bisque, wax, nothing seems to survive play as well as plastic products.  Modern porcelain dolls were a fad, but most were collected, not played with.  Will cloth do it?  What will popular dolls be made of? I have no answers, but this will be quite a problem.

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