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24th July 2024
03:04pm BST
Barbie is marking an incredibly special milestone this week after launching its first-ever blind Barbie doll.
The milestone doll is bound to make major changes for blind people, especially young girls.
The company wants to make its dolls more inclusive and represent more parts of society.
This new doll has a white and red cane and also wears sunglasses for eye protection.
The Mattel team said her eye gaze was designed to face "slightly up and out".
Mattel teamed up with the American Foundation for the Blind to design the iconic doll.
Her clothes were designed using tactile fabric and the packaging features braille writing.
Director of the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Debbie Miller said: "Barbie is all about joy – about discovering and understanding the world through play – and it’s wonderful to think that children with a vision impairment can now play with a Barbie that looks like them."
She added: "We’re so pleased with the details that have gone into designing this new Barbie, the tactile clothes as well as the cane and the sunglasses."
Brand ambassador Lucy Edwards said: "When I was growing up I would have only dreamed for this moment to come. To be accepted so much that the most popular doll in the world now has a visual impairment and looks like me. I still can’t believe I’m typing this but blind Barbie is here."
