Socially Conscious Catalogs

In response to the recent article on sexist toy catalogs, I tracked down a variety of catalogs, some specifically for children and others for all ages. I narrowed it down to three of each which offer particularly nice products free of stereotypes. I felt that parents, teachers, and others who work with children would find this information useful when deciding what companies to buy from. I studied the following catalogs in depth:

• HearthSong: A Catalog For Families. Crafts, games, toys, and puzzles for children. Shows boys and girls playing together, also families playing. Children of same gender playing together are not always pictured in stereotypical activities. Models display racial diversity but not in same pictures, and there are some multiethnic toys. Only catalog with a TDD/TTY number for hearing-impaired customers.
• Ladyslipper Catalog: Music by Women. Cassettes and CDs of music by and for women, also some "mehn's music" for the men's anti-patriarchy movement. Generous selection of multi-cultural offerings, including a special "Babyslipper" section for children; plus some T-shirts, songbooks, cards, and other tidbits. No models, but the content is heavily feminist, making this a good place to shop if you want woman-positive audios.
• Northern Sun Merchandising: Products for Progressives. Mostly T-shirts (some in children's sizes), also extensive selection of buttons, stickers, posters, and miscellaneous items. No models, but illustrations and captions attack stereotypes, often with fine satire. Categories include women's issues, social-political commentary, Lesbian/Biaffectionate/Gay issues, peace, health and lifestyle, environmental, and religious/spiritual. Lots of pro-choice, feminist, survivor-support motifs. Let young feminists display their ideals with captions like "My mother is a goddess" and "Children should be seen and heard ... and believed."
• Gifts for Grandkids: A Resource for Today's Grandparents. Mostly toys, a few puzzles and computer software packages; some good science toys. This catalog is conveniently organized according to developmental levels, from infancy to twelve years. Multiethnic models, including some playing together, and lots of family involvement with players of different ages. There are a few stereotypical images of boys with trucks, girls with dolls, etc. However, boys and girls play together with trains, a castle surround, a tipi, a planetarium globe, and cooking utensils. You don't need to be a grandparent to appreciate this catalog, especially the unique 12-month infant gift program that delivers a new age-appropriate toy each month.
• MindWare: For the Other 90% of Your Brain. Puzzles, books, strategy games, exploratory materials. A catalog of mental exercise equipment for all ages. Less ethnically diverse, but shows mostly families playing together. Zero stereotyping with children of same gender playing together. Loads of excellent science, math, and logical-thinking goodies to get girls interested in these areas.
• Constructive Playthings (school catalog). Toys, games, furniture, exploratory equipment, books, and much more. Hands-down the best catalog I received; they even indicated which pages showed stereotype breakdowns -- they do that on purpose here. The cover shows a boy and girl playing store. Boys and girls of all ages and races play together. Girls appear playing basketball, pool, dress-up as firefighters and doctors; and playing with construction equipment, computers, trains, an airport control center, and a microscope. Boys appear playing hopscotch, house (cooking and ironing), dress-up in multi-ethnic outfits; and playing with measuring cups, dolls, and pretend food. Extensive selection of multi-cultural toys and art supplies, including dolls available in five races and paints/crayons in many skin tones. Also plenty of material on differently-challenged children, including adaptive equipment (wheelchair, glasses, braces, etc.) for rag dolls and sets of differently-challenged adult figures. Several models show disabilities (including one girl in a wheelchair) and there are products like musical instruments adapted for special-needs children. Emphasis on showing community figures and careers (doctors, police officers, firefighters, etc.) in multi-ethnic and gender-equal sets. These folks clearly believe that all "isms" should be "wasms." This institutional catalog is much better than their private-home catalog, which is also good. They offer special catalogs featuring carnival materials, magic, Judaic resources, Montessori materials, playground equipment, and an early childhood planning guide.

I have listed the above catalogs in approximate order of open-mindedness, from lowest to highest. Feel free to acquire copies of each and make your own judgments. I tend to favor catalogs that feature fun toys which teach while children play, rather than idle entertainment, and those that give the most accurate reflection of our world for children to explore. You can apply the same questions and assessments to your favorite catalogs. Get the kids involved, too -- they'll love it.

Resources

HearthSong
6519 North Galena Road
P.O. Box 1773
Peoria, IL 61656-1773
Phone order: 1 (800) 325-2502
Phone info: (309) 689-3838
TDD/TTY: 1 (800) 228-2589
Fax: 1 (309) 689-3857

Ladyslipper, Inc.
P.O. Box 3124-R
Durham, NC 27715
Phone orders: 1 (800) 634-6044
Phone info: (919) 383-8773
Fax: (919) 383-3525
E-mail: info@ladyslipper.org

Northern Sun Merchandising
2916 E. Lake Street
Minneapolis, MN 55406-2065
Phone orders: 1 (800) 258-8579
Phone info: (612) 729-2001
Fax: (612) 729-0149
E-mail: nsm@calhoun.lakes.com
WWW: http://www.northernsun.com

Gifts for Grandkids
c/o Genesis Direct
One Bridge Plaza, Suite 680
Fort Lee, NJ 07024-0407
Phone: 1 (800) 333-1707
Fax: 1 (610) 532-9001

MindWare
2720 Patton Road
Roseville, MN 55113
Phone: 1 (800) 999-0398
Fax: (612) 639-1618
E-mail: MWSynapse@aol.com

Constructive Playthings
1227 East 119th Street
Grandview, MO 64030-1117
Phone orders: 1 (800) 448-4115
Phone info: 1 (800) 448-1412

"Socially Conscious Catalogs" copyright 1996 Elizabeth Barrette.

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Art on this page is from the "Colorful Bubbles" set, at Rita's Bermans.

The URL for this page is http://www.worthlink.net/~ysabet/gsas/catalogs.html and it was last updated on November 21, 1998.