Have you heard of Tree Change Dolls? The project initially started as a hobby for Sonia Singh of Australia, and soon became much bigger than her family had ever imagined.
Signh, a trained scientist, uses second-hand dolls and gives them a completely makeover/under. Since most the dolls she uses happen to be Bratz dolls, much of the praise Signh has garnered comes from the revelation that these hypersexualized children’s dolls are not only aesthetically more pleasing to the eye, but just as (if not more) accepted by children when they receive their new Tree Change look.
Another beautiful aspect of this project is the amount of heart that goes into each doll’s creation. Signh hand paints each new doll face and cuts and styles its original hair (which any past scissor-happy barbie fan knows is quite a feat!), while her mother makes all of their new clothes by hand.
The best part of this story is that you can be a part of this movement. The Tree Change Dolls project will be opening an Etsy store February 15, 2015!