The Toy Company That Teaches Natural Hair Care to Girls of Colour

We always go nutty with excitement when we hear about new projects to increase diversity in children's toys.  Here is one such project that we are loving right now. Meet Healthy Roots, a  toy company that is teaching natural hair care to girls of colour and celebrating diversity. 

Founder Yelitsa Jean-Charles, a children's illustrator, started the company to tackle mainstream beauty standards that can have a negative effect on girls of colour, causing them to suffer from internalized racism and self esteem issues.

She reached out to us to tell us a bit more about the project and why she started it.

"Growing up, I suffered from many insecurities about my skin colour and texture," she said. " I was often told in order to be beautiful you had to have long, flowing hair or fair skin."

Healthy Roots is a doll + book series starring best friends Zoe, Dara, Gaiana, and Marnda. These girls are not only fashionable but they have a passion for learning and helping others. Yelitsa Jean-Charles is hoping that this mix of edutainment will help to promote self love and diversity in children's products. 

Healthy Roots are currently fundraising on Kickstarter. You can also check them out on Facebook.