[3] In their first campaign the BLO performed "surgery" on a reported 300–500 dolls from retail and returned them to shelves, an action they refer to as shopgiving.
"[4] Two leading members of the BLO, Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos, would go on to found the culture jamming and political action group The Yes Men.
In the 2023 action, actress Daryl Hannah, posing as a spokesperson for Mattel introduced the collection of biodegradable dolls and announced in a short video[5] that the company would stop using plastic by 2030.
[6] This was one of several videos[7] produced by Yellow Dot Studios[8] as part of the BLO's campaign to leverage the publicity surrounding the launch of the Barbie film to raise concerns about the pervasive use of plastics.
[9] Tying in with the satirical campaign is a hoax website bearing heavy resemblance to the real Mattel corporate site, where they issued a fake press release for the fictitious biodegradable Barbie line.
[10] The BLO was originally conceived in an effort to question and ultimately change the gender stereotypes American culture is known for after Mattel released a speaking Barbie that said "Math class is tough.
Hasbro and Mattel, the makers of the dolls brushed off the action with little fuss, although one person was outraged with the "terrorist attacks" directed at children.