Naturalistas, a Black-owned toy company based in California, has announced that the brand is expanding its distribution of its natural-hair fashion dolls with Walmart Canada.

The founder and creator of Purpose Toys, the parent company, DeeDee Wright-Ward, says the move will lead to international growth following the product’s launch in 2022.

“Naturalistas’ tagline and the most important affirmation the brand hopes to impart is, “Be Proud of Your Crown™.” As dolls with straight, wavy, and jewel-toned hair continue to flood the Black doll market, many children of African descent who identify more so with having coily, curly, loc’d, naturally textured, and natural-colour hair feel increasingly under-represented,” Wright-Ward said in a statement.

“Products that fail to authentically reflect the “Crowns” (i.e., hair) of the children to whom they are marketed inadvertently send the message that hair that looks like theirs isn’t equally valued. We want to change this,” Wright-Ward added.

The doll is designed to celebrate children with natural hair and encourage diversity. It also hopes to inspire self-confidence and self-esteem in kids. Moreover, each doll has 11.5 inches of natural hair and features a range of toys with different curl types.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of our friends at Walmart Canada and Walmart U.S. And we are honoured for the opportunity to celebrate the children of Canada through play. Cheers to our amazing international sales team who continue to uplift and position Purpose Toys and Naturalistas as we carry out our mission to bring substantive representation to toy aisles around the world,” Wright-Ward said in a statement.