A lot of great things start in a garage. For Mattel, the story begins just like this when, in 1945, a group of designers and engineers got together to help inspire play.
The first successful product from Mattel was a child-sized ukulele in 1947. A year later, they moved out of a garage and established a brick-and-mortar headquarters in Los Angeles. The brand continued releasing what are now iconic labels and toys:
Ask any question and get an answer…the Magic 8 Ball debuted in 1950 to tell the fortunes of confused people everywhere. Today, there are over 1 million sold every year.
In 1959, a star was born: Barbie. It took a few more years for Ken to come on the scene, but in 1961, he was released, and a year later, Barbie’s Dreamhouse came out.
Along with the Magic 8 Ball and Barbie are more recognizable Mattel names, like Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, Polly Pocket, American Girl, Thomas & Friends, and the list goes on.
Today, Mattel is headquartered in El Segundo, California. Its employees have plenty of slam-dunk toys in their pockets, but where are these toys being made? Let’s find out.
Verdict: Are Mattel Toys Made in the USA?
No, Mattel Toys are not made in the USA. Production takes place around the world in locations such as China, Mexico, Indonesia, Malaysia, and more.
Mattel operates globally, although its main headquarters is located in California.
The United States houses Mattel’s brand headquarters. These include:
- Mattel HQ: El Segundo, California
- American Girl HQ: Madison, Wisconsin
- Fisher-Price HQ: East Aurora, New York
- Other offices are located in Arkansas, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, and Texas.
Beyond American borders, more headquarters and offices are located in:
- MEGA HQ: Montreal, Canada
- Asia Pacific
- Over 3,000 employees in 12 countries
- Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
- France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UK
- Latin America
- Over 400 employees in 6 countries
- Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico,
As might be expected, Mattel toys used to be made in the United States. Over the years, manufacturing shifted overseas, where labor and materials were cheaper. According to an old report by the Los Angeles Times, Mattel shut down its last remaining American manufacturing facility over 20 years ago.
At the time of the closure, the Kentucky facility employed 980 workers. It made Fisher-Price products, although less than 10% of Mattel’s total output. This closure came as part of a long-term effort to move most of North American manufacturing to a singular location. Here is an interesting article about Mattel’s closures of its American plants.
In 2022, Mattel invested over $47 million to consolidate its North American manufacturing to a location in Nuevo León, Mexico. This is now their largest hub for manufacturing in the world. Here, they employ over 3,500 people and build some of the following toys: Barbie Dream House, Fisher-Price Power Wheels, and MEGA Bloks.
The largest manufacturing site for Mattel’s Hot Wheels label is in Malaysia. In 2022, they announced a new expansion of their plant to produce a 20% increase in production capacity.
Here are a few product labels we checked out:
The following label from the Hot Wheels Set of 8 Basic Toy Cars & Trucks reads “Made in Malaysia.” :
In conclusion, Mattel Toys are not manufactured in the United States. However, you can find vintage Mattel items that were. To do that, we recommend combing through second-hand websites like eBay and Etsy.
Popular American Made Mattel Toys
- None that we could find
Popular Mattel Toys Not Made in the USA
- Barbie: The Movie Collectible Doll Margot Robbie
- Hot Wheels Set of 8 Basic Toy Cars & Trucks
- MEGA BLOKS Toy Blocks Sort & Recycle Squad
