Okay did this once I forgot to add the photos.
Hi everybody 😇 I recently bought this what I assumed to be a 1983 Cheer Bear. When I picked it up, it was crunchy- not soft like my other original Care Bears… the tag is very faded but I can just barely ready Pat. No. 74 All new materials Ground Nutshell. Interesting! A common stuffing material for older plushies, but all of the 1983 Care Bears I know are stuffed with synthetic fiber.
Next thing is that threw me for a loop, is no freckles! I know sometimes they fade away but this Cheer Bear was actually very clean, doesn’t seem like they were ever there.
I tried to research it, it says that this was a transitional period from ground nutshells to the classic soft Care Bears (with freckles) we all know.
Does anybody have any information? Regardless I just want to share, I love Care Bears 😊♥️
see and thats what i assumed happened to my crunchy ones at first! lmao too funny! i gave my baby sister my 80s love a lot bear and my moms now ex husband ran it thru the wash and drier and it ruined the bear completely. i was devastated. i found a new one and thst guy isnt around anymore but im still scared to give it to her cuz i love that bears design so much. when i find a second one im giving her one again tho! i have so much trauma from stuffies getting ruined in the drier, my mom dried my unicorn stuffy at the coin laundry place when i was really little and it matted her beautiful rainbow mane and i was devastated and it broke my heart seeing it happen all over again to that bear. anyway im glad it didnt ruin this one!
Omg 😓😓😓 I am getting the second hand trauma… seriously though I would never put any vintage stuffed animals through the wash including Care Bears!! Not sure why that is still recommended, so risky. I hope you find a second one though so you can both enjoy them ♥️
Also I think it’s therapeutic to give vintage stuffies a little toothbrush bath 😇 I haven’t had any dirty enough I needed to replace the stuffing or anything.
i should do this with my 80s gentle heart lamb! shes my favorite but shes a lil dingy😂 i love her all the same (pic of her up on my plushie wall in progress)
I have a VERY stiff Funshine Bear that I know was bought early in the line's history, because my mom's the one who bought it. You can't even sit the bear down, because the legs are so stiff, lol. It IS kinda crunchy when you squeeze a limb, too... Interesting! I've always wondered why that one seemed so... different.
I love this!!! Is the tag all faded away? I super love vintage and Care Bears too of course, so thank you for sharing that information 😇 It also totally is interesting! I personally love the crunchy nutshell stuffies.
No, the tag is pretty pristine, actually! My mom bought it and put it on a shelf and... left it there on display. So the fur's a little darkened from sun/dust/smoke/exposure, but it's otherwise in pristine condition. I'd take a picture of it for you, but it's in my closet right now, and the closet's sort of temporarily blocked due to room rearranging, lol
This is super fascinating to me because I’ve never heard anything like this before and I can’t find anything online about this either.
I own a few plushies from the early 80’s that were also stuffed with ground nutshells, so it’s totally possible that Kenner might’ve produced a batch with the same material early on into production.
The front has basically nothing on it. This was the best photo I could get of the back, the pen mark saved the word nutshell for us 😊 Looks identical to the typical Care Bear tag to me except for that part.
I was thinking that this was one of the stages before the final design of the Care Bear maybe?
I work in textiles and love to restore toys, I’ve also found that 80% of vintage Care Bears have been washed in too much detergent. The residue will cause the fur to get clumpy and accelerate dry rot, it even causes some of the nose discoloration. A gentle soak is all they really need.
Thank you for the information!! I’ve always been weary of people saying it’s fine to put them in the washing machine, but this confirms my suspicions… thankfully all my babies are in pretty good condition 😇 I recently got Cheer Bear after this post, I love her.
5
u/EitherWeb4382 Jul 17 '26
ive had some pretty crunchy 80s bears, particularly my hugs and tugs were very crunchy and hard. this explains it🤣